The General Session of the Supreme Court will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday 15 March, with the task of electing a candidate for the president of that highest judicial instance.

The position of president of the Supreme Court has been vacant since Vesna Medenica resigned from office on 31 December 2020. A total of 38 months have passed since then, marked by six unsuccessful competitions.

To be elected president of the Supreme Court, it is necessary that the candidate who meets the prescribed requirements be supported by two thirds of all the judges of the Supreme Court, and then by two thirds of the members of the Judicial Council.

In the current, seventh competition, the candidates for the position are Supreme Court judges Ana Vuković and Ranko Vukić, who both meet the criteria for election.

Judge Ana Vuković began her judicial career in 2001, at the Basic Court in Podgorica. She showed her personal integrity in 2002, when she was still a young judge, in the case of the sex trafficking investigation against the injured party “S. Č.”, a citizen of Moldova. This is the third time she has applied for the position of president. The other candidate, judge Ranko Vukić, started his judicial career in 1989, in the Municipal Misdemeanour Court in Titograd [now Podgorica]. He had previously applied for the position of the Constitutional Court judge.

In the course of the election process, both candidates presented their work plans. judge Vukić promised to draw up a plan for solving all backlog cases and to monitor the implementation of said plan on a monthly basis. He also suggested cooperation with non-governmental organisations by signing memoranda and protocols to increase trust in the work of the courts. In her own plan, judge Vuković stated that she would work to depoliticise the judiciary and ensure that the election of judges is free from political influence. She pointed out that crime and corruption cases will be given priority.

The European Commission has repeatedly noted the urgent need for the appointment of the President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, based on merit and in a transparent procedure which is crucial for an independent and impartial judiciary.

After three full years of acting officials, it is high time to allow one of the existing candidates who meet the requirements to take on the task of steering Montenegrin judiciary towards the European Union.

All responsibility for this important election rests with the judges of the Supreme Court, who now have an opportunity to improve the public’s impression of that court in the aftermath of Vesna Medenica’s unconstitutional term of office.