The Podgorica High Court rejected the appeal of the former director of the Agency for Electronic Media (now the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services - AMU) Goran Vuković to the verdict of the Basic Court, and concluded that the former official was dismissed in accordance with the regulations.
The Basic Court in Podgorica rejected last year's lawsuit filed by Vuković, who claimed that he had been illegally dismissed.
The Agency Council dismissed Vuković at its meeting on August 12, 2022, and the president of that governing body, the Council, voted for the dismissal at that time. Branko Bosković and members Edin Koljenovic i Milan Radovic.
Vuković's dismissal followed the decision of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption that Vuković is in a conflict of interest given that his wife, by decision of the Government of Montenegro, has been a member of the Disciplinary Commission since 2018.
Following this decision by the ASK, the Inspection Directorate issued a decision requesting the president of SAEM to "remove irregularities" identified during the inspection.
The High Court considered that it had correctly interpreted the regulations.
"Examining the correctness and legality of the first-instance judgment, in connection with the appeal filed, this court finds that the plaintiff's appeal is unfounded. The first-instance judgment was rendered without any significant violations of the provisions of civil procedure that the court monitors ex officio, but also with the proper application of substantive law. There was no significant violation, which is unfoundedly pointed out in the plaintiff's appeal, given that the first-instance court provided sufficient and clear reasons for its decision on the decisive facts, which arise from the presented evidence and in accordance with the clear operative part of the judgment," the High Court's judgment of March 28 specified.
The Podgorica Basic Court determined last year that Vuković, when appointed, did not inform the Council that there were obstacles to his appointment, because he is married to a person appointed by the Government as a member of the Disciplinary Commission.
"The court took into account the indisputable fact that the disputed decision was made after the decision on the elimination of irregularities of the Inspection Administration dated February 17, 2022 ordered the President of the AEM Council, Branko Bošković, to eliminate irregularities during supervision within a month, which relate to the conclusion of an employment contract with Vuković, because it does not meet the special conditions stipulated by a special law and statute, where they were also emphasized in the advertising procedure, and which decision was later annulled by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, by a decision dated October 14, 2022, and the case was returned for re-determination," the explanation of last year's verdict states.
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