Minister of Education Damir Šehović politically discriminated against Milena Mijović when he appointed Vuk Stanišić as the director of the "Đina Vrbica" kindergarten in July 2017. That was decided by the judge of the Basic Court of Danilovgrad, Nina Radunović, who annulled the competition for the election of the director, in order to remove the consequences of such actions of the state.
She ordered the state, the Ministry of Education, to publish the verdict at its own expense in one of the daily print media distributed on the territory of Montenegro, in the first subsequent issue after the verdict becomes final.
Yesterday, Radunović announced the verdict accepting Mijović's claim, arguing that the plaintiff, with the evidence offered, made it likely that she was discriminated against on the basis of political belief and political non-affiliation, and that because of this she was put in a disadvantageous position compared to the chosen candidate.
"The defendant did not provide any evidence to dispute that probability and prove the opposite - that there was no discrimination," the judge concluded.
The judge also wrote that it would be logical if Mijović was appointed to the position of director, or that there is a justified and objective reason for her non-election, that is, for the election of Stanišić.
"What was missing in the specific case also caused the court to believe that the plaintiff was not chosen as the director of the Public Prosecutor's Office 'Đina Vrbica' because of her personal characteristics - political opinion and conviction, that is, political non-affiliation and ineligibility. The defendant strengthened that belief by maintaining a passive attitude during the entire procedure, justifying herself with procedural obstacles, while not providing any evidence in the wrong direction," the explanation of the verdict reads.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Education replied to "Vijesti" that they had not officially received the verdict and therefore could not give a detailed comment, but announced that they would appeal the court's decision.
"We claim that Ms. Mijović was not discriminated against on any basis, and we reject such allegations with indignation," replied Šehović's department.
The judge reasoned that when deciding, they did not lose sight of the discretionary right of the Minister of Education to, based on Art. 80 st. 6 of the General Law on Education elects the director of a public institution:
"But even in the exercise of discretion, arbitrariness is excluded, as a way of decision-making that does not respect objective criteria. In the specific case, the minister's discretionary right to choose the director of a public institution at his own discretion is limited by the public interest, given that education and training in the sense of Art. 4 of the General Law on Education and Training Activities of Public Interest, which requires that a candidate be chosen who will most successfully perform the director's duties, and from the said decision it cannot be determined with certainty that this interest is satisfied by the election of candidate Vuk Stanišić", explained the judge.
In the verdict, he adds that the legality of the decision is called into question.
Radunović reasoned that the facts related to the plaintiff's political belief as a personal attribute, on the basis of which she claimed she was discriminated against, were determined by the court based on Mijović's testimony in connection with the other evidence presented:
"And I gave credence to her testimony, because it was not brought into doubt by the flat-out objections of the defendant, by the other evidence presented, or by the results of the discussion. On the contrary, with the statement of the defendant's legal representative from the hearing on February 28, 2018, the plaintiff's statement was confirmed in the part that refers to the fact that the Minister of Education offered her the position of assistant director or any other position in the Ministry of Education after making the decision on the selection. Mijović sued the state for discrimination on the basis of political affiliation, that is, lack of affiliation.
She requested that the decision on the election of Stanišić as the director of that public preschool institution be annulled and that the verdict be made public.
On July 5, 2017, the Ministry of Education chose Stanišić as the director of the Podgorica kindergarten, against the majority will of the Board of Directors and the children's parents.
The Ministry announced the appeal
Yesterday, the Ministry of Education replied to "Vijesti" that they had not officially received the verdict and therefore could not give a detailed comment.
"Regardless, the verdict, if your information is correct, is first-instance and non-final, and it goes without saying that we will appeal. We claim that Ms. Mijović was not discriminated against on any basis, and we reject such allegations with indignation," replied Šehović's department.
Radunović made a brave decision
Mijović said yesterday that she was not surprised by the court's decision in her favor, which proves that Šehović "perpetrated direct political discrimination" against her and prevented her from advancing at work.
"I express full support for the institutions of the system to prove their independence, integrity and strengthening of institutions in the direction of the rule of law in such cases.
In this political environment and at this political moment, Judge Nina Radunovic made an extremely brave decision, which started a necessary process of partisanization and professionalization of institutions in Montenegro. Also, she had enough personal and professional integrity to end this case in this way," said Mijović.
She thanked the ombudsman institution, especially Dina Knežević, who followed the court process and the media that reported on the trial and the "problem in general".
"I hope that my case will give strength to other employees and citizens to report political discrimination in employment, no matter which party or personality it comes from, and thus to fight for their rights and principles," said Mijović.
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