The President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, Valentina Pavličić, on behalf of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, welcomed the new way of working of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro and the final acceleration of proceedings before that court, bearing in mind that the Constitutional Court, after more than three years, decided on cases in which the Supreme Court of Montenegro issued decisions in 2021 and 2022, the Supreme Court announced today.
The Supreme Court of Montenegro reacted to the announcement of the Constitutional Court, which states, among other things, that the Supreme Court does not have the right to reject claims for a fair trial due to abuse of rights.
The Supreme Court statement states that they generally welcome the willingness of the President of the Constitutional Court to undertake activities to increase the transparency of the work of the Constitutional Court and the finally established practice of submitting Constitutional Court decisions to the Supreme Court in electronic form, which was previously rejected due to the insufficient administrative capacities of that court.
"In this regard, we thank the President of the Constitutional Court for personally sending an overview of the latest constitutional court practice today, via email, following the publication of a statement in the media," the Supreme Court said in a statement.
The judicial institution added that they have so far initiated a judicial dialogue between the Supreme Court, as the highest court in the country, and the Constitutional Court of Montenegro on several occasions, "because in a state based on the rule of law, this is the only acceptable forum for the exchange of expert opinions and relevant practices aimed at protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national level."
"We note that maintaining judicial dialogue is also one of the key strategic obligations of Montenegro on its path to accession to the European Union. Therefore, this attitude of the Constitutional Court towards the Supreme Court is surprising, because publishing expert opinions from the latest practice through unilateral statements calling on the Supreme Court 'to refrain from arbitrary conclusions in specific cases' deviates from the expected level of institutional restraint and legal foundation, which is why the impression is gained of the sensationalist character of such announcements," the Supreme Court said.
The judicial institution said that they were reminding the Constitutional Court that the level of the rule of law in Montenegro depends on the relationship between the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, and that relations between these courts in modern democracies can be tense, but that in essence they must be partnerships and in the best interest of citizens, especially considering that the Supreme Court, as the highest court in the country, is the only one authorized to interpret and apply the law at the national level.
"The Supreme Court of Montenegro, during the mandate of President Pavličić and in its current composition of judges, will hereby refrain from assessing the legal approach of the Constitutional Court in these and other cases, bearing in mind that the highest court in the country cherishes the values of reputation, authority and judicial culture, which is why it remains open to judicial dialogue with the intention of maintaining a modus vivendi despite different positions," the Supreme Court statement reads.
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