Adrović: BS demands that at least one judge of the Constitutional Court be from the Bosniak community

The position of the Bosniak Party (BS) is that we demand that at least one judge of the Constitutional Court be from the Bosniak community, said the party's MP, Admir Adrović, at a session of the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro today.

At the session, it was decided that the Constitutional Committee would propose to the parliament to elect Jovan Jovanović and Mirjana Radović as judges of the Constitutional Court.

Opposition MPs did not participate in the vote, because, as they pointed out, the parliamentary majority did not engage in dialogue with them.

The agenda of the session included the determination of proposals for the election of two judges of the Constitutional Court.

"I will also remind you of the Law on the Constitutional Court, Article 10, paragraph 6, which states that proposers are obliged to take into account proportionality in the representation of minority peoples. I invite you to take this article into consideration. What I will say - if there is none of that, BS will not support anyone either on the committee or at the plenum," Adrović said during the debate.

The candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court proposed by the Constitutional Committee to the plenary session of the Assembly are: Alija Beganović, Marko Blagojević, Goran Velimirović, Zoran Vukićević, Nerma Dobardžić, Muhamed Đokaj, Nenad Đorđević, Jovan Jovanović, Jovan Kojičić Sanja Maslenjak, Medina Mušović, Milva Prelević and Mirjana Radović.

Adrović added that there are no Bosniak members among the current judges, but there are among the candidates.

Nedović: We decide based on CVs

Europe Now Movement (PES) MP Jelena Nedović said during the debate that they are at the session today to "decide based on CVs" and that is why the hearings are being held.

She added that two years ago, PES voted to elect a judge who declared himself an Albanian, but that they did not look at his nationality, but rather to unblock the Constitutional Court, but that today that court is in a situation where it is blocked again, and that she considers not voting to be stopping the European path, adding that even then, BS did not vote for a Constitutional Court judge because he is not a Bosniak.

Adrović said that they did not vote for the judge not because he is Albanian, and that the fact that PES does not look at ethnicity is their political decision, but that BS represents the Bosniak people.

"You have a candidate who will meet the requirements based on his CV, his answers, and his nationality," he said, adding that Nedović was not present when the hearings were held.

The PES MP announced that the President of the Republic, Jakov Milatović, has also issued a call for the selection of two judges, and that there are also Bosniaks on that list, so they can ask him to nominate members of that people.

Adrović pointed out that they did not vote against the candidate because he was Albanian, but because their condition was not met.

Speaking about the candidates proposed by the head of state, he said that as a member of parliament, he participates in the work of the Assembly, but does not influence the president.

Mehmed Zenka from the Democratic Union of Albanians (DUA) said that he does not want the principle of one judge being from the ranks of minorities, and for them to agree among themselves, to happen again, and that he believes that now one judge should be from the ranks of the Bosniak people.

Nedović asked whether she should ask the existing judges about their nationality, religion, etc., so that they could agree on how to fill in the blanks.

Mugoša: I'm not interested in what you're telling EU partners about dialogue with the opposition, because there isn't one.

Boris Mugoša from the Social Democrats (SD) pointed out that the position left vacant by the retirement of Milorad Gogić has not been filled for 15 months, and that today the selection of the judge who should replace Dragana Đuranović is being discussed.

"I can't believe that you didn't have a single minute of formal talks with the opposition today. You know what happened with the signing of the agreement witnessed by the EU ambassador. You know what happened with the retirement of Judge Đuranović. I'm not interested in what you're telling EU partners about dialogue with the opposition, because there isn't one," he said.

As he added, if they choose two candidates today, they do not have an agreement with the opposition, and because of the BS's position, they do not have support for those candidates.

Popović: Novović is arresting on behalf of the ruling majority

Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) MP Sonja Popović said that at the session in December she warned that a constitutional coup was taking place, and that an open dictatorship was being implemented at this session.

"Who should we expect to initiate dialogue? What kind of profiles are these? These are profiles that have called into question the integrity of the European and Venice Commissions," she said, adding that Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novović is making arrests on behalf of the ruling majority.

As she pointed out, if the Constitutional Court "also aligns itself with the ruling majority, Montenegro as a state governed by the rule of law will cease to exist."

Boris Pejović (PES) pointed out that they are not a party that casts a net among minority peoples, and that they had no problem voting for someone because they were Albanian, and they would not vote for someone because they were Bosniak, Montenegrin, Serb...

Popović pointed out that 98 percent of citizens responded in a survey that politics, not profession, would be considered in the selection of judges.

"Your ratings are falling and you, not knowing how to stop it, are carrying out this brutal political showdown with those who disagree with you, and by that you mean not only the opposition but also the mimers, the NGO sector, the media," she pointed out.

Pejović responded that he was not referring to media research, but to the media freedom index in which Montenegro has progressed since the fall of DPS.

He pointed out that "the Venice Commission has nowhere said that a 'constitutional coup' was carried out."

Popović read the response from the Venice Commission, which states that "the decision was not in accordance with the Constitution," and that the government has the responsibility to initiate dialogue.

Mugoša: The essence of the norm is that, if candidates have similar references, their belonging to a minority people should be taken into account

Vladimir Bakrač (PES) asked Adrović whether the article of the law he is referring to is satisfied by the fact that one judge of the Constitutional Court is Albanian.

