Action for Human Rights (HRA) announced that today it appealed to the president of the competent Parliamentary Committee for the Political System, Justice and Administration, Vladislav Bojović, to schedule a session of that committee and to put on its agenda the continuation of the procedure for electing the missing member of the Judicial Council and announcing advertisement for the election of the two missing members of the Prosecutor's Council.
"The Judicial Council has been missing one member for four months, since June 30, when lawyer Fikret Kurgaš died. The Judicial Council informed the Assembly about this on July 5. The Prosecutorial Council has been missing two members since lawyers Siniša Gazivoda and Miloš Vuksanović resigned. the first in mid-August, the second in early September. The Prosecutor's Council informed the Assembly about this on September 12 determined the list of registered candidates for the advertisement for the election of a member of the Judicial Council, but that session was not held due to the lack of a quorum," the HRA press release points out.
From that non-governmental organization (NGO), they added that no session has been held since then.
"We expect that at the next meeting the Board will also address these backlogs regarding the election of the missing members of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils. The Assembly must show democratic maturity and responsibly fill vacant positions in the state bodies that take care of the judiciary. The same applies to the election of judges of the Constitutional Court We remind you that the unjustified delay in the elections in the Parliament, which are important for the judiciary and the functioning of the Constitutional Court, was the reason that Montenegro stagnated in negotiations with the European Union," the announcement reads.
HRA said that the members of the ruling majority now have a special responsibility to show that the government in Montenegro knows how to respect the separation of powers and ensure the smooth operation of the judiciary.
"They are expected to change the long-standing practices of political influence trading in councils that are obliged to protect the independence of the judiciary and the autonomy of the state prosecution," the statement said.
The HRA said that they are using the opportunity to praise the efforts of the Judicial Council to allow the public to attend its session on Friday, as well as to increase transparency in the future.
"On the road to the European Union, which rests on the rule of law and the concept of separation of powers, the Judicial Council's unequivocal request to politicians to stop making inappropriate statements about judges and court decisions, which they have a harmful effect on, because they undermine the integrity of the judicial branch of government, is especially encouraging. Constructive criticism is necessary , but not a flat rate, which only demonstrates the pursuit of political influence and nothing else," concludes the HRA statement.
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