HRA: Parliament urgently needs to elect Constitutional Court judges, postponing the vote for three months is unacceptable

Human Rights Action (HRA) has expressed its protest over the fact that the issue of selecting candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro was not on the agenda of the Parliament of Montenegro today. The non-governmental organization (NGO) assessed that this once again confirmed that the selection of judges and the functioning of the Constitutional Court are not a priority for political actors.

"It is particularly worrying that, despite multiple appeals from representatives of the European Union on the necessity of ensuring the full composition of the Constitutional Court, as well as appeals from the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, to urgently include the election of judges on the agenda, the Parliament continues to ignore the need to decide on this. None of the proposals to amend the agenda for today's session contained this item," the HRA statement said.

The NGO says that political actors seem to be comfortable with the situation in which the court, due to its incomplete composition, cannot decide on the constitutionality of the Law on Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the United Arab Emirates, nor on other important constitutional issues.

"Even more dangerous is the possibility of avoiding preparations for the adequate conduct of democratic elections next year in this way. The incomplete composition of the Constitutional Court may lead to a situation in which it will not be possible to make final decisions on electoral disputes, and therefore not to declare the final election results. It is irresponsible and contrary to the general interest to postpone the re-voting for the candidate for judge Predrag Krstonijević for over three months, and to wait for the vote for the candidate Jelena Ružičić, who was proposed by the President of the State, for over two months. Their election would solve the problem - no argument that would challenge their expertise or credibility for performing the function of a judge of the Constitutional Court has been presented to date," the statement said.

The HRA stated that a complete and efficient Constitutional Court is necessary for the timely protection of citizens' rights guaranteed by the Constitution and for fulfilling Montenegro's obligations under Chapter 23.

"However, none of this is possible in a situation where one judge is definitely missing, while Judge Desanka Lopičić is performing her function unconstitutionally - she has long since fulfilled the conditions for retirement, which is why her function had to end, instead of being extended. The Parliament of Montenegro must stop this dangerous practice at its first subsequent session and vote on candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court without delay. Any further avoidance of decision-making will be yet another confirmation that the authorities prefer a weakened and incomplete Constitutional Court rather than an institution capable of effectively protecting the constitutional order and providing legal security to citizens in its full composition," the statement concludes.