Pavličić and Božović new representatives of Montenegro in the Venice Commission

The government today appointed the President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, Valentina Pavličić, as a member of the Venice Commission, while Bojan Božović, Minister of Justice, was appointed as a substitute member, it was confirmed to Vijesti from the Executive Branch.

It was explained that these appointments terminate the membership of the current representatives of Montenegro in the Venice Commission, Srđan Darmanović and Zoran Pažin.

The European Commission for Democracy through Law - better known as the Venice Commission because of its meetings in Venice, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe dealing with constitutional matters.

The Venice Commission was established by a decision of the Council of Europe on 10 May 1990, at the end of the so-called "Cold War", to respond to urgent questions that arose during the introduction of liberal democracy in countries that were abandoning socialism at that time - either through a peaceful transition of power in the context of democratic elections, or in the context of violent anti-communist revolutions.

The role of the Venice Commission is to provide advisory opinions to member states, and in particular to assist countries in transition to align their legal systems and institutional structures with European standards and international experiences in the areas of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Montenegro has been a member of the Council of Europe since 2007.