Vukčević: A strong judiciary does not suit any government

A strong judiciary does not suit any government, said Miloš Vukčević, a lawyer and professor at the Faculty of Law of the Mediterranean University, stating that it is unthinkable that a palace of justice has not yet been built in Montenegro.

In an interview with the MINA agency, Vukčević said that the construction of the Palace of Justice would not represent a large financial outlay and added that he believes that there is still no political will for it.

"It seems that those in power are not satisfied with a strong judiciary, because if they were, they would have built the Palace of Justice by now," Vukčević said.

As he pointed out, one cannot talk about the independence of the judiciary without better human resources, material conditions, and financial security for judges, whose salaries are low and the same as they have been for the past ten years.

Asked about the public's perception of the independence of the judiciary, he assessed that the public is not satisfied and does not have a high level of trust in the judiciary.

Vukčević said that this public perception is also influenced by cases in which former holders of high judicial positions were prosecuted, and emphasized that citizens' trust in the judiciary must be strengthened.

He said that citizens are interested in seeing all cases of organized crime and corruption prosecuted, that people who have damaged the budget end up in prison, and that justice is served, but they are also interested in litigation, labor relations, and administrative proceedings.

"If you still have to wait three years for a dispute to be resolved, and it's an urgent labor dispute due to termination of employment, where is the justice, independence and efficiency of the judiciary," Vukčević asked.

He said that procedures must be accelerated, that vacant judicial positions should be filled, and that work should be done to promote the reputation of the judicial profession.

"There is mention of vetting in the judiciary. I think that is completely wrong, because I fear that if the state's attitude towards judges and prosecutors continues like this, we will be left without the staff we currently have," Vukčević said.

As he pointed out, over 95 percent of judges are honest and honorable people.

"We have many young judges, let's not discourage them. In the end, we will have no one to judge us, or the worst ones will judge us," said Vukčević.

He said that the financial position of judges and prosecutors is unenviable, adding that the salary of a basic court judge or a prosecutor in the basic state prosecutor's office is slightly higher than average.

"We must improve the financial position of judges, and then their position in society. Let's not constantly attack them, that they are constantly under attack and criticism," Vukčević said.

He assessed that an independent judiciary does not answer to politicians.

"They know that one day they may find themselves under the auspices of the judiciary and prosecution, so it suits them that it is weak, otherwise you cannot explain why after 35 years there is no palace of justice. Why was it a problem to secure 15, 20 million euros," Vukčević said.

He added that much more money is being provided every day for other needs, to increase salaries, and some projects.

"And there is no such thing, a location is being sought, there are not enough funds. All of this shows you that a strong judiciary is not suitable for any government," said Vukčević.

When asked how he commented on the fact that key judicial institutions are functioning with an incomplete composition, he said that it is solely the fault of politicians that the composition of the Constitutional Court is not complete.

Vukčević assessed that this was no coincidence and that it suited certain political structures in Montenegro.

He added that the Supreme Court, as well as the basic courts, are operating with an incomplete composition.

Vukčević pointed to a recommendation from the Venice Commission's draft opinion - to adopt a provision allowing a Constitutional Court judge whose term has expired to continue performing his duties until a new judge takes office.

"In my opinion, this will not be possible without changing the article of the Constitution that states that the mandate of Constitutional Court judges is 12 years, which means you cannot extend it by law, because such a law would be contrary to the Constitution," said Vukčević.

Asked if this was a good solution, he stated that he believed the proposal was good, considering the political climate in Montenegro.

"If we were lucky, it wouldn't be needed, because all institutions would react promptly. So, for our political circumstances and social relations, it is a forced, but good solution," Vukčević added.

He said that it is now clear how bad the decision to retire judges was based on the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance.

Asked how he would comment on the targeting of lawyers as the culprits for the long duration of court proceedings, Vukčević said that the work of the courts in the last few months refutes all claims that lawyers contribute to this.

"I will now ask the same people who criticized - how can trials be held in short deadlines, that they are being held after working hours. So, it wasn't about the lawyers, it was about the judiciary and their organization," said Vukčević.

When asked whether he believes Montenegro has demonstrated the ability to prosecute high-level corruption cases and cases in the field of combating organized crime, he answered in the affirmative.

"In terms of the number of prosecuted public officials, Montenegro is far ahead of all neighboring countries, as well as some European Union (EU) member states. If you look at the numbers, you will see that the conclusion is inevitable - that in terms of the work of the prosecution and the processed proposals, Montenegro is a leader and that very significant results have been achieved," said Vukčević.

He added that this does not mean that these individuals will be sentenced with final judgment.

"One thing is the indictment, another is the court, we'll see what the court says, but if you asked me about the processed cases, there really are results," Vukčević said.

Asked whether he believes it is realistic for Montenegro to close all negotiation chapters by the end of next year, he said that the plan is ambitious and unrealistic.

"It is unrealistic to expect that, regardless of the fact that you have the readiness on the other side (the EU)," Vukčević assessed, stating that it is more realistic that this process could be completed by 2027, 2028.

He believes that, considering that it takes up to a year and a half to ratify the treaty on the country's accession to the Union, it is more realistic for Montenegro to become a member of the EU in 2030.

Asked how much the country has progressed during 13 years of negotiations with the EU, Vukčević said that it can be seen that it has made progress in many areas.

"We have made some progress in terms of freedoms and human rights, in the fight against corruption and organized crime. We have harmonized almost all regulations with the EU acquis. This second part remains - implementation, but we are showing certain results here too," Vukčević said.

He said that the EU's readiness to accept Montenegro as a member is evident and said that the coming time should be used, because the country still has a lot of work to do.

Montenegro, as Vukčević pointed out, has no alternative to full membership in the EU.