Dukaj reiterates that Delić must go

Minister of Public Administration Marash Dukaj He reiterated the legal position that the Law on Local Self-Government regulates the issue of the termination of the mandate of the first man of Mojkovac. Vesko Delić, who was finally convicted of abuse of official position, emphasizing that this regulation has the status of lex specialis, i.e. an act that takes precedence over the Criminal Code (CC).

Dukaj stated this in the explanation he submitted the day before yesterday (September 9) to the Municipality of Mojkovac and the head of the local parliament. Marko Janketić, who asked him to comment on the act of Delić's lawyer Artan Kurti, which demands that the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) suspend the procedure in which it asks the local assembly to declare the termination of the mandate of the mayor of Mojkovac due to a suspended sentence for abuse of office.

Kurti claims that the Law on Local Self-Government cannot be interpreted in such a way that a suspended sentence automatically results in the loss of office, if such an effect is not expressly prescribed by law, because, he believes, this would circumvent the Criminal Code.

In his response, which was seen by "Vijesti", Dukaj referred to the position of the Supreme Court of 28 June 2013, in which, based on the provisions of Article 115, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code, the judges took the view that, when a special law prescribes the consequences of a final conviction, that law applies (as a lex specialis).

At the end of July, a final verdict of the Higher Court in Podgorica became effective, finding Delić guilty of the continued criminal offense of abuse of office, because in 2022 he appointed the heads of the Municipal Police and the Protection and Rescue Service in Mojkovac without a competition and even though he knew that they did not meet the legal requirements for those positions.

Dukaj's department subsequently assessed that, since the suspended sentence for abuse of office had become final, Delić's mandate had automatically ended by force of law, which is why it recommended that the Mojkovac Municipal Assembly (MA) formally state this as soon as possible.

Delić's lawyer, Artan Kurti, told "Vijesti" that the Ministry could not resolve the issue of the termination of the municipal president's mandate by simply invoking the principle of lex specialis, because, he claims, this does not provide an answer to the question of the application of Article 115, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code.

"If the termination of the mandate under Article 65 of the Law on Local Self-Government qualifies as a legal consequence of a conviction, then the explicit prohibition under Article 115, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code must be respected, according to which the legal consequences of a conviction cannot occur when an irrevocable suspended sentence has been pronounced. If, however, it is claimed that the termination of the mandate under Article 65 is not a legal consequence of a conviction within the meaning of Articles 115-117 of the Criminal Code, then it must be explained on what legal basis the consequence consisting precisely in the termination of the performance of a public function is excluded from the material scope of Article 116, paragraph 1, item 1 of the Criminal Code," Kurti emphasized, explaining that "the designation lex specialis cannot replace the answer to this question."

Kurti reiterated that if unworthiness to hold office is determined as a consequence of a final criminal conviction, then it is a legal consequence of the conviction in a material sense, so, as he claims, the restriction from Article 115, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code must be applied.

The repeated legal position of the Minister of Public Administration arrived while the supervision of the MPA in the Mojkovac Municipal Assembly is still ongoing, in order to determine whether the local parliament acted on his earlier recommendation to conclude the termination of Delić's mandate.

The Ministry recommended to the Mojkovac parliament and its head to obtain the judgments of the High and Appellate Courts as soon as possible and determine the exact date of their finality, adopt an act stating the termination of Delić's mandate by force of law, ensure the conditions for the deputy mayor appointed by the municipal assembly to temporarily perform the function of president, and elect a new mayor no later than 30 days from the date of the finality of the judgment.

"Vijesti" announced at the end of August that the MPA can immediately introduce compulsory administration in Mojkovac, because the verdict against Delić has been final since June 12, which means that, considering that the MPA believes that his mandate ended at that time, the 30-day deadline within which the Mojkovac parliament was supposed to elect a new mayor or shorten its mandate has expired.

The Ministry assessed that Delić was unworthy of the position.

In the administrative supervision report published on August 22, the Ministry explained that it believes that Delić's final conviction - although he was not given an unconditional sentence - constitutes grounds for the termination of his mandate, because the illegality of the criminal offense for which he was convicted stems "precisely from the abuse of official powers entrusted to the perpetrator for the purpose of performing a public function."

"Therefore, this is a criminal offense that is directly related to the performance of the function of the mayor and which, due to its nature, may constitute grounds for the conclusion that the holder of the function has become unworthy of further performing it," reads the finding published by "Vijesti".

After the verdict, Delić said that his conscience is clear, and after the MPA's findings - that the document is legally unfounded and par excellence political, adding that this department wants to take over the jurisdiction of the judiciary.