N13.T1 – The Constitutional Court Still Waiting for Judges – Parliament Fails to Elect Any of the Proposed Candidates
HRA NEWSLETTER 13 – TOPIC 1
At its session on 14 October, the Parliament of Montenegro did not elect any of the three proposed candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro. Members of Parliament voted on Mirjana Radović and Jovan Jovanović, nominated by the parliamentary committee, and Mirjana Vučinić, nominated by the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović. None of the candidates received the required two-thirds majority (at least 54 votes). The vote will be repeated no earlier than 17 November, when a simple majority of 49 votes will be sufficient for election.
The Constitutional Court currently has four out of seven judges, leaving it on the brink of losing quorum.
“The Constitutional Court cannot function properly with four, five, or even six judges – only with seven, as prescribed. In the view of Human Rights Action (HRA), this situation represents a de facto blockade, as decisions can only be adopted unanimously. Such circumstances are abnormal and place pressure on the judges,” said Tea Gorjanc-Prelević, Executive Director of Human Rights Action (HRA), speaking on TV Nova’s programme Iznova.
She recalled that the Constitutional Court is currently unable to decide on several key cases, and that members of Parliament have not provided any serious reason why the proposed candidates should not be elected and why they would not urgently support the Court’s work.
“Regarding the eligibility criteria, all candidates met all legal requirements — they were over 40 years of age, had at least 15 years of professional legal experience, and were recognised legal experts. None of them faced any serious objections, except for general and offensive claims that they were biased or ‘obedient’ to political parties.”
On the same day the unsuccessful vote took place, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Montenegrin MPs to elect the missing judges of the Constitutional Court.
Human Rights Action (HRA) expressed hope that, within the next month, awareness of the need for unity will grow, so that the country and its citizens can finally have a fully functional Constitutional Court and continue progress toward the European Union.
“I appeal, in the general public interest, for all proposed candidates to be elected, so that the Court can operate effectively, protect human rights, and prevent Montenegro from receiving yet another negative remark from the European Commission — something we certainly do not need,” Gorjanc-Prelević added.
However, if Parliament again fails to elect any of the proposed candidates, the selection procedure will have to be repeated, and the next possible date for the election would be March 2026.
Although Judge Desanka Lopičić’s twelve-year term at the Constitutional Court expires at the end of December, it remains uncertain whether she will step down at that time. According to Article 15 of the Constitution, when a judge’s term expires and no new judge is nominated or elected, Parliament shall simultaneously decide to end the outgoing judge’s mandate and to allow them to continue performing their duties until a new judge is elected, but for no longer than one year. It should also be noted that, under the Constitution, Judge Lopičić’s mandate should have already ended last year, as she met the retirement requirements under the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance.
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