The Venice Commission (VK), in its opinion on the Draft Amendments to the Law on the Judicial Council and Judges, did not question the role of the Minister of Justice in the Judicial Council, the Ministry of Justice announced.
From that government department, they said that the Cabinet of Ministers published an opinion on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the Judicial Council and Judges adopted at the Plenary Session, which was held on December 16 and 17 in Venice, in which the Minister of Justice Marko Kovač participated. .
The Ministry said that, according to the statement in the opinion, the presence of members of the executive branch does not impair the independence of the Judicial Council.
"The VK did not problematize the role of the Minister of Justice in the Judicial Council," the announcement states.
The Ministry of Justice said that, on the contrary, the Supreme Court believes that the Minister of Justice in such a body can be useful for creating a dialogue between different actors in the system.
As they stated, the Supreme Court specifically considered the new Article 35 of the Law, which establishes the procedure for electing the President of the Supreme Court.
"It was assessed that it is not within the mandate or scope of the Commission to evaluate the constitutionality of Article 35 of the Law or any other draft amendment," the statement said.
The Ministry said that, apart from the above, the opinion states that Article 124 of the Constitution does not further elaborate the proposal of the General Session of the Supreme Court.
As they stated, bearing in mind that the General Session of the Supreme Court can propose up to three candidates, that is, a maximum of three candidates, it seems that no encroachment on the constitutional prerogatives of the Supreme Court was observed.
"This Court reserves the right to nominate candidates for the Judicial Council, while retaining its prerogative to elect the president," the statement said.
The Ministry of Justice stated that the SC notes that this provision is in accordance with international standards.
As they said, within the opinion, the Supreme Court reminded that its jurisdiction is limited to assessing the compliance of the law with relevant international standards.
The Ministry said that, in this regard, it was ordered that the law in question solves the shortcomings that were observed in its practical application and that the reforms within the Montenegrin judiciary are going in the right direction.
"The European Commission for Democracy by Law hereby expresses the hope that its actions at such an early stage of the process will contribute to the best reform solutions," the announcement says.
As they said from that department, the Ministry of Justice was praised for conducting an inclusive, transparent and extensive public hearing on the subject of changes to the Law on the Judicial Council and Judges.
"On that side, the Commission is grateful to the Minister of Justice for the opportunity to be involved in the reform process of the Montenegrin judiciary, and at such an early stage of creating new normative solutions," the Ministry stated.
They added that the Ministry was praised for participating in the online meetings preceding the Plenary Session held last week in Venice.
"The mentioned online meetings with the experts of the Supreme Court were also attended by representatives of the Supreme Court, the Judicial Council, the professional association of judges, the Bar Association, representatives of the parliamentary majority and representatives of the parliamentary opposition and civil society," the statement says.
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