Former judge Milosav Zekić He was admitted to the Bar Association in 2021, although he was then convicted of endangering safety and causing minor bodily harm.
According to documentation, which the Center for Investigative Reporting of Montenegro (CIN-CG) had access to, the Chamber admitted Zekić to its membership on September 7, 2021, even though a final verdict was still in effect at the time, according to which he was sentenced to five months of probation for participating in a fight.
According to the Law on the Bar, the right to be registered in the directory of lawyers, among other things, is granted to a person who has not been convicted of a criminal offense that makes him or her unworthy of practicing law.
The Bar Association of Montenegro (BAMC) told CIN-CG, however, that "not every conviction implies unworthiness to practice law."
"Attorney Zekić was entered into the Register of Attorneys during the term of office of the previous Board of Directors, so the assumption is that that Board of Directors assessed all the circumstances and found that there were no obstacles to the appointee being entered into the Register of Attorneys of the Bar Association of Montenegro," states the President of the Chamber. Danilo Micovic.
Former President of the Chamber Zdravko Begović He told CIN-CG that the decision was made because he was not sentenced to more than six months in prison, and that these two crimes do not fall under the category of those that, according to the Statute of the AKCG, make him unworthy of practicing law.
However, the Law on Advocacy and the Statute of the AKCG do not specify which criminal offenses make someone unworthy of practicing that profession, so the Board of Directors apparently decides on this arbitrarily.
In April 2019, the Basic Court in Kotor gave Zekić a suspended sentence for two criminal offenses - endangering security and causing minor bodily harm. A former judge of that court, now a judge of the Constitutional Court Momirka Tešić, explaining the decision, stated that it found neither mitigating nor aggravating circumstances on the part of the accused judge, and sentenced him to a suspended sentence of five months in prison, a sentence that will not be enforced if he does not commit a new criminal offense within two years of the verdict becoming final. The verdict became final on September 11, 2019.
Zekić was rehabilitated by a decision of the Kotor court in December 2022, that is, the sentence was erased from the records, but the Chamber accepted him into its membership almost a year and a half before his rehabilitation.
Former President of the Supreme Court Vesna Medenica, whose defense attorney is attorney Begović, was recently sentenced to six months in prison in the first instance, for previously concealing from the Judicial Council that criminal proceedings were being conducted against the then judge Zekić. Thus, she enabled Zekić to resign from his position as a judge of the Basic Court in Rožaje, avoiding dismissal and disciplinary proceedings.
Zekić took both the official's compensation and severance pay, and continued to work as a lawyer.
Absence of defendants and defense attorneys delays proceedings, judges do not plan trials
Several reports mention that one of the reasons for the inefficiency of the judicial system is that lawyers in some cases obstruct the court process, using various methods.
The OSCE's Trial Monitoring Report in the Western Balkans highlights that, from September 2021 to March 2024, in all cases monitored before the courts, an average of only seven hearings were held per month, and that one of the main reasons for the absence was the absence of lawyers.
“The main reasons for the postponements were the absence of defendants at 152 hearings, of which 72 hearings were postponed due to health reasons, the absence of defense attorneys at 78 hearings, and the absence of judges at 51 hearings,” the report says.
It is noted that, in addition to the lack of human and material resources, including courtrooms, insufficiently proactive approaches by judges have contributed to numerous delays.
“In at least two cases, judges postponed the hearing at the request of the lawyer, even though the procedural prerequisites for holding the hearing were met,” the document states.
The High Court in Podgorica, where several high-profile trials against former leaders of the judiciary and police are currently underway, has recently begun to punish lawyers more frequently for failing to appear for scheduled hearings. However, the court did not respond to CIN-CG's question about whether they believe lawyers are hindering court proceedings in the court.
Attorney Veselin Radulović He tells CIN-CG that procedural abuses by certain participants in the proceedings, including lawyers, are one of the reasons why the Montenegrin judiciary has been inefficient for years.
"However, the key responsibility for this lies with the court, which does not sufficiently use the available mechanisms to prevent these abuses," the lawyer points out.
The trial of the former President of the Supreme Court, during which there were more than 20 postponements, best demonstrates this, because in most cases these postponements were unjustified, Radulović emphasizes.
"I am encouraged by the measures taken by the new judge in this case." Vesna Kovačević "They took action after taking on the case, but at the same time they confirm that the court was unacceptably passive in that case for two and a half years and that it enabled abuses by those who assessed that it was in their interest to delay the proceedings," Radulović assessed.
This is another case being brought against Medenica for abuse of office, in which her son is involved. Miloš Pelvis designated as the head of a criminal group accused, among other things, of drug and cigarette smuggling and unlawful influence over the judiciary.
