The Committee for the Political System, Judiciary and Administration adopted amendments to the draft laws on STI and on court experts

The Committee on the Political System, Judiciary and Administration adopted amendments to the draft Law on Free Access to Information (FOI), amendments to the Law on Court Experts, as well as the procedure for selecting members of the Prosecutorial Council from among prominent lawyers.

The Committee members unanimously supported 24 amendments to the Proposal for a Law on Free Access to Information - three submitted by MP Aleksandra Vojinović and 21 proposed by the Government of Montenegro.

Vojinović explained that the first amendment is aimed at limiting the availability of information related to the missions and tasks of the Armed Forces of Montenegro (AFM), explaining that this is sensitive data whose publication could jeopardize the functioning of the defense system. Additionally, it was pointed out that access to this information would reveal the training, equipment and armament of the AFM, as well as similar data on military units of other NATO members.

The second amendment provides for the protection of confidential data of reporting units, which would be used exclusively for statistical purposes, in accordance with the European statistical regulation. The third amendment concerns the technical harmonisation of the article of the law.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration Dragiša Janjušević explained that the government's amendments are the result of consultations with SIGMA partners and are aimed at implementing the 2019 EU Open Data Directive. He highlighted the importance of amendments that enable the reuse of dynamic and research data in real time, as well as those that treat environmental information in accordance with the Aarhus Convention.

The Committee also unanimously adopted the Bill on Amendments to the Law on Court Experts, which will be submitted to the Parliament under urgent procedure.

Minister of Justice Bojan Božović emphasized that the amendment to the law is necessary in order to close the negotiating chapter three - the right to establish a company and the freedom to provide services.

"The law is aligned with the agreement with the European Commission and provides that court experts can also be citizens of EU member states, the European Economic Area and the Swiss Confederation. It will be fully applicable on the day of Montenegro's accession to the EU," Božović said.

The proposal was submitted to the Assembly on May 19th, and forwarded to the parent committee on May 26th.

Under the third item on the agenda, the Committee considered the list of candidates for members of the Prosecutorial Council from among prominent jurists who are not attorneys. Two candidates applied for the public call - Veselin Šćepanović and Sekule Raičević. The Committee unanimously adopted the candidate proposal.

Due to the absence of the Minister of Public Administration, Maraš Dukaj, the consideration of 13 amendments to the Proposal for a Law on Amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees was postponed to the next session of the Committee.