The work of the Venice Commission (VC) is necessary at a time when fundamental democratic values are being tested, as is currently the case with Montenegro, university professor Miloš Vukčević announced today.
He said this at the 34th session of the Ius Forum of the Lawyers' Association of Montenegro entitled "Venice Commission - Role, Experiences and Expectations" which was held tonight in Podgorica, the Lawyers' Association announced.
Vukčević said that experiences show the positive contribution of the VK, but also the need to strengthen the implementation of its recommendations and strengthen its role in the challenges of modern society.
"Its importance is particularly evident in countries in transition, such as Montenegro, which has been striving for many years to harmonize its legal system with European standards. Montenegro often seeks the opinion of the Supreme Court, but the implementation of recommendations is known to be delayed or selectively applied. The Supreme Court certainly plays an important role in the development of the Montenegrin legal order. The way in which Montenegro accepts and applies the Supreme Court's opinion speaks of its real commitment to European values," Vukčević emphasized.
Opening the session, the President of the Association of Lawyers of Montenegro, Branislav Radulović, said that the EC - European Commission for Democracy through Law, is a body of the Council of Europe, founded in 1990, which brings together 46 European states and each member state delegates two experts.
"Only the Vatican, Belarus, which was never admitted, and Russia, which was expelled after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, do not have their own experts in the VK who are independent and are chosen based on their expertise, especially in the field of constitutional and international law. They are appointed by member states, but they act in their personal capacity, not as representatives of their governments," Radulović pointed out.
He added that the main role of the VK is to provide legal assistance to states in the areas of constitutional law, the rule of law, human rights protection and electoral legislation.
"The recommendations of this body, although not binding, have great authority and often have a decisive impact, especially when in certain countries, within national institutions or due to political crises, it is not possible to reach a solution. Montenegro has quite a rich experience of cooperation with the VK, which played a key role in reforms of the judicial system, electoral legislation and constitutional changes in the country," said Radulović.
He said that in the pre-referendum period (2005), the Election Commission played a key role in determining who had the right to vote in Montenegro.
"Since gaining independence in 2006, Montenegro has repeatedly approached the Supreme Court for opinions and recommendations. The most significant cooperation was regarding the constitutional reform in 2013, when the Supreme Court gave its opinion on 16 constitutional amendments, among which those related to the independence of the judiciary, the composition of the Judicial Council, the election of judges of the Constitutional Court, immunity for members of the Senate of the Constitutional Court, etc. stand out," said Radulović.
Srđan Darmanović, former Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Montenegro (UCG) and member of the Council of Europe, spoke about its role in creating and strengthening democratic institutions in Europe and particularly focused on the new democracies of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe after the Cold War.
"During this period, the EC was not only a reliable advisor to European countries in the development of their democratic institutions, but also made a theoretical contribution to the codification of European standards in the field of elections, national minority rights, the development of constitutional justice, constitutionality and other areas. Its professional, expert and impartial way of working and the results it achieved have made the EC a very reputable institution not only in Europe, but also in many non-European countries that rely on its expert opinions," said Darmanović.
Nikola Šaranović, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Donja Gorica (UDG), recalled the legal saying "a contract is the law for the parties", which he rearranged into the aphorism "the law is the contract for the parties".
"In the concrete matter, the parties are the government and the opposition. Their contract is the request of the Supreme Court. Its opinion will have the force of law. The Supreme Court's request is a kind of remedy from alternative legal medicine, because when justice is sick, legal remedies do not help," said Šaranović.
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