Montenegrin court judges who left office between the beginning of 2020 and the end of last year were paid 2.172.239 euros in official compensation. More than half of them left at their own request, resigning.
15 euros were spent on official fees for 417.756 former Supreme Court judges. Some of them were dismissed by force of law, while others were dismissed by their own decision.
Of the 87 judges of all courts who were granted the right to compensation from 2020 to the end of last year, more than half - 49 - resigned. Of the 15 Supreme Court judges, seven simply asked to leave.
That's the data it has Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) came through free access to information from the Judicial Council (JC).
An official may request to be paid a monthly allowance equal to his/her last salary for one year after the termination of his/her office, if he/she has not been employed or retired. This allowance may last for up to two years, if the official retires two years after the termination of his/her office.
The civil society, as well as some MPs from the Europe Now Movement (PES), have called for these benefits to be reduced, as well as the period for which they are received. However, nothing has come of it so far.
The Human Rights Action (HRA) proposed that amendments to the Public Sector Salaries Act, as well as amendments to the Judicial Council and Judges Act, limit the right to compensation upon termination of employment. HRA also proposes that those who resign be denied both compensation and severance pay. HRA also believes that judges suspected of, accused of, or convicted of a crime should not receive compensation or severance pay.
The Center for Civic Education (CCE) proposed shortening the period for payment of official benefits from one year to three months, abolishing the possibility of extending this benefit if the official acquires the right to a pension during the period in which he acquired the right to the benefit, limiting the amount of the benefit to the average net salary in Montenegro, instead of the full last salary that the official received, as well as limiting the right to compensation if the official has been dismissed or resigned, as well as if he behaved unethically or illegally.
Associate on CCE programs Nikola Obradović points out to CIN-CG that comparative practice confirms that the authorities in Montenegro behave "as if it were a very rich country, not one seriously indebted and with numerous public services that are not functional, with a significant number of citizens on the brink of existence."
"The situation in Montenegro is such that the position is still not treated as a responsible public duty, but rather is perceived as a source of financial security and privileges with the aspiration that this will continue after the end of the mandate," emphasizes Obradović.
He adds that until precise and strict rules are established that will also bring official remuneration into realistic and justified limits, Montenegro will remain trapped in a web of institutional irresponsibility.
"This is also a question of political culture, which is at a low level in our country, so the opportunity to hold a certain position is not seen as an opportunity to contribute to the improvement of the public good, but as an opportunity to maintain a certain position of power for as long as possible and gain personal or party benefits," says Obradović.
Former Supreme Court judges took more than 300.000 euros in lawsuits
According to CIN-CG, judges at the country's highest court have so far received over 300.000 euros in damages from lawsuits they filed against the state and disputes before the Agency for Peaceful Dispute Resolution. That amount is likely to be significantly higher, as many of the proceedings are still pending.
The fact that they received compensation, and some even severance pay, did not prevent former judges from also demanding money for, as they claim, unused vacation time, unpaid standby allowances, and lower wages paid during the COVID pandemic.
On this basis, former Supreme Court judges alone have been paid around 130.000 euros in the last two years, the Judicial Council (JC) told CIN-CG.
The former President of the Supreme Court has filed several lawsuits against the state over compensation for her work. Vesna Medenica, now accused of abuse of office in several proceedings, as well as former judges of that court Miras Radovic, Svetlana Vujanovic, Petar Stojanovic, Stanka Vucinic, Dusanka Radovic, Hasnija Simonovic, Natalija Filipovic, Rada Kovacevic, Snezana Aleksic, Dragica Milacic, Vesna Begovic, Branimir Femic, Ranka Vukovic, Radule Kojovic i Radoje Orovic.
According to final judgments that CIN-CG has seen, former Supreme Court judges have sued the state in several separate lawsuits for unused vacations, unpaid contributions, and other employment-related benefits. Some proceedings have even been completed before the Agency for Amicable Dispute Resolution.
