The session of the Constitutional Committee, which was supposed to determine the proposal for the election of two judges of the Constitutional Court, will be postponed.

The session of the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro, which was supposed to determine the proposal for the election of two judges of the Constitutional Court, will be postponed.

That session was supposed to be held tomorrow.

"The planned session of the Constitutional Committee, at which an important vote on the appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court is scheduled, will be postponed due to emerging obligations and justified reasons of individual members of the Committee who will not be able to attend. All members of the Committee have expressed their desire and commitment to be present at the session, because the appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court is of exceptional importance for the legal system and the further work of institutions in Montenegro," said Jelena Božović, President of the Constitutional Committee, in a statement.

She added that it is expected that the conditions for holding the session will be met by the end of July at the latest, when they plan to hold the vote.

"Recognizing the importance of this process, until conditions are provided for the presence of all board members, a new session will not be scheduled, and the public will be informed of the new date in a timely manner," said Božović.

The Constitutional Committee announced the announcement for the election of two judges on December 23 last year and heard all candidates in mid-March. After that, the procedure was suspended until the Venice Commission's opinion regarding the termination of the office of Constitutional Court judge Dragana Đuranović due to the attainment of retirement requirements.

At the end of last year, the parliament, based on the conclusion of the Constitutional Committee, declared Dragana Đuranović's office terminated because she had reached the retirement age in accordance with the Pension and Disability Insurance Act (PIO), while the office of the judges of the Constitutional Court was terminated in accordance with the Labour Act. In protest, the opposition left the parliament and blocked the Electoral Legislation Reform Committee. After part of the opposition signed an agreement on resolving the political crisis with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement) on 15 March, the opposition members were returned to the parliamentary benches, and a request was sent to the Venice Commission for an opinion on the disputed case.

The Venice Commission stated that the Montenegrin Parliament should have complied with the procedure requiring formal notification of the Constitutional Court of the conditions for the termination of judicial office, emphasizing that it is not within their jurisdiction to interpret national constitutional norms and disputed provisions of domestic legislation, nor the constitutionality of specific actions taken by the Parliament and the Constitutional Court.

In the meantime, the office of Constitutional Court judge Budimir Šćepanović also ceased, leaving the Constitutional Court with four judges, out of the prescribed seven.

President Jakov Milatović (one of the nominees for Constitutional Court judges) proposed Mirjana Vučinić as Šćepanović's successor in mid-May, but the Parliament has not yet elected her. Milatović issued a new advertisement for the election of a Constitutional Court judge on Wednesday, as Judge Desanka Lopičić's term expires at the end of the year.

Thirteen candidates applied for the public call of the Constitutional Committee in December: President of the Minor Offences Court in Bijelo Polje Alija Beganović, lawyers Zoran Vukićević and Goran Velimirović, judges of the High Court in Podgorica Jovan Jovanović and Marko Blagojević, deputy ombudsmen Nerma Dobardžić and Mirjana Radović, judge of the Administrative Court Medina Mušović, member of the Council of the Agency for Personal Data Protection Muhamed Đokaj, expert of the Council of Europe for human rights Jovan Kojičić, employee of the Ministry of Public Administration Sanja Maslenjak, chief administrator of the Municipality of Herceg Novi Nenad Đorđević and customs inspector Milva Prelević.