Montenegro is a country where it is possible to receive both a state salary and a pension. It is also a country where it is possible to employ retired people in public institutions, as some laws prohibit this but others allow it.
The legal conflict is successfully used by certain retired politicians, professors and security officers, and for some lawyers - it is a classic abuse of the state budget.
Professor Dragan Koprivica recently resigned from his position as acting director of the KIC "Budo Tomović" due to different legal interpretations - whether, as a pensioner, he has the right to establish a permanent employment relationship in a public institution.
"The dilemma that arose later, whether I had the right or not, was enough for me to resign and end this story," said Koprivica.
According to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, pensioners cannot be employed in state bodies, but the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance allows this, if their pension has previously been suspended. This was also referred to in the ruling from October last year by the Administrative Court, which assessed that the Ministry of Defense should not have annulled the decision to employ Miodrag Jokanović, because at the time of employment, his pension payment had already been suspended.
"A pension beneficiary has the right to find employment, whereby he is not paid a pension during employment, and does not lose his pensioner status, so he can request the reinstatement of payments after termination of employment," the Administrative Court stated in its ruling on Jokanović's lawsuit against the Ministry of Defense.
On the other hand, the advisors to the two vice-presidents of the Government, Professor Milan Popović and former politician Predrag Bulatović, received both an advisor's salary and a pension in November and December last year, which is not allowed under the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, according to their asset files. In May this year, the Administrative Inspection concluded that the two were appointed to these positions, contrary to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees. However, according to data published by the Government every month, Popović still receives a salary of 1.604 euros, and Bulatović 1.583. It has not been announced, however, whether they continue to receive a pension in addition to their salary.
Some lawyers believe that this is a classic misuse of the budget.
"There are many examples of people who have spent their entire lives in politics, who have been on the budget their entire lives, and when they retire, they want, through their party friends and comrades, to continue this practice and continue to drain the budget. It is illegal, it is problematic, it causes serious damage to the budget, and this should be addressed not only by inspections, but perhaps in some cases by the state prosecutor's office as well," said lawyer Veselin Radulović.
And although in November 2024 it declared itself incompetent to assess the legality of Predrag Burić's employment as Inspector General of the National Security Agency (ANB), the Administrative Inspection concluded a year later that he was employed in accordance with the regulations, because his pension payment had been suspended at the time of employment. The Inspection acted on a complaint from Burić's predecessor, Artan Kurti, who pointed out that the law on civil servants does not allow the employment of pensioners. Burić, however, still holds the position, now of special controller, and receives 2.076 euros.
In most European Union countries, the employment of retirees in public administration is permitted, provided that the pension is either suspended, reduced or limited. Therefore, most EU countries allow retirees to return to work, with certain financial restrictions, rather than through an absolute ban.
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