No right is absolute, as all are limited by the rights of others, which is why MPs, and especially the Speaker of the Parliament, must carefully interpret their powers in public, even though the political scene in Montenegro is "structured in such a way that the political class has all the rights, while citizens have none."
This was assessed by the interlocutors of "Vijesti" commenting on the statement of the first man in parliament. Andrije Mandić that the deputies declare themselves as the Constitution allows them, voting according to their own convictions, and that they do not depend on agencies or ministries, because the citizens gave them that right. Mandić announced this on Friday before the vote on the Spatial Plan of Montenegro until 2040, after the deputy Mihailo Andjusic (DPS) pointed out that the Environmental Protection Agency issued a decision ordering the relevant Ministry to accept the objections from the Strategic Impact Assessment Report on the Spatial Plan and that the vote should be postponed until these problems are resolved.
The President of the Assembly responded that the Assembly had concluded its discussion on the matter and would make a statement.
"You have stated the position of the Agency, however, we are the Assembly: older than the Government, the Ministry and the Agency. We are representatives of the people and we will declare ourselves as the Constitution allows us - which is that MPs vote according to their own beliefs and positions. That is our great advantage: that we do not depend on agencies or ministries, but declare ourselves as we wish because the citizens have given us that right," said Mandić.
Marić: Sovereignty belongs to the citizens
Lawyer and former Secretary General of the Government Boris Marić told "Vijesti" that there are no absolute rights, and that all rights are limited by the rights of other subjects in social interaction.
"Therefore, MPs, and especially the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, must be careful when interpreting their competencies in public," Marić pointed out.
He said that Montenegro does not have a sovereign in any form, and that sovereignty under the Constitution belongs to the citizens of Montenegro - not to MPs, and all state institutions and those who form and lead them as part of a mandate or contract with the state are limited by the Constitution and law.
Marić said that the actions of state officials are directed and entirely limited by the Constitution and laws of the state of Montenegro.
"All decisions made in the Parliament as a legislative body must be made in accordance with legal and by-laws, respecting the principles of transparency and with a clearly defined public interest."
He reminds that in the event that the adopted acts are not in compliance with the applicable laws and the Constitution, the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court is activated, whose obligation is to protect the constitutional order of the country.
"Perhaps we should consider having MPs and ministers undergo some form of constitutional-legal and administrative training in the first few months of their mandate, which would basically include presentations on the mutual relations between government bodies, decision-making methods and elaboration of competencies," said Marić.
Đukić: The statement is truly undemocratic
Analyst Stefan Djukic He said that the Constitution states that citizens exercise power directly and through freely elected representatives, stating that during the nineteen years of independence, at no time was that power exercised directly.
"Moreover, neither the Constitution nor the laws that address these issues provide for a way for citizens to directly exercise power. Even when elected representatives knowingly violate the law or enact unconstitutional provisions, citizens have no power to prevent them from doing so. They can only vote in elections once every four years," said Đukić.
He pointed out that there are no obligations of elected representatives towards their own voters, and that they are not limited by election promises or party programs.
"Simply put, our legislative framework and our Constitution are truly undemocratic in nature, that is, elitist-partyocratic, and Andrija Mandić's previous statement is just another example of that practice," said Đukić.
He said that there have been previous examples of the political class practically mocking voters, saying that they made a decision that they knew was not supported by the citizens. He recalled that they consciously did the exact opposite of what they promised in the elections, always justifying such decisions by saying that they "know better" and that they had to make decisions that were supposedly unpopular.
"Mandić's statement is truly undemocratic, but unfortunately completely consistent with what they said earlier." Dritan Abazovic, Dusko Markovic, Milo Djukanovic, Ranko Krivokapic and others," said Đukić.
He pointed out that the Constitution and laws have "structured" the Montenegrin political scene in such a way that the political class has all the rights, while citizens have none, and it is logical that such people in such a system would behave in this way.
MP and President of GP URA Dritan Abazović As announced by the party, in an author's podcast, he described as particularly tragic the statement of the Speaker of Parliament that "MPs can express their opinion on anything because the people gave them a mandate."
"They can express their opinion on anything, but only in accordance with the Constitution and laws. This does not mean that they can violate elementary procedures. If tomorrow they decide to move a hundred thousand people out of the country - would that be justified because they have a majority? No, because that is an elementary violation of the Constitution and the law. In order for a legal solution to enter the procedure and be presented to the deputies, there are a number of filters that it must pass. One of those filters, which had to pass the text of the Spatial Plan of Montenegro, is the opinion of the Environmental Protection Agency. That did not happen on time. Of course, the Parliament is not so much to blame here as the Government, which is, as it is, a freak," said Abazović.
Đukić: The problem is the political framework
Stefan Đukić said that "our problem is not Mandić, Abazović, or Spajić," but the political framework that prohibits citizens from participating in political life outside of party membership, a political framework in which the right to make decisions is given by a party membership card, not by knowledge, activity, and the quality of proposals.
"That's why we need the broadest possible agreement here, whereby we will understand that we must not depend on the "good will" of politicians, but that we must limit their frameworks, that is, expand the rights of ordinary citizens, in every possible way," Djukic emphasized.
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