RTCG Director General Boris Raonić accused the Judicial Council of "remaining silent many times to attacks by the media, politicians and public figures on judges and the judiciary in general", but that it reacted to his comments on the first-instance verdict of the Basic Court to the president and some members of the RTCG Council.
"I do not dispute that my words were harsh and that they may deserve criticism on that issue. I am ready to accept it. However, distinguished gentlemen, were they unfair or untrue?! You and I both know that they were not," said Raonic, responding to the allegations of the Judicial Council.
The Judicial Council previously said that criticizing court rulings is legitimate and acceptable, but only if it is professionally, factually and legally argued, and not if it is personally and emotionally colored.
This came in response to Raonić's allegations that the first-instance verdict of the Basic Court was "shameful, legally untenable and dangerous for the legal order of Montenegro."
"DIt is good when the Judicial Council reacts. Every reaction of yours is healing and much needed for a society whose judiciary has been devastated for too long and completely deprived of the trust of the citizens of this country, but the problem arises when that reaction is selective and inconsistent. In order to save both your and my time, I will remind you that you did not speak out when the NGO 'Media Center', just a day before the first-instance verdict in the case against the members of the RTCG Council, publicly commented on the case, stating that the members of the Council abused their position and that their guilt was certain. That statement was open pressure on the court and the judge who made the verdict. Your response was silence. I will also remind you that you did not speak out even earlier, when the President of the Higher Court in Podgorica, Mr. Zoran Radović, guesting on the show 'Načisto' on TV Vijesti, commented on RTCG in an inappropriate and biased manner, more precisely, in a manner that exceeds the limits of the permitted speech of the president of the court and gave the court uncharacteristic qualifications. Even then, you did not find it necessary to defend the principles that you are emphasizing today. "You have remained silent many times to attacks by the media, politicians and public figures on judges and the judiciary in general, and now you are reacting when I said that the verdict is scandalous and unjust and that the members of the RTCG Council in this case are victims of the most obvious injustice and unprofessionalism," Raonic's statement reads.
He also said that "selective principledness is not principledness."
"It undermines the authority of institutions and creates the impression that you only react when it is convenient for you, and not when values are truly threatened. I do not dispute that my words were harsh and that they may deserve criticism in this regard. I am ready to accept it. However, distinguished gentlemen, were they unfair or untrue? You and I both know that they were not. All the more so, I do not agree that my case is singled out, while much more serious and systematic violations of the dignity of the judiciary are left to silence. Secondly, distinguished gentlemen, and incomparably more important for you: it is not my word that weakens citizens' trust in the judiciary. What weakens it is the too frequent injustice, the unscrupulous work in general, and the silence where it should be the loudest and clearest. The entire public has been talking about this for too long as a key problem in this society."
Raonic added that the judiciary is not just one institution.
"It is the very essence of the state in practice. Where decisions are made impartially and according to the law, citizens feel that they live in an orderly society. Where justice is compromised by all sorts of compromises, everything is an empty form and there is no trust. Respect for institutions is not built by calling on others to exercise restraint, but by correctness and consistency in one's own actions," said Raonić.
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