The Director of the Human Rights Action (HRA) Tea Gorjanc-Prelević today called on the Parliament of Montenegro to immediately elect at least one judge to the Constitutional Court, saying that "soon there will be four judges left, three of whom are legal."
"As of May 31, the Constitutional Court of Montenegro will have four judges, out of the prescribed seven, which will reduce the efficiency of that court instance. In addition, only three judges who remain in office will have a legitimate mandate. Namely, out of the five judges currently on the bench, two are performing their duties illegally. The judicial functions of Budimir Šćepanović and Desanka Lopičić were supposed to end in May or June of last year, based on the imperative provisions of the Constitution and the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance (ZPIO), when they met the requirements for retirement, having reached the age of 65, or 40 years of service," Gorjanc-Prelević pointed out in a statement.
She added that "however, they are still handling cases because the majority of judges in that court, with regard to termination of office, adhere to the Labor Law (LoL)."
"This act prescribes mandatory termination of employment when a person reaches the age of 66, which contradicts the opinion of experts who believe that judges do not have such a relationship with the state. Also, the office of judges of all other courts in the state ceases as soon as they meet the conditions for retirement under the Pension and Retirement Insurance Act. If the Constitutional Court of Montenegro now decides to apply at least the Labor Law, then Judge Šćepanović's office will cease on May 31, when he turns 66. Judge Lopičić's twelve-year term will certainly expire at the end of December this year, if the Venice Commission does not support the application of the current Pension and Retirement Insurance Act in the meantime, which the Parliament previously applied in the case of Judge Dragana Đuranović," said Gorjanc-Prelević.
She said that in addition to all of this, the election of new judges to the Constitutional Court is delayed.
"The fact that at least one or two have not already been elected has a detrimental effect on the efficiency of this court, which now needs about two years to decide on the case. As a reminder, the candidates for new judges should replace Milorad Gogić, whose office ended on August 30, 2024, Dragana Đuranović, whose retirement was announced on December 17 of the same year, which the Venice Commission should decide on, and Budimir Šćepanović, who has held the position so far, but will probably not hold it after May 31 of this year. The process of selecting Dragana Đuranović's successor has been stopped before the Constitutional Committee until the Venice Commission decides on June 13 and 14. It is unclear why there is hesitation in selecting a candidate to replace Gogić. Interviews with all candidates have been conducted, and President Jakov Milatović has proposed Mirjana Vučinić as Budimir Šćepanović's successor in the judicial position," she said. Gorjanc-Prelević.
In her words, "given the experienced legal uncertainty regarding the duration of the mandate, we believe that the Constitution should clearly stipulate that the function of a judge of the Constitutional Court must cease when he or she reaches a certain age."
"For example, the solution from Bosnia and Herzegovina can be applied, where the Constitution stipulates that judges can work up to the age of 70," said Gorjanc-Prelević.
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