Milović insults Pavličić, pays 500 euros

The Podgorica Misdemeanor Court fined the former Minister of Justice Andrej Milović 500 euros for insulting the President of the Supreme Court on social media Valentina Pavličić.

The court ruling, issued on March 19, states that at the end of January last year, Milović posted a comment on Facebook and X in which he allegedly grossly insulted Pavličić. It was determined that he committed a violation of the Law on Public Order and Peace.

The decision, which was accessed by "Vijesti", states that Milović posted a post on social media titled "response to Valentina Vesnina and Pažinova Pavličić", insulting the head of the judiciary by writing in the published text: "she blew Vesni Medenici (former President of the Supreme Court), Zoran I know (former Minister of Justice) and others... although she was ready to blow me off like them, she should be the President of the Supreme Court because this era of chameleons, cheaters and liars, needs to have real representatives for such an era."

It is added that Pavličić saw and read the disputed post, and that, given that it concerns a public figure (Milović), it was also carried by certain portals.

Milović can appeal the decision of the Misdemeanor Court to the Higher Misdemeanor Court.

In February last year, the police filed a misdemeanor charge against Milović for, as they stated at the time, committing a misdemeanor under the Law on Public Order and Peace (Article 7, paragraph 2) - insulting and insolent behavior.

The statement said that the Podgorica police acted on a report against Milović for insults directed at Pavličić, which he posted on his social media accounts.

Milović said at the time that the report against him was "a classic example of using one's position to intimidate someone."

"To be honest, the complaint against me was filed by Valentina Vesnina and Pažinova Pavličić, through their lawyer. Mitra Sušić, a councilor of the DF (Democratic Front), i.e. ZBCG (“For the Future of Montenegro”). After taking a statement from me, the Police Directorate forwarded the case to the Court of Misdemeanors, so that the legal battle between her (Pavličić) and me could continue there, and then, of course, to the media, so that those who currently run the security sector could continue to wage a media campaign against me, even though I am now just a citizen,” he wrote on X.

Milović claimed that this was an "order from the top".

"This is a classic example of using one's position to intimidate someone and prevent them from responding to the insults they have been hearing for a year. I'm just afraid they missed the mark. But, to each their own, this won't last forever, and the 'top' will one day be once again only citizens who need to come out among the people," he said.

Milović has been the Minister of Justice in the Government since October 2023. However, he held that position for slightly less than a year because he was dismissed in July 2024 during the reconstruction of the executive branch, and after a political split with the Prime Minister. Milojko Spajić.

He was expelled from Spajić's Europe Now Movement (PES), of which he was a member of the presidency, a few months before the reconstruction, due to the party's dissatisfaction with his work, as well as his public appearances.

Before that, he was one of the most prominent officials of PES and, briefly, a member of the Parliament. After parting ways with that party, he continued his political activity as an independent actor. He led the Podgorica List in the elections in the capital on 29 September 2024, but it did not enter the local parliament (it did not pass the threshold).

Resigned from office at Milović's suggestion

Pavličić was elected President of the Supreme Court at the end of November 2024. Before that, she was the representative of Montenegro before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The government dismissed her from her position as a member of parliament in February 2024, and appointed her to that position. Katarina Pekovic. This was done at the suggestion of Milović. Previously, the executive branch adopted amendments to the Regulation on the Representative and limited his mandate to a maximum of two four-year terms. Thus, Pavličić, who was elected to that position in September 2015, ended her mandate on the day of the election of the new representative.

In June 2024, the Administrative Court found that the Government's decision to terminate Pavličić's mandate was unlawful. The Court, as it was announced at the time, first determined that the Government, when issuing the decision, violated the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Article 22, paragraph 7), "given that the explanation did not provide clear and complete reasons that would indicate that the administrative matter in question was resolved in a lawful manner, bearing in mind that the explanation of the decision only cited the proposal of the Minister of Justice, which was submitted to the Government"...

Pavličić then told "Vijesti" that the Administrative Court's decision was "the only possible one from the standpoint of legality and legal sustainability."

"This decision represents a good example of control by the executive branch and irresponsible individuals. Here I am primarily referring to the Minister of Justice (Milović) as the initiator and legal author of the illegal act, who in this way attempted to suspend the legal order and applicable regulations and replace it with his arbitrary, irresponsible and self-interested actions," she stated.

After the Administrative Court's decision, the editorial office also contacted Milović because he had proposed changes to the decree under which Pavličić was dismissed, but he referred the paper to the Government and its General Secretariat, saying that this was within their jurisdiction. When asked if he had proposed changes to the decree, he said that was true, but that the decision was written by the General Secretariat.

"The regulation was changed by the Government, and the Ministry of Justice proposed candidates for representatives," he added.

Shortly after the Administrative Court's decision, the Constitutional Court issued a decision to repeal the amended Regulation on the Representative, assessing that by its legal nature, as an act for the enforcement of the law and, in this specific case, the Constitution, it must be in accordance with the highest legal act, and that it cannot "go against" the Constitution.

At the end of last year, after conducting a competition, the government appointed Mirko Đuković for the protector of Montenegro before the Court in Strasbourg.