"Elect judges without delay": European Commission calls for urgent filling of Constitutional Court

The European Union expects Montenegro to appoint three judges to the Constitutional Court, without further delay, through a transparent and merit-based selection process, the European Commission (EC) said.

The EC told Vijesti, regarding the failure to elect judges in the Parliament last week, that a fully functional and independent Constitutional Court is essential for protecting citizens' rights and preserving the rule of law and democratic stability.

"It is also of key importance for Montenegro's path towards accession to the European Union," the EC said.

Although the EC has sent such messages before, none of the three candidates received the required two-thirds support of MPs in the Parliament last week.

On October 14, MPs voted for candidates for the Constitutional Committee - Deputy Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms Mirjana Radović and a judge of the Higher Court in Podgorica Jovan JovanovicPresident of the country Jakov Milatovic proposed a lawyer for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court Mirjana Vučinić.

16 opposition MPs (Democratic Party of Socialists and Social Democrats) and independent MPs voted for Vučinić's election. Jevrosima Pejović i Radinka Ćinćur, while 44 government representatives abstained. The MPs of the URA GP did not participate in the vote for the judges. Some government representatives resented Vučinić for being Bemaks' lawyer.

Jovanović's election was supported by 45 members of the majority, while 1 was against. Admir Adrović from the Bosniak Party (BS), while five of his party colleagues abstained.

For Radović, who was criticized by some for not having a bar exam, 44 majority MPs voted, one was against (Adrović), and five abstained (BS).

According to the Constitution, the election of judges of the Constitutional Court requires a two-thirds majority in the Assembly, or 54 votes, and if this is not achieved, a second round is held, in which the election requires the support of three-fifths of the deputies (49). Given that the candidates did not receive the required majority in the first round, the second round will be held in a month at the earliest.

The Constitutional Court currently has four out of the seven judges that the institution is supposed to have. The Constitutional Committee announced the election of two judges on December 23 last year and heard all the candidates in mid-March, but nominated them in early October. In the meantime, the head of state has announced a new announcement for the election of one judge, as Judge Desanka Lopičić's term expires at the end of the year.

At Milatović's request, an extraordinary session of the Parliament was scheduled for September 15th, at which the deputies were supposed to vote on his candidate, whom he had proposed in May. However, the agenda was not adopted.

After that, the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro instructed the state parliament to elect the missing judges of the Constitutional Court in October.

In the second round of voting, the candidates could receive the support of the GP URA MPs, the party announced unofficially.

Interlocutors of "Vijesti" recently said that there were talks between the Europe Now Movement (PES) and the GP URA ahead of the parliamentary debate. One source said that an agreement could be reached if the Parliament passes some laws proposed by the URA.

"Vijesti" sources claim that there are minimal chances that the majority will vote for Milatović's candidate in the second round.

President of the Parliament of Montenegro Andrija Mandic He told RTCG last week that he is optimistic about the election of Constitutional Court judges, and that he expects that at least two candidates proposed by parliament will be elected, "and there is also a chance that the presidential candidate will receive support."

Abazović: We will express our opinion on the candidates in an extremely correct manner

GP URA leader Dritan Abazović said yesterday that the candidates for the Constitutional Court will be declared "extremely correctly" and that the party bodies will decide.

"I can't believe that people without a bar exam are being nominated as judges. I'm expressing my opinion, it's possible that some of my colleagues don't share it. If someone who can't be in the Basic Court can be in the Constitutional Court, let's elect doctors and economists," Abazović said at a press conference.

He said that the URA will not be an obstacle to Montenegro joining the EU.

"Our interest is for Montenegro to become a member as soon as possible, so we will make a statement accordingly. It is premature to talk about that," added Abazović.

As he pointed out, "maybe the Electric Power Company of Montenegro will be part of the agreement for the Constitutional Court."

The board of the state-owned company on Tuesday dismissed executive director Ivan Bulatović and appointed Bojan Đordan as acting director.

"As far as we are concerned, when the vote for Constitutional Court judges comes, the party bodies will be in session," he concluded.