The Basic Court in Podgorica told CIN-CG that the start of the trial on the lawsuits filed by Vesna Medenica, Svetlana Vujanović, Petar Stojanović, and Radoje Orović has not yet been scheduled.
Trials on the lawsuits filed by Miraš Radović, Dragica Milačić and Branimir Femić will begin in February, March and May of this year.
Former judges Petar Stojanović, Stanka Vučinić and Radule Kojović were jointly awarded around 49.000 euros with interest for unused vacation days by a final judgment. The judgment states that, from 2013 until the end of their term, they regularly received decisions on the use of vacation days, but that they were on duty at the time, and that they were not subsequently approved to use their vacation days.
The Protector of Property and Legal Interests pointed out that the former judges regularly received maximum compensation for these on-call duties, and that they used the remaining vacation days based on an oral agreement with the president of the court. This judgment is under review in the Supreme Court.
Kojović's position ceased in 2020 upon retirement, and Stojanović and Vučinić's position ceased in August 2021 and they also received official compensation - Stojanović for a year and Vučinić for four months.
Kojović also received just over 6.000 euros in unpaid contributions for participation in Judicial Council committees, in another final verdict.
With the same verdict, former judge Svetlana Vujanović received almost 20.000 euros, and Vesna Begović received a little less than 7.000 euros.
The state also contested these claims, stating that no evidence was provided for the former judges' claims, that the claim was time-barred and that the court had no jurisdiction to decide on it. However, the court found these allegations unfounded and awarded the former judges damages.
Vujanović's position ended in August 2021, and Begović resigned at the same time. Both received a one-year official allowance, equal to their last salary.
Stojanović and Vujanović received over 6.000 euros in compensation from their employment through another court settlement.
Stojanović and Vučinić received around 8.000 euros in compensation from work in March last year, even though the verdict, which is not final, was rejected and they were denied payment of over 24.000 euros. The verdict is in the Higher Court on appeal.
Thus, only five of them, in addition to official compensation and severance pay, have so far received around 100.000 euros in lawsuits related to employment relations.
Former Supreme Court judges took over 200.000 euros in proceedings before the Agency for Peaceful Dispute Resolution.
By resigning, they avoid responsibility, but receive compensation and severance pay.
The Analysis of the Procedures for the Selection, Promotion and Determination of Responsibility of Judges in Montenegro in 2023 and 2024 points out that by resigning, judges are allowed, in addition to avoiding responsibility, to receive compensation for two years until retirement. In addition, the HRA emphasizes, they also receive severance pay, and if they do not declare their assets, they are not sanctioned for this, and at the same time they benefit from the official compensation they earn if they choose to resign.
We have had several cases in which judges received compensation upon termination of office, severance pay, and the like, HRA reminds us, even though they were accused or convicted of criminal offenses.
Thus, the judge of the Herceg Novi Basic Court Jovan Stanković, who resigned, was granted compensation in September 2022, even though he admitted in May of that year that he had made the ruling under the influence of former Supreme Court President Vesna Medenica. Although the Supreme Court rejected his request for compensation upon termination of office in May 2022, they changed their mind in September of that year, according to a decision that CIN-CG has seen.
To the former judge Milosav Zekić The Supreme Court approved a one-year compensation in 2020, and later a severance pay, even though he was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence in 2019 for endangering security and minor bodily harm, after which he illegally received a salary as a judge of the Basic Court in Rožaje for another year. By resigning, he also avoided disciplinary proceedings.
Medenica was recently sentenced to six months in prison for concealing the conduct of criminal proceedings against Judge Zekić at the sessions of the Supreme Court. The verdict is not final.
"It was possible to at least limit the payment of official compensation and severance pay in cases where it is clearly a matter of avoiding disciplinary liability or to prescribe the obligation to return the awarded amount in the event that a judge who resigned is subsequently convicted by a final and binding decision of a criminal offense that would lead to dismissal," HRA suggests in its analysis.