The trial recently began anew, after almost two years since the attempt to start this process, after the judge was changed, because the previous one who acted was on a long sick leave. In that process, in most cases, the hearing was postponed due to the failure of the defendants, their defense attorneys, or requests for exemption that they submitted to the court.
Several criminal proceedings against lawyers
In the last five years, criminal proceedings have been initiated against several lawyers, according to information available to CIN-CG.
SDT accused the lawyer Dimitrij Dapčević from Budva for creating a criminal organization and laundering around 2,6 million euros for the leader of the Kavač clan Radoja ZvicerThe start of the trial, at the Higher Court in Podgorica, was postponed last month to March 19th.
The SDT rejected our request for free access to information, in which we asked them to provide us with all the proceedings initiated against lawyers in the last five years. The Higher and Basic Prosecutor's Offices in Podgorica refused to provide this information, as did the basic prosecutor's offices in Cetinje, Rožaje and Kotor, and in Pljevlja they did not even respond to the request. The other prosecutor's offices submitted the requested information, so the Nikšić ODT initiated two proceedings against lawyers, while in Herceg Novi and Bijelo Polje they initiated one criminal proceeding against a lawyer each. There were no proceedings initiated in the Bijelo Polje Higher State Prosecutor's Office, nor in the basic prosecutor's offices in Ulcinj, Berane, Plav and Bar.
A fraud case has been initiated against a lawyer from Nikšić, because in June 2023 he misled a public bailiff, collected money twice on the same basis and took around 7.000 euros. He faces a prison sentence of one to eight years.
Another lawyer from that city is accused of keeping his client under the delusion that a case was being brought before the Basic Court in that city from December 2018 to October 2023, in which he was representing him, and of obtaining 350 euros. He is being tried for breach of trust, which carries a sentence of six months to five years in prison.
The Basic Court in Nikšić told CIN-CG that the two proceedings are ongoing before that court.
A lawyer from Herceg Novi is accused of fraudulently withdrawing around 2023 euros from his client's account in March 15.000, without his knowledge. He is charged with continued breach of trust and faces one to eight years in prison.
President of the Herceg Novi Basic Court Vesna Gazdić She told CIN-CG that the indictment has not yet been confirmed.
The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje has initiated proceedings for document forgery against a lawyer who is accused of using a false power of attorney in June last year, which carries a penalty of up to three years in prison. The Basic Court in Rožaje told CIN-CG that the trial will begin on May 29th.
Disciplinary proceedings are secret, adoption of the Code of Ethics is delayed
The Bar Association refused to provide information on disciplinary proceedings against lawyers, stating that they were confidential.
Mićović explains that information about disciplinary proceedings against lawyers cannot be provided without the consent of the person against whom the proceedings are being conducted.
This is also written in the Statute of the Chamber, but it seems that no one plans to change such provisions.
The Chamber's lack of transparency is also indicated by the fact that there is no data, work reports, disciplinary proceedings, or any document on their website from which the actions could be analyzed, which is not the case with the websites of other chambers and legal associations, such as notaries or experts, where at least basic information about their work can be found.
The Justice Strategy 2024-2027 emphasizes that the low level of citizens' trust in the judiciary, including lawyers, is explained by a lack of integrity due to the influence of politics and corruption, and that work should be done to establish effective accountability mechanisms.
"In the case of the Bar Association, a serious problem is the delay in adopting the Code of Ethics for Lawyers, as well as the inefficient conduct of disciplinary proceedings, which often leads to the onset of statute of limitations," the strategic document states.
The European Commission's report on Montenegro from last year emphasizes "that there is no code of ethics for lawyers."
The Strategy's priorities include the urgent adoption of the Code of Professional Ethics for Lawyers and the efficient conduct of disciplinary proceedings.
The Chamber continues to use the Code of Professional Ethics for Lawyers, which was adopted by the Bar Association of Yugoslavia in 1999.
"We are currently working on amendments to the existing Code, which requires a certain procedure and time," says the President of the Chamber.
Lawyers receive 140.000 euros for ex officio defense
According to several sources, some lawyers are privileged in receiving ex officio defense, however, CIN-CG has not found any documents that would confirm these suspicions. What we have found is that several lawyers received incomparably more money than all other lawyers from the Judicial Council (JC) last year.
According to free access to information, CIN-CG obtained data that SS currently owes the most money for ex officio defense to a lawyer from Podgorica. Zorica Drašković - around 140.000 euros in a case being heard before the Higher Court in Podgorica for the so-called "coup d'état".
After lawyer Drašković, her colleague received around 47.000 euros from the SS last year for her ex officio defense. Aleksandra Rogošić, but for four cases. Several other lawyers took from 30.000 to 40.000 euros.
The fact that a lawyer can make a good profit from the costs of misdemeanor proceedings is evidenced by the fact that Dragan Nikolic collected around 70.000 euros in costs from the misdemeanor courts in Podgorica, Budva and Bijelo Polje, half of which was forcibly collected.
