GI May 21: Supreme Court judges, in addition to undermining European integration, showed a worrying irresponsibility

The fact that at the General Session of the Supreme Court of Montenegro for the eighth time in a row no candidate for the president of the highest judicial instance in the country was proposed represents a devastating and compromising message, the Citizens' Initiative (GI) announced on May 21.

"In this way, the judges of the Supreme Court, in addition to undermining European integration, once again showed a worrying irresponsibility. The inability to determine a candidate for the president of the Supreme Court in a long period of time and thereby enable the Judicial Council to end the election process once and for all is not only depressing, but also confirmation of bad regulation and even worse relations in the highest judicial instance in the country. Obvious obstruction and animosity among judges worsens the situation in the judiciary and rightly raises the question of the necessity of radical reforms in the judiciary," the GI statement on May 21 points out.

They added that it is becoming clear that it is necessary to abolish all legal norms that prevent the broad competition of the legal profession, and that in the vertical of judicial authorities.

"At the same time, ineffective disciplinary procedures and the absence of adequate sanctions indicate the need for vetting and re-election in the judiciary. The Montenegrin judiciary is increasingly becoming a barrier to the Montenegrin path to the EU, which calls for a more radical systemic and personnel approach. It is high time to take decisive legislative and institutional steps in in the direction of eliminating irresponsibility, incompetence, inefficiency, politicization and corruption in the judiciary," the GI said on May 21.

They stated that the state has no meaning if it does not rest on the rule of law, and that, as they said, implies the removal of a good part of the current judicial and prosecutorial staff, as well as the urgent adoption of regulations aligned with the long-obstructed recommendations of the Venice Commission.

"Because with this kind of judiciary and with this kind of political class, Montenegro compromises its pro-European policy, which will lead us to a situation where we are among the worst countries in Europe. And because of this, the social mission advocated by GI on May 21, offering 'an angry remedy for bitter wound'", the statement concludes.