The draft law on local self-government, which the government approved last week, envisages the introduction of an unblocking mechanism to prevent the head of a local assembly from blocking its work by refusing to schedule a session.
This means that if an authorized proposer - the mayor, local parliament members or citizens whose number is determined by the municipal statute - requests a session, and the president of the assembly does not schedule it within the legal deadline, the requester can convene the session themselves.
In that case, the session would not be led by the head of parliament, but by a councilor designated by the initiator.
"This prevents the possibility of blocking the work of the assembly and ensures the smooth functioning of local government and the exercise of the rights of councilors and citizens," reads the explanation of the bill, which "Vijesti" had access to.
The proposal also regulates the manner of convening, holding and concluding sessions of the local parliament, with the stated aim of ensuring the continuity of the work of the representative body, the efficiency of decision-making and preventing institutional blockages.
The document stipulates that the assembly session is convened by its president as needed, and at least once every three months, on his own initiative, at the request of the mayor, at least a third of the councilors, or at the initiative of citizens, within 15 days of submitting the request or initiative.
From this provision, as stated in the proposal, it follows that the President of the Assembly does not have the discretionary right to decide whether to convene a session when the request has been submitted by authorized entities, but is obliged to do so within the legally prescribed deadline.
"This strengthens the principle of political accountability and enables more active participation of councilors, the executive branch, and citizens in the work of the representative body," the proposal's explanation reads.
End the session in two months
The document also states that, taking into account this legal solution, the parliament's professional service is obliged to provide professional, administrative and technical support even in the case of a session convened by an authorized initiator, in order to ensure the legal and unhindered holding of the session.
"Paragraph 6 further limits the possibility of postponing a session, by stipulating that the president of the assembly may postpone a session he has convened only in the event of a lack of a quorum for work, while in all other cases the decision to postpone is made by the assembly itself. In this way, arbitrariness in managing the work of the assembly is prevented and the autonomy of the representative body in deciding on its own work is strengthened," the bill states.
It further stipulates that a session of the local parliament must be held no later than 15 days from its convening, while a significant novelty is the obligation that the session must be concluded no later than two months from its convening.
"This solution clearly defines the time frame for the session for the first time and limits the possibility of its indefinite postponement or interruption," the explanation states.
The proposal stipulates that, in order to eliminate dilemmas from previous practice, a session is considered to have been held when all items on the proposed or established agenda have been decided.
"This implies that a specific decision must be made on each item, whether positive or negative. At the same time, this provision does not exclude the right of the proposer to, for justified reasons, withdraw an individual item from the agenda before a decision is made," it is emphasized.
The proposal states that, in order to prevent the parallel conduct of multiple unfinished sessions and the creation of legal uncertainty in the work of the assembly, it is stipulated that a new session cannot be convened until the previously convened one has been concluded.
"This contributes to a more efficient work of the assembly, greater legal certainty and a more orderly decision-making process," it added.
Annulment of acts from an illegal session
A particularly significant novelty is contained in the provision that stipulates that individual acts adopted at an unlawfully convened or held session are subject to mandatory annulment, in accordance with the law governing administrative procedure. This, as explained, further affirms the principle of legality and eliminates the legal consequences of acts adopted in unlawful proceedings.
"The essence of this article is to establish a clear system of institutional oversight over the legality of the work of the Parliament, while simultaneously preserving the autonomy of local self-government and providing effective mechanisms for protecting the constitutional and legal order," it explains.
The draft law provides for the establishment of mechanisms for monitoring the legality of convening and holding local assembly sessions, in accordance with the principles of constitutionality and legality. It is stipulated that the Ministry (of Public Administration), when it determines that a session has been convened or held in violation of the provisions of the law, shall warn the president of the assembly and order him to take measures within a certain period to establish the legal convening or holding of the session.
In this way, as stated, a preventive and corrective mechanism is established, which gives local self-government the opportunity to eliminate the identified illegalities on its own before taking stricter state supervision measures.
"If the President of the Assembly does not act on the Ministry's warning within the given deadline, the Ministry proposes to the Government to suspend the implementation of general acts adopted at such a session. This further strengthens the system of control over the legality of the work of the representative body and prevents the legal effect of acts adopted in a procedure contrary to the law," it says in the document that "Vijesti" had access to.
It also stipulates that the Government, after adopting a decision to suspend the execution of a general act, shall initiate proceedings for the assessment of constitutionality and legality before the Constitutional Court, no later than 30 days. This decision, as stated, ensures judicial control of the legality and constitutionality of local self-government acts, while respecting the principle of separation of powers and constitutional protection of local self-government.
"At the same time, it is stipulated that, if the Government does not initiate proceedings before the Constitutional Court within the given deadline, the suspended general act will be applied. In this way, a time limit is established for the duration of the suspension measure and legal certainty is ensured regarding the legal effect of local self-government acts," it added.
Medium-term work program of local government
The draft law envisages the introduction of a medium-term work program for local government, which is adopted for a period of up to four years.
This, as explained, establishes continuity in the planning of local government work and enables the linking of daily administration activities with the long-term development priorities of the local government unit.
"It is stipulated that the starting points for the preparation of the medium-term work program are economic policy measures, obligations arising from laws and strategic documents, the medium-term work program of the Government and the process of Montenegro's accession to the European Union. In this way, the alignment of local policies with development and strategic priorities at the state level, as well as with obligations from the European integration process, is ensured," the bill states.
If the parliament does not shorten its mandate, the government will decide.
The proposal approved by the Government envisages the introduction of a mechanism for overcoming the institutional blockade in the event that the mayor is not elected within the prescribed deadline.
In that case, upon the proposal of the Government or at least one councilor, the assembly is obliged to make a decision to shorten its mandate within 15 days of the expiration of the deadline for electing the president.
"If the assembly does not act in accordance with the law, the authority to make a decision to shorten the mandate passes to the Government, which at the same time appoints a board of trustees that will perform the functions of the assembly until the new assembly is constituted," the explanation reads.
The proposal states that the essence of this solution is to prevent long-term blockage of local government and ensure the functionality of the local self-government system in situations when it is not possible to form a stable executive authority.
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