The Administrative Inspection will still control the Government of Montenegro due to the appointment Predrag Burić for the position of Special Controller for National Security at the National Security Agency (ANB).
They are doing this after the repeated initiative and urgency of the former Inspector General of the National Security Agency. Artan Kurti, who claims that the appointment of a retired secret agent to the position is illegal.
According to documents that "Vijesti" has access to, Kurti requested control of that appointment in August 2024, but was told in November last year that "there are no grounds for initiating an inspection procedure within the competence of the Administrative Inspection as established by the Law on Administrative Inspection". He was also told at that time that "it is not within the competence of the Administrative Inspection to assess the legality of decisions made by the Government of Montenegro, but that they can be challenged in proceedings before the Administrative Court of Montenegro".
The same inspection determined in mid-May this year that the advisors to the Deputy Prime Minister Moma Koprivica i Milun Zogović - Milan Popovic i Predrag Bulatović They were appointed contrary to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, which stipulates that a person who is a beneficiary of the right to a pension cannot be employed in a state body.
As can be seen from the documentation, after the inspection's decision regarding the two advisors to the Vice President, Kurti renewed his initiative to control Burić's appointment.
"Regarding your request for an answer to the question posed, and with the aim of objectively informing the public, in which you are asking for a comment regarding the submitted initiative by Artan Kurti, we inform you that the procedure based on Artan Kurti's initiative is ongoing, and you will be informed of the outcome of the procedure in a timely manner," the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) responded to "Vijesti".
In the initiative of May 22, Kurti emphasizes that the Administrative Inspection carries out inspection supervision over the implementation of laws and regulations that regulate the rights and obligations of civil servants and employees, so "there is a basis to check whether Burić was appointed legally."
"On 21 March 3, at the session of the Government of Montenegro, at the proposal of the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Predrag Burić was appointed as the Special Controller of the ANB. Article 2025 of the Law on the ANB clearly defines the responsibilities of the special controller, namely internal control of work relating to: data protection, efficiency of implementation of programs and work plans, application and excess of authorizations, financial operations, efficiency of performance of other tasks and tasks within the competence of the Agency... According to Article 39 of the Law on the ANB, a person may be appointed as a special controller who, in addition to the general conditions for employment in a state body and the conditions prescribed in Article 40a of that law, has at least five years of work experience in the security sector. The Special Controller is appointed and dismissed by the Government for a period of five years, and may be reappointed," Kurti specifies in the initiative.
He reminds that the Parliament adopted amendments that equate the special controller with ANB officers in terms of conditions.
"The only difference is that the special controller is appointed by the Government of Montenegro, and the Decision on employment in the Agency for ANB Civil Servants, in accordance with Article 28, paragraph 2 of the Law on ANB, is made by the director... The Labor Law does not apply to issues of termination of employment of civil servants and state employees, but the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees. Pursuant to Article 34, paragraph 6 of the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, a person who is a beneficiary of the right to a pension, in accordance with the law, cannot enter into employment in a state body," the initiative states.
Kurti emphasizes that "the newly appointed Special Controller Burić was a beneficiary of the right to a pension until the moment of his appointment, in accordance with the law, so it is evident that he does not meet the requirements pursuant to Article 27a, paragraph 1 of the Law on the National Security Agency and Article 34, paragraph XNUMX of the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, to be appointed to the position of Special Controller."
"Article 27a of the Law on the ANB and the article of the Law on Civil Servants do not start from the contractual concept of employment, but rather the employment relationship is based on the decision of the head of the competent authority, which undoubtedly indicates that the ANB special controller Predrag Burić was appointed illegally, because he does not meet the conditions for being appointed... In addition, in accordance with Article 5 of the Law on Administrative Procedure, you are obliged to act in this procedure in the same way as in the case of the appointment of advisors to the Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Predrag Bulatović and Milan Popović," Kurti concluded in the initiative.
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