More than half of enforcement proceedings in Montenegro, during 2023 and 2024, were not completed, while the costs of public bailiffs' fees almost doubled despite stagnation in the number of resolved cases.
This was announced at an event marking the presentation of the thematic report "Efficiency and Accountability of the Enforcement System in Montenegro", organized by the Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS).
CEGAS Program Coordinator Marija Popović Kalezić said that the draft version of the report, which was presented to the participants, is open for comments and changes, emphasizing the importance of open discussion and constructive suggestions.
Popović Kalezić emphasized that the number of unresolved cases still exceeds the number of resolved ones.
"In 2023, 60,3 percent of cases remained unresolved, while in 2024 that percentage was slightly lower at 59,1 percent. This means that more than half of enforcement proceedings are not completed within one calendar year, which creates a constant backlog that burdens the system," said Popović Kalezić.
She pointed out that the number of resolved cases is stagnating at around 24.000 per year, while the total number of cases exceeds 60.000.
"It is also interesting to note that the costs of public bailiffs' fees almost doubled in 2024, increasing from 1,9 to 3,98 million euros, despite the fact that the number of resolved cases did not increase," said Popović Kalezić.
According to her, a positive shift is being observed in the collection rate.
"In 2023, 16,7 percent of claims were paid, while in 2024, collection increased to 37,2 percent. However, more than 60 percent of claims remain unpaid," said Popović Kalezić.
28 complaints, one disciplinary
Speaking about disciplinary proceedings and the application of the Code of Ethics, Popović Kalezić said that in 2023, only one disciplinary proceeding was initiated out of 28 complaints, without determining responsibility.
"In 2024, 21 complaints were registered, but no disciplinary proceedings were initiated. This data suggests that the Code of Ethics functions more as a normative document, and less as a tool of actual control," warned Popović Kalezić.
As she said, at the same time, the number of court complaints, over 5.000 per year, indicates that citizens more often seek court protection than initiate disciplinary mechanisms.
Popović Kalezić emphasized that the Chamber of Public Bailiffs publishes a significant amount of data used in the analysis on its website, but she recommended that balance sheets and income statements be additionally published, in order to strengthen financial transparency.
She also emphasized the need for greater proactivity by the Chamber in initiating disciplinary proceedings.
Popović Kalezić added that more transparent and intensive cooperation between the Ministry of Justice, courts and the Chamber would significantly contribute to improving the enforcement system.
As she said, the public is increasingly hearing examples of the challenges that public enforcement officers face, opening up space for considering the introduction of insurance mechanisms in their work, especially when it comes to protecting citizens.
Jovović: I expected better results
The President of the Basic Court in Podgorica, Željka Jovović, stated that the results of the research surprised her, especially as someone who is part of the system and monitors the work of bailiffs through requests for exemption and objections that the court receives.
"I expected greater efficiency of the bailiffs. I did not do any special analysis or follow the statistics, but I spoke from my personal impression," said Jovović. She added that the analysis shows some progress and an increase in efficiency from year to year, which, she said, is not always the case in courts.
She emphasized that courts in Montenegro have a chronic shortage of judges and judicial staff.
"We are working without a sufficient number of judges in the Basic Court in Podgorica. Earlier this year, we were without as many as a quarter of judges. This affects the duration and quality of proceedings," said Jovović.
She pointed out that the court, despite the difficult conditions, takes special care in handling enforcement cases, where it acts as a second-instance body. "We try to act promptly, and I am glad that this has been recognized," added Jovović.
According to the data she has, Jovović said that the Basic Court in Podgorica has 99,9 percent of old cases resolved, while cases from Podgorica alone account for more than a third of all court cases in Montenegro.
"Out of a total of around 5.000 enforcement cases handled by bailiffs, approximately 1.500 end up in court. As of today, we have 1242 cases that have been received this year, which means that we will have 1500 this year as well. This is a trend that repeats itself year after year," said Jovović.
She specifically referred to requests for the exemption of executors, which, she said, were not included in the analysis.
"In 2023, we had 29 requests, in 2024, 26, and in 2025, 18 so far. Not a single request has been adopted. In these cases, I often apply the European Convention, not only national law, in order to recognize and prevent possible abuses of rights," Jovović emphasized.
Latković: 600 million collected in the first decade
The President of the Chamber of Public Enforcement Officers, Vidak Latković, assessed that in the first decade of the public enforcement service in Montenegro, a significant level of efficiency was achieved, with more than 600 million euros in collected claims from citizens and businesses.
However, he believes that for further progress, changes to certain legal solutions are necessary.
Latković emphasized that public bailiffs undertake all procedural actions in a timely, efficient and in accordance with the law, but that some cases cannot be collected due to objective reasons, primarily the insolvency of the debtor. As an example, he cited data from the Central Bank, according to which at the end of October the amount of unpaid mutual claims of legal entities and entrepreneurs exceeded one billion and five hundred million euros.
"When you have over a hundred thousand blocked legal entities and entrepreneurs, it is clear that, even when the bailiff takes all measures, collection is not possible," said Latković. He added that around 60 percent of cases are carried over from one year to the next, which does not mean that they will not be resolved, but that they require longer collection.
