N8.T10 – Montenegro and Officials’ Compensation – While the Region is Trying to Save Money, We Are Giving it Away
HRA NEWSLETTER 8 – TOPIC 10
The information that the former judge and Acting President of the Supreme Court Vesna Vučković was granted compensation in the amount of her full salary for the next 12 months despite the fact that she resigned from the judicial position raises numerous questions, especially since we know that the state has paid more than EUR 2,170,000 to former Montenegrin judges since 2020 upon the termination of their offices in the name of official compensation. According to data from the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro, published at the beginning of the year, as many as 49 of the 87 former holders of judicial positions have resigned.
And while our country has no doubts about the justification of financing long-term paid vacations after the end of public office, the following question arises: are other countries of the region doing the same thing? HRA investigated the conditions under which officials’ compensations are paid in the neighbouring countries, and whether they exist at all.
In Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, they do not pay compensation upon termination of judicial and prosecutorial office, while in other countries of the region this right does exist, but under different conditions.
In Serbia, after the termination of office, (former) judges and state prosecutors have the right to a three-months compensation in the amount of their last salary. This right can be extended to include another three months if the right to retirement is to be acquired during those three months. The position of judges of the Constitutional Court is somewhat more favourable, as they are entitled to a semi-annual compensation, but not always. There is no compensation for a judge whose office has ended because s/he has fulfilled the conditions for old-age retirement, who has been dismissed due to membership in a political party or due to a conflict of interest, due to a prison sentence or a criminal offence that makes him/her unworthy of the office of a judge of the Constitutional Court.
In Kosovo, only the presidents of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts and the Supreme State Prosecutor have the right to compensation. It lasts for life and is paid in the amount of 70% of their last salary. However, if they are legally convicted of a criminal offence, they lose their right to this compensation.
In Croatia, only judges of the Constitutional Court who have been in office for at least one year are entitled to monetary compensation after the termination of that office, until they start receiving a salary on another basis or until they retire. For the first six months after they stop adjudicating, they are entitled to their full salary, as if they were in office, while for the next six months they are entitled to half their salary. Those who resigned or were dismissed do not have that right.
At the end of the review we present the situation in Albania, a country that we often mention because of its successful implementation of vetting, a process that has been announced but is not yet taking place in Montenegro.
Namely, after the termination of their office, the Presidents of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts and the Supreme State Prosecutor of Albania receive three monthly salaries they had while they were in office. After that, they are entitled to half of the gross reference salary for as long as they have been in that position, but no longer than three years.
The situation is somewhat different when it comes to judges of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts. After the termination of their office, they receive two monthly salaries, and then exercise the right to 50% of the gross reference salary for as long as they were in office, but no longer than three years.
Judges, state prosecutors and deputies of the Supreme State Prosecutor in Albania receive two monthly salaries after the termination of office, and then have the right to 40% of the gross reference salary for as long as they were in office, but not longer than one year.
It is obvious that the right to pay officials’ compensation is not used anywhere like it is in Montenegro.
Because of this practice, the NGO Human Rights Action previously proposed changes to the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector, as well as changes to the Law on the Judicial Council and Judges, in order to limit the right to compensation upon termination of employment. They also suggested that those who resign should be denied benefits and severance pay.
“Resignation is a convenient move for some irresponsible people, because all the burdens and pressures disappear while the official compensation remains… If, on top of that, a judge or a state prosecutor is guilty of a disciplinary offence, resignation happens to be the ideal solution, because the disciplinary procedure is terminated immediately and the compensation is not lost”, the Executive Director of the NGO Human Rights Action, Tea Gorjanc-Prelević, explained earlier to Dan.
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