Compromises postponed the election of a new acting VDT

Although there was a possibility that the prosecutor's organization would be left without an acting supreme state prosecutor, this did not happen because a compromise was made at the constituent session of the Prosecutor's Council, so that prosecutor Dražen Burić would remain in the acting mandate until February 5, when a new one should be elected. acting VDT.

The Prosecutor's Council made a decision, obliging the TS Secretariat to immediately publish an invitation to interested candidates, who meet the legal requirements, to submit applications within the next five days, so that the members of the new convocation could choose a new acting VDT- a, whose mandate will be limited until a new Supreme State Prosecutor is elected.

At one of the most interesting sessions of the Prosecutor's Council, where for almost three hours very sharp opinions were exchanged between members of the prosecution on one side and representatives of NGOs, distinguished lawyers and the Ministry of Justice on the other, so that the decision was made that the prosecutor of the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office Đurđina Nina Ivanović will be the deputy president of TS until a new acting VDT is elected.

Acting VDT Dražen Burić used the opportunity to emphasize that "his mandate as acting VDT is being forcibly terminated, because according to the old Law on the State Prosecutor's Office, he was designated as acting until the election of a new VDT". He also expressed a firm position that he would not allow the other members of the TS to state the termination of his acting mandate, without first appointing a new acting VDT from the prosecutor's organization...

I'm conducting a maneuver

The Constitutive Session of the TS began with the request of a member from the ranks of distinguished lawyers, Siniša Gazivoda, who immediately requested to change the proposed agenda, thus thwarting the possibility but also the desire of the representative of the TS from the prosecution to elect a new acting VDT yesterday. because he requested that the invitation be issued as soon as possible in order to "encourage the candidates to apply for the umbrella position in the prosecutor's organization".

"Taking into account our legal obligation from Article 184c of the Law on the State Prosecutor's Office, to appoint the acting VDT at the first session, and especially taking into account that there is a legal gap in how to fulfill that legal obligation, the question arises as to how we will do it . There are several possible models, some of which would be that we all propose one or three candidates, conditionally speaking, but that would open up a somewhat justified criticism, and perhaps create doubts about the integrity of the newly constituted TS, and that, I believe, is not for any of in our favor. The question would be how do we know that any proposed candidate, first of all, meets the requirements, and then if we determine him and inform him that he has been elected, whether that person agrees and what to do if he is not. The question would be whether we remembered all the quality candidates, primarily from the prosecutor's organization, and gave them a chance, or whether the acting VDT is determined only from a pool of individuals, who are known or recognized by someone from TS. The question would also be raised as to whether there were any negotiations, agreements or lobbying outside the TS session, which would be, I believe, very embarrassing for each of us. That is why I believe that it is necessary to make the procedure transparent, to carry it out in accordance with the principle of integrity, to enable some kind of competitiveness and to fill the legal gap by issuing an invitation that would be of a consultative nature, and from which we would see which persons are interested in temporarily performing this duty", suggested Gazivoda.

He emphasized that TS does not have a legal norm indicating that it is necessary to do so, but that it would be the beginning of "creating good practice".

"A special norm, which says that some other model should be applied, also does not exist. After all, we also have one of the basic constitutional principles that allows everything that is not prohibited by the Constitution and the law", said Gazivoda.

More candidates, longer deadline for selection

Prosecutor Ivanović opposed that proposal, stressing that such a thing would be illegal.

"Our task is simple, to elect the acting VDT today, it will certainly be for a short period of time. If they were to adopt Gazivoda's proposal, then they would be engaging in illegal behavior and it would all be improvisation," Ivanović said.

The proposal of lawyer Gazivoda was supported by TS member from NGO Stevo Muk, explaining that "he is reasonable and can help everyone".

"I don't see anything illegal in this proposal, because I believe that with this invitation, we would get a wider range of candidates, but also a deadline for us to think about it a bit", said Muk.

Gazivoda's proposal was not approved by Acting VDT Burić, who raised several questions - what a public invitation would look like, because there is no legal norm for announcing a public invitation for the acting VDT in the Law on Prosecution or the Rules of Procedure of the TS.

"I have nothing against choosing here transparently, but let me know how to write that public invitation. The law determined the agenda - at the constitutive session, a new acting director of the VDT is appointed and the termination is noted. I have nothing against if there is a solution to see biographies, but that is not regulated by the law and rules of procedure, so the question is whether it is legal", warned Burić.

He reminded that earlier on several occasions the TS appointed the acting VDT, and then he referred to numerous legal norms that were written in the amendments to the Law on the State Prosecutor's Office, which entered into force in June last year.

"Article 48, we from the prosecutor's organization consider that article to be completely unconstitutional and that is why we have submitted a proposal to the Constitutional Court for the evaluation of such a decision, we have also informed all international institutions because we believe that it is in contradiction with the Constitution, which states that the duties of prosecutors and managers prosecutions can only be performed by state prosecutors in accordance with Article 135 of the Constitution. "The acting VDT cannot be appointed outside the prosecution organization, and this is clearly stated in Article 78 of the Law on State Prosecution, which refers to the oath, because in order for someone to be a prosecutor, he must be elected, not appointed," said Burić.

A break calmed the passions

After a 15-minute break, passions seemed to calm down, so that the initial tense atmosphere between the prosecutors and the other members of the TS became calmer, so the continuation of the session was in the spirit of compromise on both sides.

Gazivoda's proposal was supported by TS members Miloš Vuksanović, Filip Jovović, Boris Marić and Borivoje Đukanović, who emphasized that "legal norm 184 c of the State Prosecutor's Office Act is conceptually and etymologically incomplete".

"In order for someone to be determined, he must be proposed. That's why I agree with my colleagues, because why should they blindly follow what is written in the norm. What colleague Gazivoda emphasizes is transparency, I think that all this is in the function of strengthening the work of this TS, and that is what the public expects from us. These are the most necessary things, and for us they are imperative, legal and constitutional, and no one has the right to turn their back on it," said Đukanović.

In the end, an amended agenda was adopted, with four points, as proposed by Siniša Gazivoda, so it was agreed that by the next session on February 5, personnel biographies of all prosecutors, who have the conditions to enter the election for acting VDT, will be obtained , but also to avoid the possibility of choosing someone who already has the legal conditions for an old-age pension.

The continuation of the constitutive session is scheduled for February 5 at 11 am.