ASK: Želidrag Nikčević violated the law, had a political and personal relationship with Bećir Vuković

The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption has determined that public official Želidrag Nikčević violated regulations because, as a member of the jury for the award of the Thirteenth of July Award, he participated in making the decision to award this state recognition to writer Bećir Vuković without previously providing a written statement on the existence of a private interest, or the risk of a conflict of interest.

The ASK decision, signed by director Kristina Braletić, specifies that Nikčević is a public official as an advisor to the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mandić, and that he was also a member of the jury for the award of the Thirteenth of July Award.

It was also emphasized that it was determined that both Nikčević and Vuković are members of the Political Council of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD), which is why the Agency assessed that the jury member had a political and personal relationship with one of the award winners.

"It is established that public official Želidrag Nikčević violated Article 9 and Article 10, paragraph 1, and in relation to Article 8, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, because as a member of the jury for the award of the Thirteenth of July Award, he participated in making the decision to award the Thirteenth of July Award to writer Bećir Vuković and did not provide a written statement on the existence of a private interest, or the risk of a conflict of interest," the ASK decision states.

Nikčević, in his statement before the ASK, claimed that the case concerned his professional engagement in the field of science, culture and art, or literature, and that it had nothing to do with his function as an advisor to the President of the Parliament, nor with his membership in the Political Council of the New Serbian Democracy.

He stated that these are "two completely different and incompatible activities" that cannot lead to a conflict of interest, claiming that his temporary engagement on the jury implied exclusively a professional dimension - an assessment of the scientific, cultural and artistic value of the nominated proposals.

ASK, however, did not accept such an explanation.

The agency assessed that Nikčević's allegations did not influence a different decision-making, explaining that the decision to appoint him to the jury was made by the President of the Parliament, who is also the president of New Serbian Democracy, and that Nikčević and Vuković are members of the Political Council of that political entity.

"In this case, it cannot be said that the public official on the said jury was engaged in scientific activities as he emphasized in his statement, but it can be unequivocally determined that he had both a political and personal relationship with the said person, since both persons are members of the Political Council of the said political entity," the ASK decision states.

The Agency reminded that a public official is obliged to perform his/her function in a way that does not subordinate the public interest to the private one, and does not cause a conflict of interest. The law stipulates that a conflict of interest is considered to exist when a public official's private interest affects or may affect his/her impartiality in performing his/her public function.

According to the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, a public official who participates in a discussion and decision-making in a matter in which he or a person related to him has a private interest is obliged to immediately refrain from any action for which there is a risk of a conflict of interest and to make a written statement about it within three days at the latest.

The agency conducted the proceedings ex officio.

The procedure regarding the awarding of the July Thirteenth Award to Vuković was previously established by the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Podgorica, which has been conducting the procedure regarding the awarding of that recognition for ten months, and he was heard on this occasion today.

The case was formed in July last year, following public reactions and confirmation by the National Library "Đurđe Crnojević" that the book "Homeless Houses", for which Vuković received the Thirteenth of July Award, was not recorded in any national or regional library database.

Vuković was reported on suspicion of falsifying information about the publication of that book.