Despite the launched investigation by the Special State Prosecutor's Office, the objections of European deputies and part of the Montenegrin public to the legality of the election of Judge Desanka Lopičić as the presiding judge, the Constitutional Court (US) rejected at the last session the requests of judges Milorad Gogić and Miodrag Iličković to start the procedure for the election of the president.
In the meantime, at the request of special prosecutor Veljko Rutović to provide documentation related to the criminal complaint filed by the Institute for the Rule of Law on the illegal election of Lopičićeva, former US President Dragoljub Drašković forwarded a copy of the Decision published in the "Official Gazette" and an interview with former colleague from Croatia, Jasna Omejec "Victory" in which she states that such a practice exists in that country.
The minutes of the session that was held on January 27 were adopted two days ago at the US session and were not submitted to the SDT until yesterday, as well as the audio recording of the sessions because each session is recorded, "Vijesti" learns.
Dragoljub Drašković's mandate expired on February 8, and since the first attempt failed to elect his successor, the majority of US judges voted for Lopičić as the presiding judge, even though that position does not exist in the Constitution, nor in the Law on the Constitutional Court.
The court referred to the practice from the earlier period when the president was elected by the Assembly and to the standards from the environment, although, as some lawyers stated, they are not the facts on the basis of which decisions are made.
Judge Milorad Gogić submitted a request to convene a session three times, but it has not yet happened. Earlier, the cabinet of the presiding judge replied to "Vijesti" that "the Constitutional Court...schedules and decides on issues within its jurisdiction according to the agenda that is determined directly at each specific session."
At the session on Thursday, such a proposal was rejected, so out of seven judges, only three voted for it - except for Gogić and Ilićković and judge Budimir Šćepanović, who was an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation into suspicions of the illegal election of Lopičić as chairman, it was confirmed earlier by "News" in SDT. They thus acted on the criminal report of the Institute for the Rule of Law, which stated that "a group of NN judges of the Constitutional Court elected a female judge to the non-existent position of presiding judge with the powers of the President of the Constitutional Court".
In the decision on his election, it is written that he is elected for a period of up to one year and that this should then create the conditions for the election of the president of the court. There is no such provision in the law and the Rules of Procedure of the US.
Yesterday, the US did not respond to questions regarding the rejection of the initiative for the election of the president of the court, as well as the submission of documentation to the SDT. According to "Vijesti" information, yesterday, Lopičić referred the judges to her predecessor on the subject, stating that she was not in charge of the court when the SDT approached for a request for documentation.
When asked if it is true that they received the newspaper text and decision from the "Official Gazette" instead of the minutes, the SDT replied that "the investigation into the case is ongoing".
Credit: Savo Prelevic
Caption: Omejec, Duško Marković and Lopičićeva (archive) - Photo: Savo Prelević
Credit: Savo Prelevic
Caption: Omejec, Duško Marković and Lopičić during the discussion on amendments to the law on the constitutional court (archive)
Photo: Savo Prelevic
Bonus video:
