GA: Montenegro does not have a judicial system that citizens perceive as sufficiently independent, efficient...

Montenegro, 20 years after the restoration of independence, still does not have a judicial system that citizens perceive as sufficiently independent, efficient and resistant to political influences, according to the publication "Two Decades of Judicial Reforms in Montenegro", prepared by the Civic Alliance (GA) on the occasion of Independence Day.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) announced that the publication provides an overview of the development of the judiciary since 2006 through reform processes within the framework of European integration, European Commission reports, statistical indicators of the work of courts and the state prosecutor's office, and public opinion surveys on citizens' trust in institutions.

It is emphasized that, although new laws have been adopted, the institutional framework has been changed, and numerous reforms have been implemented in the area of ​​the rule of law over the past two decades, the findings indicate that the expected progress has not become sufficiently visible in the daily functioning of the system.

It is added that citizens continue to recognize political influence, corruption, lengthy procedures, and limited results in the fight against organized crime and high-level corruption as key problems.

"According to the research data presented in the publication, 35,2 percent of citizens believe that the situation in the judiciary has "not changed significantly" since the restoration of independence, while only 8,4 percent assess that the judiciary has "made significant progress". At the same time, more than half of the respondents, 51,7 percent, negatively assess the work of the judiciary in the past year," the CA statement says.

It is stated that there are particularly negative assessments of the system's resistance to political influences, which is negatively assessed by 64,1 percent of respondents, as well as the efficiency of work and the duration of court proceedings, where 65,4 percent of citizens have a negative attitude.

The research, they said, also shows that citizens rate the expertise of judges and prosecutors more favorably than the way the system functions as a whole, which indicates that problems are predominantly recognized in institutional organization and management.

The CA pointed out that citizens also have a high level of support for the implementation of professional responsibility checks (vetting) in the judiciary and the Police Administration, and that more than 77 percent of respondents support this measure, while only 6,5 percent oppose it.

"The publication also reminds us that European Commission reports have been pointing to the same problems for years - political influence on the judiciary, lengthy proceedings, a large number of unresolved cases and insufficient results in prosecuting organized crime and corruption. Statistical data on the work of courts and prosecutors' offices further confirm the long-standing burden on the system, especially in complex cases," the statement added.

It is assessed that the work of the State Prosecutor's Office also poses a particular challenge, as it faces a lack of staff, inadequate space, technical equipment and the growing complexity of cases, especially in areas that require specialized knowledge in economics, finance and information technology.

"Twenty years of reforms have shown that the adoption of laws and institutional changes are not enough without their consistent implementation in practice. That is why the key challenge in the coming period will be to restore the trust of citizens through more efficient procedures, greater accountability of institutions and visible results in areas that the public has recognized for years as the greatest weaknesses of the system," the statement concludes.