PROSECUTOR LIDIJA MITROVIĆ REMOVED FROM HER POSITION
The Prosecutorial Council, at its session held on June 5th, dismissed State Prosecutor Lidija Mitrović from her position. At the end of May, the Court of Appeal confirmed a seven-month prison sentence for Mitrović due to abuse of official position. Consequently, the Prosecutorial Council acted in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Montenegro, which mandates the dismissal of a prosecutor upon a final conviction to a prison sentence.
At the same session, amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Prosecutorial Council were adopted. Complaints regarding the work of prosecutors and heads of prosecutor’s offices were also reviewed. The Council found two complaints to be justified, ten unfounded, and in two cases, the matters did not concern complaints about the legality of work.
BUDIMIR ŠĆEPANOVIĆ NO LONGER A JUDGE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
The Parliament of Montenegro has acknowledged the termination of Budimir Šćepanović’s mandate as a judge of the Constitutional Court, as he reached the conditions for retirement on May 31. This decision was made following a proposal from the Constitutional Committee.
At the end of May, the Constitutional Court informed the President of the Parliament that two judges (Snežana Armenko and Momirka Tešić) considered the reasons for Šćepanović’s termination to have occurred on May 31 of the previous year, in accordance with the Pension and Disability Insurance Law. However, two other judges (Desanka Lopičić and Faruk Resulbegović) argued that the reasons for terminating Šćepanović’s judicial function would arise on May 31 of the current year. They referred to compliance with the Labor Law but did not provide an explanation, a point noted by the Venice Commission.
THE SUPREME COURT ADOPTS STRATEGIC DOCUMENT TOWARDS FASTER CASE RESOLUTION
The Supreme Court of Montenegro adopted on June 12 a strategic document titled the Unified Program for Resolving Old Cases for the period 2025-2027.
“The program foresees detailed monitoring of all cases older than three years, organizing court work in a way that gives priority to the oldest cases, and introducing supervision and regular evaluation of the implementation of measures,” the Supreme Court stated.
At the end of last year, Montenegrin courts had nearly 75,000 unresolved cases, of which almost 7,000 were older than three years. It should be noted that the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) ranked Montenegro among judicial systems that create backlogs in its 2024 report.
The Supreme Court assesses that the implementation of the Unified Program will allow courts to fulfill one of their obligations – respecting the right to a trial within a reasonable time. This will help shorten the time citizens wait for justice. It will also improve access to justice for all citizens, strengthen the rule of law, and help avoid rulings from the European Court of Human Rights and compensation payments from the budget.
The entire process will be supervised by the Supreme Court.
THE PROSECUTORIAL COUNCIL COMPLETING CONTINUES
At the Conference of State Prosecutors held on June 20, five new members of the Prosecutorial Council were elected from among state prosecutors: Jelena Đaletić, Ana Marinović, Zoran Vučinić, Marko Bojović, and Ivan Gačević. They will be part of the next composition of the Prosecutorial Council after the current term expires in August.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Committee for Political System, Judiciary, and Administration has published a public call to elect one member of the Prosecutorial Council from among respected lawyers representing NGOs, and to elect two members from among respected lawyers who are not lawyers by profession.
GREEN LIGHT FOR THE CHANGE OF CONSTITUTION
The Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro accepted the proposal for amending the Constitution of Montenegro at its session held on June 9.
The constitutional amendments focus on changes to the composition of the Judicial Council – to have the majority made up of judges elected by other judges, to remove the Minister of Justice as a member of the Council, and to ensure that members who are not judges are elected based on professional references and integrity, according to objective and measurable criteria.
ELECTED NEW PRESIDENT OF THE BASIC COURT IN PLJEVLJA
At the session held on June 11, the Judicial Council elected Marina Jelovac as the new president of the Basic Court in Pljevlja. This marks the beginning of her second term as head of that court.
At the same session, Bojana Fatić and Marija Popivoda were elected as judges of the basic courts in the northern region. Also, a call was announced for the selection of 13 candidates for judges of the basic courts in the northern region, as well as two judges for the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje.
At the session held on June 17, due to meeting the conditions for retirement, the termination of the function of Vesna Jočić, judge of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, was confirmed.
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