The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption forwarded a new report to the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) regarding the referral of a judge from the Nikšić court. Mirza Ademović in the Podgorica Basic Court.
According to the knowledge of "Vijesti", the application refers to the fact that the judge allegedly acted illegally contrary to the Law on the Judicial Council and Judges, the Law on Courts and acts of state institutions.
The news asked Judge Ademović whether and how many cases he handled from the Basic Court in Nikšić even after transferring to the Basic Court Podgorica on May 18, 2022, and, if so, why.
"I am of the opinion that I am not called upon in the sense of the Code of Ethics to answer the above questions, but that the same is within the jurisdiction of the Basic Court in Nikšić, the Basic Court in Podgorica, the Judicial Council and the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption," Ademović replied to "Vijesta".
According to the decision of the president of the Basic Court in Nikšić Vukota Vujačić from June 7, 2022, the cases in which Ademović acted, as well as his colleague Vanja Vujović, who were referred to the Basic Court in Podgorica by the decision of the Judicial Council, were assigned to the work of other judges.
"All the hearings that were scheduled in those cases, in the period from June 7, 2022 onwards, are postponed until the further decision of the court. The parties and their attorneys will be informed in a timely manner about the new dates of the hearing for the main hearing," Vujačić's decision states.
The Basic Court in Nikšić announced today that Judge Ademović, at the time of passing and announcing the verdict on June 9, 2022, "was a judge of the Basic Court in Nikšić".
"... Who, only after the conclusion of the main hearing in the aforementioned civil proceedings, was temporarily assigned to perform the function of a judge in the Basic Court in Podgorica by decision of the Judicial Council of Montenegro. Therefore, according to all valid procedural and material provisions of our legislation, judge Mirza Ademović of the verdict of the Basic Court in Nikšić P. No. 1310/20 of 09.06.2022/11/1, he was authorized to make the said decision and his actions in the given situation were in accordance with the law. That judge Mirza Ademović in the specific case did not make the decision within the legal deadline in the aforementioned case, there would be a violation of the provisions of Article 340 paragraph 2 and Article XNUMX paragraph XNUMX of the Law on Civil Procedure and thus a gross violation of the rights of the parties in the proceedings," the Nikšić Basic Court states.
Ademović, who at that moment was already in the Basic Court in Podgorica, two days after that decision, delivered a verdict in the case from the Basic Court in Nikšić, which was later annulled by the Higher Court. The Judicial Council previously said that they received a statement from Ademović that he remained in charge of the cases in which the proceedings led to a judgment (cases in which the main hearing was concluded), so there were no legal obstacles to completing them, because by function "he was still a judge of the Basic Court in Nikšić".
The day before yesterday, KAS instructed "Vijesti" to contact SDT for a specific case.
"In the applications it receives, the Agency assesses whether there are sufficient grounds for initiating a procedure for endangering the public interest that points to the existence of corruption. If in his work he finds that in the reports there are elements of a criminal offense, the prosecution of which is undertaken ex officio, in those situations he refers the cases to the competent prosecutor's office", writes the ASK in its response.
When asked what the aforementioned report refers to and whether they submitted another report to the SDT related to the judge, following the whistleblower's report, they also clarified what the role of the ASK is in such and similar cases.
"First of all, it is necessary to point out that the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption protects the public interest. Whistleblowers are persons who report certain anomalies in society. Their contribution to strengthening the integrity of both the public and private sectors, as well as the rule of law, is immeasurable, and the Agency is committed to encouraging citizens to report corrupt practices by providing them with full institutional protection," the response states.
According to the knowledge of "Vijesti", ASK is currently checking reports on income and property of judge Ademović. In his property records for the year 2022, it is stated that he received salaries for May and June at the Nikšić Basic Court, although he was referred to the Podgorica court on May 18. His colleague, Vanja Vujović, ASK reported that, since her referral in mid-May, she has been receiving her salary in the Basic Court of Podgorica, as prescribed by the decision of the Judicial Council.
KAS said that they are "checking the income and property reports of all judges, including Judge Ademović."
"Article 30 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption stipulates that the verification procedure is not available to the public," the ASK wrote in its response.
"Vijesti" previously announced that the SDT formed a criminal case based on the report of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption on the decision of the Judicial Council to send two judges of the Basic Court in Nikšić, Ademović and Vujović, to Podgorica.
"On September 4 of this year, the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption submitted to the Special State Prosecutor's Office a complaint regarding the decision of the Judicial Council to refer two judges of the Basic Court in Nikšić to the Basic Court in Podgorica, during the past year, on which a criminal case was established, in order to establish the grounds for suspicion that a criminal offense has been committed under its jurisdiction. The investigation is in progress," says the SDT's reply.
The Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) previously announced that they suspect that the Judicial Council is headed by the president Vesnom Simović Zvicer, contrary to the law, made a decision to send two judges of the Nikšić Basic Court to Podgorica. MANS claimed, among other things, that Ademović was permanently transferred to the court in Podgorica in accordance with the decision of the Judicial Council on May 18 last year, even though he did not meet the legal requirements.
MANS also pointed out that the Law stipulates that the Judicial Council compiles a list of candidates for appointment according to the results of work in the last three years, that is, "according to the evaluation of the work done by the judge in accordance with this law." Referring to the letter from the president of the Basic Court in Nikšić, MANS claimed that the judge could not be evaluated because he did not fulfill the requirement of three years of work in that court, since he started working on March 4, 2020, and on May 18 In 2022, he was transferred to the Basic Court in Podgorica.
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