They are also proposing these solutions for prosecutors, given that over a quarter of prosecutors have resigned from that position in the last three years.
"Criminal proceedings are ongoing against two special state prosecutors and the former chief special prosecutor. Since the Law on Employee Salaries does not deny the right to receive one-year compensation upon termination of office in the event of resignation, and since persons suspended due to initiated criminal proceedings are not prevented from resigning, there is no legal obstacle to their being paid their official compensation upon termination of employment in such a case," the HRA analysis warns.
Government deaf to demands to limit benefits
The Ministry of Finance (MF) refused to answer CIN-CG's questions about the Law on Salaries of Public Sector Employees and passed the ball to the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA), even though this Law is under their jurisdiction.
We asked, among other things, why they did not take into account the proposals of the public, the non-governmental sector, and the PES parliamentary group, which proposed reducing the one-year period for which these benefits can be paid, and not paying them to those who resign, are dismissed due to a conviction, or for incompetence and abuse of office. We also asked how the proposed changes would reduce the financial burden on the state budget, if it was also proposed that the salaries of officials be increased by 30 percent.
The Draft Law only proposes that someone who has held office for up to six months may receive official compensation for a maximum of two months.
According to the draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, civil servants are entitled to compensation for one year after the termination of their mandate in the event that their mandate ends upon expiration or in the event of reorganization.
"The important change is that persons whose mandate lasted less than six months, as well as those whose mandate ended at their own request or due to two consecutive unsatisfactory assessments, are entitled to compensation for a maximum of two months from the end of their mandate, while during that period they have the right to be reassigned in accordance with the law," the MPA points out.
They point out, however, that this Law applies to senior managers in state bodies - assistant ministers and assistant directors of administration, as well as directors of administration, while the issue of compensation upon termination of mandate for all other public officials, including judges, is regulated by the Law on Salaries of Employees in the Public Sector.
Obradović told CIN-CG that they too do not have full information about the planned changes to the Law on Salaries of Public Sector Employees, which speaks in favor of the government's lack of transparency and irresponsibility.
"Many important decisions are made under the veil of secrecy, without public debates or in abbreviated form, often during holidays, and all of this limits objective information and meaningful participation in shaping this and numerous other legal and strategic texts. This is especially often the case when these texts contain issues that directly or indirectly affect public officials and their privileges," he points out.
It has become a bad practice to ignore all serious and well-intentioned proposals from civil society, the professional public, and the rare active and dedicated MPs, adds Obradović.
"I would like to remind you that the current legal solution is discriminatory, because this type of financial support will certainly not be provided to citizens who lose their jobs, even though we know that most of them work for far less money than public officials," said Obradović.
He adds that the findings of CG Pulse from 2022, an initiative of CCE and the DAMAR Institute, indicate that as many as 82 percent of citizens believe that civil servant compensation should be abolished.
CCE assesses that the 30 percent salary increase for officials confirms a worrying pattern in which attempts are being made to legalize the misuse of public resources.
"At the same time, it should be emphasized that there are double standards - when it comes to citizens, they insist on saving or their living expenses are additionally increased, or the increases they receive are small and do not keep pace with inflation, while at the same time, decision-makers find various justifications for increasing already high privileges," Obradović points out.
There are no such privileges for officials, or the compensation is significantly lower and is paid out in a shorter period of time, both in the region and in EU countries.
In Serbia, official benefits are paid for three months after the termination of office or for a maximum of six months if the official becomes entitled to a pension within that period.
In Croatia, those who have been in office for at least a year and six months are entitled to compensation equal to their salary, while for the next six months they receive 50 percent less. Those who have been in office for less than a year and more than three months receive full compensation for three months, and for the next three months 50 percent of their salary.
In most European countries, the period for which these allowances are paid varies, but in most of them, they do not receive full salary, but a certain percentage of the last salary. European Commissioners receive an allowance for one to two years depending on the length of their mandate, but it ranges from 40 to 65 percent of their salary.
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