When it comes to the election of judges of the Constitutional Court, MPs and their parties are not interested in the rule of law, respect for the Constitution and EU integration, the Office of the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, announced today.
"The Parliament of Montenegro today once again postponed the vote on the election of Predrag Krstonijević as a judge of the Constitutional Court, although an extraordinary session was convened on February 10 precisely to decide on this issue. The agenda was adopted then, the vote was postponed to February 17, and today it was postponed once again without a clear explanation. This is another postponement at a time when the Constitutional Court is a key institution for the stability of the legal system. A functional and fully staffed Constitutional Court is directly linked to chapters 23 and 24, which relate to the rule of law, justice, the fight against corruption and organized crime. Without the full capacity of the Constitutional Court, there is no closure of these chapters and no serious progress in European integration," the statement states.
Milatović's office added that they had completed their work, that they had "announced a competition and proposed to the Parliament of Montenegro the best candidate for a judge of the Constitutional Court."
"We even scheduled an extraordinary session of the Parliament, because the MPs did not want to do that either. Now the responsibility lies with the MPs and their party leaders. At the same time, the Parliament has shown that it can make decisions without delay when it suits the interests of the MPs and their parties. 25 laws were adopted in 30 minutes without the MPs reading the laws and without debate. However, when it comes to the election of Constitutional Court judges, the MPs and their parties are not interested in the rule of law, respect for the Constitution and EU integration," the statement reads.
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The Office of the President of Montenegro said that citizens demand that institutions work, but also political responsibility, to make decisions in the interest of all citizens.
"Montenegro's European path is daily work, consistency and respect for the Constitution. The election of judges of the Constitutional Court must be completed without further delay. This is an obligation towards the legal order, towards citizens and towards the strategic goal of Montenegro becoming a well-organized European state based on the rule of law," the statement reads.
"Vijesti" announced earlier today that MPs will not vote today on the proposal of President Jakov Milatović to elect Predrag Krstonijević as a judge of the Constitutional Court.
According to information from "Vijesti", the head of parliament, Andrija Mandić, asked for more time to continue the talks.
Seven days ago, on February 10, the Assembly established the agenda for an extraordinary session, scheduled at Milatović's request, in which they are to vote again on his proposal.
The agenda was then adopted unanimously, by the votes of 50 deputies.
"Fifty is a number that is higher than enough to elect a judge of the Constitutional Court," said Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić at the time, adding that MPs would vote on the president's proposal at a later date.
Krstonijević did not receive the required majority in the first round of voting, on December 31, 2025. At that time, 25 MPs supported his election, while 20 abstained. The election of a Constitutional Court judge requires a qualified majority, i.e. the support of two-thirds of all MPs (at least 54 votes) in the first round.
In the second round of voting, he needs the support of three-fifths of MPs, or 49 votes.
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