The Anti-Corruption Agency will investigate whether the Minister of Economic Development Nick Djelosaj jeopardized the public interest by signing a contract last year in which he hired a firm for legal representation Ivan Raičević, wife of the State Secretary in that Ministry Ana Raičević.
The contract was signed in January 2024, is not fixed-term, and provides for a lump sum fee of 1.500 euros. It concerns the law firm (AOD) “Tripković and Raičević”, where Raičević and the State Secretary at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs are partners. Pavle Tripković.
According to information from "Vijesti", AOD "Tripković and Raičević" was hired despite the position of the Office of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests (ZIPI) that ministries should be represented in administrative disputes by lawyers employed in legal services, while in other cases they are represented by ZIPI.
When asked why they hired that firm, considering that ministries are not legal entities and are represented by the ZIPI office, Đeljošaj's department claims that representation before courts in Montenegro is regulated by a series of laws, and the claim that the Ministry can only be represented by the Protector "simply is not true."
"...We are not claiming that, but the Supreme Court of Montenegro," the Ministry said.
They explained that the Supreme Court of Montenegro has clearly confirmed in several of its rulings that the court is otherwise obliged to take into account ex officio whether someone is authorized to represent them and that it would otherwise not allow someone to represent someone who is not entitled to do so.
"We do not have the status of a legal entity, but we do have the status of a party in a proceeding that can legally be represented by itself or through an attorney in accordance with the Law on Civil Procedure. There is no regulation that limits the possibility of being represented by a lawyer, so the Supreme Court gave the opinion that all actions taken by the lawyer have the same effect as if they were taken by us. The Law on State Property has not been violated because the Protector is authorized to represent state bodies and public services in proceedings concerning the protection of state property owned by Montenegro, and in administrative disputes, the court decides on the legality of an administrative act that determines or affects the rights, obligations and legal interests of a natural or legal person. From all of the above, it follows that the Ministry had and has the right to engage a lawyer in representation proceedings before the courts," the Ministry of Economic Development responded, saying that they "know very well from which circles this position and the commissioned text originate."
"...Because you have written about this topic before, then referring to lawyer Tripković, and now you are trying to push the same thesis through a different route - but with the same goal," MER stated in its response, alluding to a report by "Vijesti" television from a year ago.
However, they did not answer questions regarding the number of lawyers in the legal department of that department. The AOD “Tripković and Raičević” also did not respond to questions about cooperation with the MED.
The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption told "Vijesti" that they will "initiate ex officio proceedings regarding the allegations in question as soon as possible."
"After information and data are collected from all relevant entities, we will determine whether there is a threat to the public interest in this specific case. Once the procedure is completed, we will, as before, inform the public about this as soon as possible," the Agency said.
ZIPI: The Supreme Court's position will be before the Constitutional Court
The Ombudsman's Office says that the controversial position of the Supreme Court panel is that in numerous decisions, through the recognized capacity of a party, it has interpreted that a public law body can hire a lawyer as an attorney if it is not a party with legal capacity.
They assessed that the Supreme Court, through a contradictory interpretation of legal provisions and contrary to the Law on State Bodies Without Legal Entities, gave them the right to conclude contracts with law firms, which then represent them before the Administrative Court.
"By acting in this way, the Supreme Court of Montenegro has rendered meaningless the provisions of the Law on Administrative Disputes and directed state authorities to act illegally. The legislator's intention was not to make the Protector's job easier and for state authorities to hire lawyers, but rather to give those state authorities, with the intention of direct participation as decision-makers, the status of a party, but not the status of a legal entity, which the Supreme Court overlooked. The decisions of the Supreme Court will be subject to review by the Constitutional Court," the institution of the Protector announced.
MF: Everyone to adhere to restrictions
"Vijesti" asked the Ministry of Finance (MF) whether the contract for the engagement of the law firm could have been concluded without a public procurement, given that the legal services market in Montenegro is large and that the job was awarded to a firm whose half-owner is the husband of the state secretary in that department. We also asked whether conducting a public procurement would have removed any suspicions of a possible conflict of interest.
The Ministry responded that the Public Procurement Law allows for exemptions in certain cases, stating that "Article 14, paragraph 1, item 5, stipulates that this Law does not apply to the provision of legal services...", including representation by lawyers before courts, domestic and foreign authorities, international courts, and in arbitrations and peaceful dispute resolution, as well as "advisory services by lawyers in preparation for representation in arbitration or peaceful dispute resolution."
They add that it is the responsibility of the contracting authority to properly apply the exemptions.
"All other legal services that are contracted, and which are not recognized by Article 14 of the Law, are required to be carried out by the contracting authority through public procurement," the Ministry of Finance emphasized.
The Ministry also reminds that conflict of interest is precisely regulated by legislation:
“The provisions of Articles 40, 41, 42 and 43 of the Public Procurement Law further specify the conflict of interest in public procurement procedures, which is the responsibility of the contracting authority.”
These provisions, among other things, state that a conflict of interest between the contracting authority and the economic operator also exists "if a representative of the contracting authority acting on behalf of and/or on behalf of the contracting authority conducting the public procurement procedure has a direct or indirect financial, economic or other personal interest that may affect his impartiality and independence in conducting the public procurement procedure"...
MER: Paid a lawyer 7.000, but saved 18.242 euros
The MED reiterated that they had hired a law firm "in accordance with the law" to protect the state's interests.
"The result is clear, and the state has earned (multiple) income from these cases based on the awarded costs compared to the costs it incurred for legal services. This is precisely because when concluding the contract itself, we took into account the state's interest and agreed on a monthly lump sum for all actions, and the awarded costs went to the state, i.e. its citizens whose interests we protect. Unfortunately, individuals do not care that citizens' money was saved, because they are used to similar court processes being left to the state to lose," they told "Vijesti".
The MED emphasized that the proceedings were completely legal, transparent and responsible, and that the law firm "Tripković and Raičević" was hired temporarily, that is, for less than five months in 2024, for which period 7.050 euros plus VAT were paid.
As explained by the department headed by Đeljošaj, the law firm achieved results in favor of the state, which are measured in the amount of 18.242 euros.
"It is unnecessary to mention what every unnecessarily lost item means for the state. This is crucial, and for you, unfortunately, what is more important is someone's first and last name. You obviously do not care how much the state has gained and preserved, but rather have other motives and are targeting professionals who do their job legally and in the interest of Montenegro," they replied to "Vijesti".
They reiterated once again that the Supreme Court, in its rulings, confirmed the Ministry's absolute right to be represented by a lawyer in these disputes.
"The fact that the Ministry's work and results are in line with the law on the exercise of the right to financial support for persons employed in companies in the mining and metal industry sector has resulted in 155 Supreme Court rulings, 145 of which were in favor of the Ministry," they said.
They also asked the journalist "why she is trying to present the state's victory as a problem", emphasizing that it is "on your conscience".
The department emphasized that they are the only ministry that "fully implemented the Government's work plan, and that directly managed the processes of closing four out of nine chapters in negotiations with the European Union."
"We know that these results are precisely what bothers certain structures, which is why they are trying to divert attention from success to fabricated topics, without a single concrete argument, but purely propagandistically. The Ministry will continue to act exclusively within the framework of the law, in the protection of state interests and public money, regardless of attempts at manipulation and pressure," they pointed out.
Swastika Director of the Directorate
Đeljoša's sister-in-law, Ivona Savićević, is the director of the Directorate for International Cooperation, European Integration and Implementation of EU Funds in his department.
"Vijesti" also wrote about this at the beginning of last year.
This minister and deputy prime minister never answered the editorial team's questions about the swastika being one of his closest associates.
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