N8.T9 – The Sanction against Judge Suzana Mugoša Remains – Lower Salary and Inability to Advance
HRA NEWSLETTER 8 – TOPIC 9
The Supreme Court of Montenegro confirmed the decision of the Disciplinary Panel of the Judicial Council, which reduced the salary of the judge of the Podgorica High Court, Suzana Mugoša, by 30 percent for three months and prohibited her from being promoted in the next two years.
In February of this year, the Disciplinary Panel found that Mugoša was responsible for a serious disciplinary offence because she announced in November 2023 that the decision of the Appellate Court of Montenegro in the “Coup d’état” case had been bought.
The decision of the Supreme Court emphasised that a judge’s right to freedom of expression is not absolute, and that it must be exercised while respecting the principles of independence and impartiality of the judiciary.
“The Supreme Court concluded that the decision of the Disciplinary Panel did not violate the right to freedom of expression, and that it does not violate freedom of expression in a way that would be prohibited by Article 10 of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms”.
As assessed by the Supreme Court, the decision of the Disciplinary Panel was fully in line with legal and international standards.
Let us recall that in February 2021 the Appellate Court annulled the first-instance verdict of the judicial panel of the High Court in Podgorica, presided over by Suzana Mugoša, by which 13 persons who were accused of attempted terrorism on the day of the parliamentary elections in 2016 were sentenced to almost 70 years in prison. Among them were the leaders of the Democratic Front, Andrija Mandić, the current Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, and Milan Knežević, a member of parliament.
In July 2024, all the persons who were accused in the “Coup d’état” case were acquitted in the repeated first-instance proceeding.
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