The majority of citizens do not trust the independence of judges and the system of their selection and advancement, according to a survey conducted by the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI) and Action for Human Rights (HRA).
The survey "Attitudes of citizens on the judicial system in Montenegro" was conducted in March, as part of the project "Monitoring judicial reform in Montenegro" which CeMI and HRA jointly implement.
As announced at the presentation of the research, 52,6 percent of citizens over the age of 18 have confidence in the judicial system of Montenegro, 40,5 percent said they have no confidence, while 6,9 percent had no opinion on the matter.
Among the judicial institutions, notaries enjoy the greatest trust, with whom citizens were most often in contact, and who are mostly or completely trusted by 44,8 percent of respondents.
The fewest respondents expressed trust in mediators, with whom they had the least contact, so only 28 percent of respondents said that they had mostly to complete trust in that institution, while 17 percent said that they could not assess the level of trust in mediators, because there is not enough information.
The majority of respondents, 57,4 percent, believe that judges are not independent, 30,4 percent believe they are, and 12,2 percent have no opinion on the matter.
Of those who believe that judges are influenced, the majority stated that the decisions of judges are influenced by the government (58,4 percent), influential individuals (41,9 percent) and political parties (34,7 percent).
The vast majority of citizens, as many as 78,8 percent, believe that court processes take too long and that the courts are not efficient enough.
Almost half of the respondents believe that judges are not elected and do not advance according to their expertise, and those who hold this view state political ties and family-friendship ties as the main reasons.
When it comes to the state prosecutor's office, 46 percent of respondents believe that it is independent, 40 percent believe that it is not, and 14 percent have no opinion.
Of those who believe that the prosecutor's office is not independent, 75,3 percent believe that the decisions of the prosecutor's office are influenced by the executive power.
Half (50,3 percent) of the respondents believe that prosecutors still do not speak sufficiently in public and that they do not sufficiently explain their decisions.
About 68 percent of the respondents believe that the prosecution is slow and that it takes too much time to initiate proceedings.
The survey showed that there are divided views on whether prosecutors are selected and promoted based on expertise. Thus, 42 percent of respondents believe that prosecutors are not selected and promoted based on expertise, while 41 percent believe the opposite, and 17 percent of respondents do not have an opinion on this.
The research showed that citizens are mostly informed about the work of the judiciary and the prosecution through the media - television channels, printed editions of daily newspapers, information portals and radio, and a small number through the websites of the courts and prosecutor's offices.
The majority of citizens do not know that the Law on Free Legal Aid exists - 53 percent of respondents believe that it does not exist or that it is not certain that it exists.
"Since 2014, there has been no progress in being informed about it. That is why it is not surprising that the majority of citizens point out that they are not familiar with the rights they have under this law, even 78,7 percent of those surveyed", according to the survey.
During the presentation of the report, HRA Executive Director Tea Gorjanc Prelevic said that the majority of citizens do not have confidence in the independence of judges and the system of their election and advancement of judges.
"Prosecutors have somewhat greater confidence in independence and the election system. These two phenomena and perceptions are connected", said Gorjanc Prelevic.
According to her, a transparent and objective election system also means an important guarantee of the independence of judges and the impression of that independence.
"If judges are not selected solely on the basis of expertise, if they owe someone a debt of gratitude for being elected, and not just for their abilities, then they are more susceptible to influences, i.e. returning such favors." We hope that the citizens' perception will additionally influence the Judicial Council and the Prosecutor's Council to improve practice", said Gorjanc Prelevic.
She reminded that, last year alone, in as many as one-third of the decisions, the Judicial Council deviated from the ranking list of candidates that it formed by scoring the fulfillment of criteria and sub-criteria.
"Which does not contribute to confidence in the selection or independence of judges," added Gorjanc Prelevic.
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