The Lawyers' Association of Montenegro stated that human rights are the foundation and basis of the functioning of every legal state and that therefore all reforms, public policies or actions of institutions must be subordinated to this, if they want to contribute to the protection of the rights and dignity of every citizen.
They made this announcement on the occasion of December 10th, International Day of Human Rights and Freedoms.
"The Lawyers' Association of Montenegro emphasizes the importance of freedom of assembly, one of the key democratic rights that allows citizens to publicly express their views, protect their interests and publicly participate in social processes. Citizens must be able to publicly and without coercion and restrictions express their dissatisfaction with public policies that are not in the public interest and with actions of state bodies that are not legal. The efficient and unhindered exercise of the right to assembly and the right to protest reflects the maturity of society and the realization of constitutional principles on freedom of assembly and, above all, Article 12, paragraph 3 of the Constitution of Montenegro, which emphasizes that restrictions on guaranteed human rights "may not be introduced for purposes other than those for which they are prescribed," the statement reads.
They add that the legal profession and professional organizations have a special responsibility to advocate for solutions that encourage dialogue, tolerance, and full institutional protection of free assembly, while respecting the principles of proportionality and non-discrimination.
"We would also like to point out that the celebration of Human Rights Day also reminds us of the importance of the negotiation chapters with the EU: 23 - Judiciary and Fundamental Rights and Chapter 24 - Justice, Freedom and Security, which form the core of Montenegro's accession process to the European Union. Progress in these chapters is not just the technical fulfillment of obligations, but a strategic commitment to building a system in which human rights are respected in practice, and are not just declaratory commitments. Unfortunately, today, when we celebrate and promote this exceptional day for human rights, we must emphasize with particular disappointment that yesterday and today a large number of citizens contacted the Lawyers' Association of Montenegro because of the way in which their civil rebellion against the illegal and unworthy award of the highest state recognition, the Thirteenth of July Award, was carried out. Among them is the famous actor and director Davor Dragojević," the Lawyers' Association announced.
They state that citizens are particularly outraged by the fact that "instead of state authorities establishing the criminal responsibility of those who acted illegally in the process of awarding this prestigious state award, they proceeded, with a 'grace period' of five months, to take repressive actions against citizens, who were not even informed about all the actions of the 'forced' authorities beforehand."
"The Lawyers' Association of Montenegro, with a tradition of over 93 years, today once again emphasizes that it remains committed to promoting the culture of law, strengthening legal certainty and improving the normative and institutional framework for the protection of human rights. Therefore, our role is particularly important in encouraging critical thinking, advocating best practices and contributing to reforms that lead to the full realization of the standards from Chapters 23 and 24, and thus to building a more just and democratic society," the statement reads.
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