Speaking about comparing the efficiency of public bailiffs and courts, he explained that a precise statistical comparison is not possible because courts previously did not keep records of collection, but only of procedurally completed cases. "For a public bailiff, a case is resolved only when it is collected, which was not the case before," Latković said.
He also pointed out the need for a clearer distinction between objections and complaints. As he pointed out, objections relate to legal issues – often of a substantive nature – such as disputing the amount or basis of a debt, old debts, the procedural legitimacy of the parties, or issues of the subject matter of enforcement.
"The number of complaints is about eight percent compared to 60.000 cases per year, which is not a high percentage," Latković emphasized.
When it comes to complaints about the work of enforcement officers, their number ranges between 23 and 30 per year, but the majority are unfounded and do not result in the initiation of disciplinary proceedings.
Disciplinary proceedings are reviewed by an independent commission consisting of representatives of the courts and the prosecutor's office, with only one public enforcement officer.
"The fact that there are a small number of complaints and that most disciplinary proceedings are dismissed indicates that the complaints are mostly unfounded. In ten years, four public bailiffs have been dismissed, which shows that the control system is functioning," said Latković, emphasizing that public bailiffs are "one of the most controlled services in the country," because they are under the supervision of the courts, the Chamber and the Ministry of Justice.
Latković assessed that there are limitations in the current legislative framework, especially when it comes to the possibility of suspending the procedure.
"Today, except in one exception and with the consent of the creditor, we cannot suspend a case that has been conducted but not collected. It is precisely these cases that burden the statistics," explained Latković.
The Head of the Directorate for Judicial Professions at the Ministry of Justice, Džana Kajević, pointed out that in that department, in parallel with the civil sector, they are working intensively on improving the enforcement system and the position of public bailiffs.
As she announced, four key activities related to the development and control of the enforcement service are underway.
Kajević reminded that every year the Ministry of Justice issues an Analysis of the Efficiency of the Enforcement System, which represents the basis for further work and improvements.
According to her, amendments to the key law on enforcement and security were submitted to the European Commission back in May 2023, after which the first comments were received in October 2024. The amendments relate to the expansion of the territorial jurisdiction of enforcement agents and alignment with European standards, especially in the part of the European Account Preservation Order.
The Ministry resubmitted the updated text to the European Commission in November this year, and accelerated communication and final adoption of the law are expected.
The Ministry focused particularly on the new Law on Public Enforcement Agents during the year, which has undergone a public debate and is in its final phase. Kajević stated that, due to the scope of changes exceeding 50 percent, a completely new legal text has been drafted.
She pointed out some of the key innovations, including the introduction of the institute of a disciplinary prosecutor, through whom all complaints to disciplinary committees will be sent, changes to the criteria for the number of enforcement officers, so that the number of places will be determined for every 15.000 inhabitants, instead of the previous 20.000, and regulation of the system of exemption of enforcement officers in order to prevent abuses.
"An important novelty is the introduction of the information system of the Chamber of Public Bailiffs, which will keep electronic registers, records of payments and disbursements, and which will enable the Chamber and the Ministry of Justice to access data on the use of bailiff accounts," said Kajević.
Commenting on the allegations from the report about the low rate of debt collection, Kajević confirmed that this is a trend identified in the Ministry's analysis.
"This is not a consequence of the work of the bailiffs, but rather the fact that there are most often no funds in the accounts of the debtors in execution," explained Kajević.
The President of the Association of Court Experts of Montenegro, Marko Lakić, recalled that today there are about 700 court experts registered, but that, as he assessed, the system of control over their work was extremely weak.
"In more than twenty years, only one expert witness has been dismissed from his duties. This speaks volumes that the previous control was inadequate," said Lakić. As an illustration, he cited the fact that no one has ever failed the exams for the first time to obtain the title of court expert witness.
The draft of the new law, which is currently under public debate, envisages the formation of a Chamber of Court Experts. Instead of the existing system, the Chamber will maintain a list of experts, and clear disciplinary responsibility will be introduced.
"In preparing the solution, we largely relied on the law on public bailiffs. We introduced a disciplinary procedure and disciplinary prosecutors, modeled on a model that has proven effective with bailiffs," explained Lakić.
He particularly emphasized the importance of regulating the field of expert associations, since the previous practice allowed the formation of several organizations without a clear legal framework, including those that unreasonably used the name "chamber".
Lakić praised the solutions in the Law on Public Enforcement Officers, noting that in previous years several enforcement officers had lost their licenses due to irregularities, which shows that the control mechanism was functioning.
"These are experiences that we are taking on. The goal is to raise the quality and responsibility in the work of court experts," said Lakić.
Lakić is convinced that the formation of the Chamber of Court Experts, clear disciplinary responsibility and control mechanisms will contribute to a higher quality of expert testimony and a more efficient court procedure.
"Learning from the experiences of other professions in the judiciary, especially bailiffs, will be valuable for the improvement of our profession," said Lakić.
The event was implemented as part of the project "Support for Montenegro's EU integration - for an independent and professional judiciary as a key prerequisite!", implemented by the Center for Monitoring and Research (CEMI), the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN CG) and the Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS).
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