The remaining 500 or so lawyers, who are on the SS payment list, received significantly less money, while half of those registered in the Bar Association's directory are not on that list. The Chamber's directory includes around 1.000 lawyers.
The website of the Higher Court in Podgorica has not published any decisions on the appointment of ex officio lawyers since 2019, which indicates a lack of transparency, but also suspicions of abuse. The exact order of lawyers appointed, or who is next in line, is not published either. Previously, this information was published on the Court's website.
The Higher Court in Podgorica did not respond to CIN-CG's questions about why this is so.
"Unfortunately, for years, a practice has been established whereby a portion of 'selected' lawyers receive huge amounts of money from the state budget for ex officio defense, which indicates serious suspicions that these are serious abuses that should have been addressed by the SDT long ago," lawyer Radulović told CIN-CG.
It is impossible, he estimates, for a small number of lawyers to earn tens or hundreds of thousands of euros from the state budget every year on this basis, without it being abuse and disregarding the order on the list of lawyers.
"So, I think this is a classic example of the unlawful exploitation of official position to obtain material benefit for a small group of lawyers, which constitutes essential elements of the criminal offense of abuse of official position. This abuse can have additional serious consequences for the functioning of the judiciary, because one can reasonably ask the question and doubt about the motives for which certain lawyers are privileged and whether they are returning the favor to the judges and prosecutors who enable them to do so," emphasizes Radulović.
The fact that the High Court, before which the most important criminal proceedings are conducted, does not publish decisions on the appointment of ex officio defense attorneys contributes to suspicions that this is an established corrupt scheme that enables individuals to obtain large material benefits, but at the same time jeopardizes the lawful functioning of the judiciary and the right to defense of defendants defended by privileged defense attorneys, Radulović assessed.
Last year, prosecutors' offices provided around 166.000 euros for ex officio defense for 326 lawyers, and all received a similar amount of money, at most a few thousand euros each, according to a review of the list of payments from the Prosecutorial Council (TS).
With recent amendments to the Law on the State Prosecutor's Office, a prosecutor commits a minor disciplinary offense if, without a justified reason, he or she appoints a defense attorney to a suspect ex officio, contrary to the order on the list of the Bar Association.
The Judicial Council, however, does not have available data on how much money was taken from the courts for ex officio defense alone last year, but at the end of 2024, it owed lawyers, on several grounds, almost a million euros.
More than a third of lawyers surveyed think their colleagues pay bribes
In the HRA survey “Perception of Corruption by Judiciary Actors”, around five percent of the prosecutors surveyed believe that some lawyers bribe judges and prosecutors. 9,5 percent of judges hold the same view, while 15,2 percent of experts share this opinion. Interestingly, in the survey, the largest percentage of lawyers by far agrees with this statement, 36,7 percent. Therefore, more than a third of the lawyers surveyed believe that their colleagues bribe judges and prosecutors.
Lawyer Radulović points out that this perception shows a lack of trust among lawyers in the work of certain colleagues.
"At the same time, this is also worrying information, because the assumption is that lawyers, by the logic of things and the nature of their work, are well informed about the problems that accompany the work of the judiciary," the lawyer emphasizes.
41 prosecutors, 95 judges, 92 experts and 109 lawyers responded to the HRA survey, between July and September 2024.
Most respondents also see a risk of conflict of interest due to lawyers' membership in the Prosecutorial and Judicial Councils. The latest amendments to the Law on State Prosecutors' Office have limited the number of lawyers to only one in the Prosecutorial Council.
In the HRA survey, it is interesting that judges and prosecutors recognize a high level of professional expertise in only about 19 percent of lawyers.
More than 40 percent of lawyers said they knew that some lawyers did not pay income tax to the state.
Radulović, however, points out that the system of taxation of lawyers is unfair and discriminatory. He also explains that the basis for calculating and paying various contributions is as much as 150 percent of the average monthly salary in Montenegro:
"This method of taxation was introduced for lawyers in 2013, and besides being an inappropriate and unfair burden on taxpayers, it does not contribute to better tax discipline because a smaller number of lawyers are able to regularly pay such a burden."
He says that there are numerous problems that the Bar Association has been silent about for more than 15 years, and sometimes actively participated in their creation.
"Therefore, a small number of lawyers who, under suspicious circumstances, receive huge amounts of money from the state budget, who obstruct the work of the judiciary and whom state authorities and the Bar Association cannot or will not hold accountable, have created an environment in which the public perceives the entire legal profession in a negative way and in which numerous problems for the functioning of the legal profession have taken a back seat."
To prevent the public from perceiving this profession in a negative way, it would be good if the Chamber were to be much more transparent to begin with, and lawyers who do not work professionally were finally held accountable.
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