Europe Now Movement (PES) MP Vasilije Čarapić reiterated that the Chairman of the Senate of the State Audit Institution (DRI), Zoran Jelić, "is knowingly violating the regulations governing the termination of his office."
In the statement, he called Jelic a citizen.
He said that Jelić was knowingly violating regulations "with the legally banal explanation that, in terms of the conditions for exercising the right to an old-age pension, the Law on Civil Servants and Employees applies to him, and not the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance."
"This is because Article 8 of the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance clearly stipulates that pension and disability insurance rights are acquired, exercised and used only under the conditions and in the manner established by that law and cannot be regulated by other regulations. This norm eliminates any possible conflict that exists when it comes to the conditions for the termination of a mandate or employment relationship, because the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, as a general law, does not provide space for the conditions for old-age pension to be determined by any other law, including the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees," said Čarapić.
He adds that the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund confirmed this in its opinion.
"Who explicitly stated that Zoran Jelić meets the requirements for old-age pension, which, pursuant to Article 34 of the Law on the State Audit Institution, is an imperative basis for the termination of the mandate of a member of the Senate of the State Audit Institution," said the PES official.
He also pointed out that Jelić's attempt to evade the law through "blanket and legally unfounded claims" clearly demonstrates the intention to "instrumentalize and put the DRI institution into the function of personal, not public, interest."
"Ignoring legal norms, and especially their selective interpretation for the sake of staying in position, is a direct blow to the legal order and the principles of accountability and legality. This not only devalues the institution of the State Audit Office, but also undermines citizens' trust in its work. This behavior makes the role of audit as a control mechanism for public finances meaningless, and an institution that should be an example of legality and ethics turns into a shelter for personal privileges. This is a defeat for the rule of law and an open threat to its fundamental values, and this is precisely what I have a problem with, which Jelić knows very well. In order to protect the idea that Montenegro should be a rule of law state and faith in the concept of the rule of law, PES will continue to fight against all anomalies and abuses, because only in this way can we build a healthy society with strong institutions," said Čarapić.
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