Mugoša announced that, according to the law, there can be seven Bosniaks, Albanians or Montenegrins if they are competent, but that the essence of the norm is that, if candidates have similar references, their belonging to a minority people should be taken into account.

Adrović called on PES to support a candidate from the Bosniak community who has good references, to which Pejović responded that, as a party, they had agreed on two candidates that they would announce later, but that they would have no problem if the president also proposed two candidates from among the Bosniak people.

The BS MP pointed out that they have been advocating for this principle for years, and that others know their position.

Pejović announced that BS has not declared who their candidate is, and that many members of the Islamic faith identify as Albanians, Montenegrins...

Adrović said that their candidate is Nerma Dobardžić, and that he will comment on Milatović's proposals when they come to the agenda.

Aleksandra Vuković-Kuč (DPS) stated that today's debate went in the wrong direction.

As she added, the Constitutional Court will be the political whip of this government, and the test will show whether the government ever had the intention of bringing Montenegro into the EU.

She pointed out that, instead of references, the candidate's nationality is being discussed, but that she must not explain to minority peoples what their affirmative action is.

Vuković-Kuč added that "our country is a tunnel."

"A tunnel dug by your counterintelligence service, which you allowed access to and which dictates your agenda. A tunnel where today those you elected as the majority are completing a court case where no one is guilty, not those who dug it, nor those who should have prevented the diggers," said Vuković Kuč.

Nedović said that today "PES is being held accountable for what DPS left them with."

"The people don't have the memory of a fish. If the people do, I don't. Today, someone is telling us how to talk about minorities... I'm shocked where we are. Here we are looking at correspondence where it is said that 50 volunteers are ready to kill those who disagree with us. Is that democracy? That's a tunnel, Mrs. Vuković Kuč," she pointed out.

Vuković Kuč: I am not someone who will defend corruption, I am asking for a fair trial and humane arrest

Vuković Kuč pointed out that Predrag Bošković has been released, but that she is not someone who will defend corruption, but rather is asking for a "fair trial and humane arrest."

She added that they do not bid with correspondence published on the Libertas portal, which mentions the ruling majority's actors, because they respect the presumption of innocence. Nađa Laković (PES) announced that, as far as she is concerned, the candidates Jovanović and Dobaržić have stood out, but that she would also support Radović.

"We need to pay attention to expertise, because this is one of the most important functions in the state," she said.

Andrija Nikolić (DPS) said that "we are living in a time of deep crisis of political governance."

"The representatives of the parliamentary majority are most responsible for the constitutional crisis because they bear the greatest responsibility. Why? Because I think you perceive responsibility as exclusively party spoils and because we are discussing which party quota the candidate should come from," he said. As he added, the crisis has been going on since the summer of last year, when Gogić became eligible for retirement.

"The Venice Commission said that the Parliament was obliged to respect the procedure when retiring a judge of the Constitutional Court. This is a milder form, but it was said that the procedure was violated," he said, adding that laws cannot be implemented without the Constitutional Court. He said that they also expect the EU Delegation to take its share of responsibility. "Someone has committed to do something by signing, but is still not implementing what is their obligation. I am primarily referring to the Prime Minister and the parliamentary majority who must return the situation to the beginning in this committee, that is, to return the retired judge to work and to continue implementing the recommendations of the Venice Commission in regular procedures, which, among other things, relate to a clearer positioning of certain norms on the Law on Pensions and the Law on Labor when it comes to the retirement of judges of the Constitutional Court," he announced. Nikolić added that "the attitude of the ruling majority is irresponsible" towards the President of Montenegro, and that they are obliged to hold a session and declare themselves, and not to deny a quorum. He pointed out that in 2013 the Constitution was amended to allow judges to be elected by a qualified majority, which meant that the opposition had to be included, and that the opposition Positive Montenegro and the Socialist People's Party voted for it at the time. "The situation is clear here. The two largest parties in power have their favorites and it is difficult to make an agreement on which two candidates will be elected in the first round, and not to offer some kind of trade-off to those who need to provide support for the vote in parliament. It is burning underfoot, you have stopped some procedures and now you have remembered after 15 months that (European Commission President) Ursula von der Leyen is coming in 10 or 15 days, so it should be said that an initiative has been launched to fill the Constitutional Court. And the Constitutional Court is in crisis, it is already functioning on the verge of a quorum because we have four active judges, one of whom has to retire by the end of the year," he announced, adding that he will not participate in the election, although some candidates have good biographies. Chairwoman Jelena Božović from New Serbian Democracy said that out of the 13 candidates, all meet the requirements, and that it is not right for the DPS to assess that none of them are competent without prior agreement with them. She added that she asked each candidate whether they were members of political parties. "Citizens expect those who participated in criminal acts to be convicted. You had different arguments as to why you did not want to elect judges, that the Constitution was violated even though the Venice Commission did not say so, but that the procedure was violated," she said, adding that during the DPS government, Chapter 23 - Judiciary and Fundamental Rights - was not closed. Nikolić pointed out that he had said "that among the candidates there are those who could be judges of the Constitutional Court, but that it is a matter of procedure." With eight votes in favor and one against, the Constitutional Committee proposed Jovan Jovanović to the plenum for judge of the Constitutional Court, and Mirjana Radović with one less in favor.