We protect the authority of judges and prosecutors

Director General of the Directorate for Justice of the Ministry of Justice, Marijana Laković-Drašković, claims that the Government's intention is not to prohibit the media from criticizing judges and prosecutors by amending the Criminal Code, but to prevent the abuse of freedom of expression.

"In no case was our intention to ban criticism, but to ban the abuse of freedom of expression, which is not absolute. It is an international standard just like the independence of the court," said Assistant Minister of Justice Zoran Pažina, regarding the harsh criticism of the civil sector.

The draft amendments to the Criminal Code prescribe prison sentences for exposing judges and prosecutors to contempt, as well as commenting on court proceedings before a final verdict.

"We have proposed a new form of this criminal act, the aim of which is to ensure the criminal-legal protection of the judiciary and the state prosecutor's office against exposure to contempt, all in order to protect the authority of the judiciary and the state prosecutor's office.

"Our intention is to protect the presumption of innocence, the independence of the court, which is an international standard, the protection of the state prosecutor in the performance of his duties, as well as protection from other serious obstruction of the conduct of criminal proceedings," she said.

Laković-Drašković reminds that this criminal offense existed in cases where a person obstructs or prevents a judge, state prosecutor, lawyer, notary or public bailiff from performing their duties. "The word 'insult', as it has been commented quite flatly by some NGOs and individuals, has existed in the CC since before, it is not introduced by changes, but we have it in the case of damage to the reputation of the state, people, minority peoples..." she says.

When asked whether it is acceptable to prevent journalists from commenting on the work of judges and prosecutors, because the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg allows broad limits of criticism in the public interest, the Head of the Chapter 23 Working Group says:

"In contrast to the approach to media criticism of other public figures, the European Court of Human Rights has a more restrictive view of media criticism or public criticism in general when it comes to holders of judicial functions and also judicial officials. This is evidenced by the judgments of that court: Barfod v. Denmark, Vorm v. Austria..." says the interlocutor.

Marijana Laković-Drašković explains that with this Draft, the Ministry "tried to act on individuals who inappropriately try to humiliate the authority of the judiciary, which is legitimate to be regulated by law".

She reminded that the public debate on the Draft Law is until February 20, stating that "to date, they have only received an email from Action for Human Rights." They informed us that the Media Union and that NGO have certain remarks that they submitted to the media a few days before, and that they will supplement them until the end of the public hearing. Since this is not the first time that this NGO has submitted remarks and suggestions first to the media and then to the Ministry of Justice, we were not surprised by such behavior," she said.

The director of the Ministry of Justice says that the purpose of the public discussion is to reach the best legal solution that would "make a balance between freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary".

The OSCE monitors the situation, the EU Delegation supports the freedom of journalists

"It is important that the legal framework of Montenegro continues to provide the necessary conditions that enable journalists to perform their duties professionally and without fear of disproportionate legal consequences," the Delegation of the European Union in Podgorica told "Vijesta" regarding the amendments to the CC.

And the office for media freedom of the OSCE in Vienna, headed by Dunja Mijatović, is "considering the draft and the public debate", it was announced to "Vijesta" yesterday.

The EU Delegation reminds that "freedom of expression is one of the fundamental values ​​of the EU and one of the key elements of the process of accession of Montenegro to the Union".

"The EU welcomed the decriminalization of defamation in Montenegro in 2012 as an important step forward that allows journalists to carry out their work without fear of criminal liability. Also, in the last Report on Montenegro, the EC called on Montenegro to consider the removal of articles of the Criminal Code that refer to insult and damage to reputation and honor in order to create a more favorable environment for the work of investigative journalists," the EU Delegation stated.