
N1.T6 – Constitutional Court Fails to Notify Montenegro’s National Assembly of Judges’ Terminations, Ignoring Statutory Obligation
20/11/2024
HRA SURVEY SHOWS THAT A THIRD OF JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS, MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS OF ATTORNEYS, AND TWO THIRDS OF COURT EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT THERE IS CORRUPTION IN THE JUDICIARY
22/11/2024N1.T7 – Inertness of the Judicial Council Is Threatening the Transparency and Independence of the Judiciary

HRA NEWSLETTER 1 – TOPIC 7
The Judicial Council, a body which according to the Constitution of Montenegro is responsible for preserving the independence of the judiciary, is facing criticism for its lack of transparency and failure to respond to political pressures that threaten the judiciary.
The Judicial Council did not react to the statements of the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić, who assessed the decisions of certain judges as “shameful”, or to the criticism of the ruling party of Democratic Montenegro that “by the decisions of the courts, thugs and criminals are released extremely quickly after committing crimes”.
In a letter sent to the Judicial Council, the Human Rights Action (HRA), called on this body to respond to the statements of high-ranking state officials that undermine the integrity of the judiciary.
As stated in the HRA’s letter, “It is necessary to point out both the violation of the principle of separation of powers and the serious damage that such arbitrary political attacks cause to citizens’ trust in the judiciary”.
HRA also warned about the lack of transparency of the Judicial Council when it comes to holding sessions. The law and the Rules of Procedure governing the work of the Council prescribe the public nature of its sessions, but since June of this year, HRA has been denied access on five occasions due to “lack of room”. In addition, the agenda is often published on the day of the session itself, which makes it difficult for the public to monitor the work of this body.
The HRA appealed to the Judicial Council to audio-visually record and transmit its sessions, and to publish information about the scheduled sessions and the proposed agenda several days in advance.
HRA NEWSLETTER 1
- N1.T1 – High Court Judges in Podgorica Appeal: Current Number of Judges Insufficient to Address Case Backlog
- N1.T2 – Ninth Attempt to Elect the President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro
- N1.T3 – Vesna Medenica in Court Proceedings: Hearings Delayed 23 Times Across Two Criminal Cases
- N1.T4 – CEPEJ Shows Significantly Reduced Efficiency of the Montenegrin Judiciary
- N1.T5 – Judges Declare November Work Stoppage in Demand for Higher Salaries
- N1.T6 – Constitutional Court Fails to Notify Montenegro’s National Assembly of Judges’ Terminations, Ignoring Statutory Obligation
- N1.T7 – Inertness of the Judicial Council Is Threatening the Transparency and Independence of the Judiciary