The Court of Appeals of Montenegro has dismissed the appeal filed by the defence of former Supreme Court President Vesna Medenica against the decision imposing pre-trial detention, meaning she will remain in custody due to the risk of flight.
The former head of the Montenegrin judiciary was convicted at first instance in late January and sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of membership in a criminal organisation headed by her son Miloš, who has been a fugitive since January of this year. It is precisely this fact that influenced the decision to impose detention on Vesna Medenica.
Initially, the Higher Court in Podgorica had imposed on the former Supreme Court President a prohibition on leaving her place of residence and the confiscation of her passport; however, on 28 February, following the Court of Appeals’ acceptance of the Special State Prosecution’s appeal, she was remanded in pre-trial detention.
Constitutional Court Resolves Oldest Normative Cases and Intensifies Processing of Constitutional Appeals
In the first three months of 2026, the Constitutional Court of Montenegro resolved all normative cases from 2018 — concerning the review of the constitutionality of laws and subordinate legislation — as well as 361 constitutional appeals from 2024, thereby consistently implementing its case resolution plan for this year.
This brings to a close, after a lengthy period, proceedings in the oldest group of normative cases.
“It must never happen again that citizens wait eight years for the Constitutional Court to answer whether a provision of a law is in accordance with the Constitution or not,” said Constitutional Court President Snežana Armenko, noting that through systematic work, 28 normative cases had been resolved — double the planned 14 — thanks to the consolidation of initiatives relating to the same legislation.
During the reporting period, the Court ruled on the constitutionality of several laws and subordinate legal acts across various fields, including energy, criminal procedure, notarial services and public policy, as well as the question of Sunday as a non-working day.
According to Armenko, the goal is to complete the processing of all appeals from 2024 by June, despite operating with an incomplete bench and limited staffing capacity.
Public Call Issued for Judicial Council Members
The parliamentary Committee on the Political System, Judiciary and Administration issued a public call on 13 March for the election of four members of the Judicial Council from among distinguished legal professionals
A candidate eligible for election as a Judicial Council member from among distinguished legal professionals must be at least 40 years of age, have at least 15 years of professional experience as an attorney, notary, academic in legal sciences, or in other legal work, enjoy personal and professional standing, and must not have been convicted of criminal offences that render judges unfit for judicial office.
In late February (27 February), the Rule of Law Council called on the Committee to issue the public call without delay and elect the Judicial Council members. It also appealed for the Conference of Judges to be convened at the earliest opportunity so that Judicial Council members from among judges could be elected, given that the Council’s mandate expires on 12 July of this year.
“All of this with the aim of avoiding any vacuum in the functioning of the judicial branch in a year in which the closure of rule of law negotiating chapters is expected,” the Government stated at the time.
CA: Citizens Do Not Trust in the Independence of Judges and Are Dissatisfied with Court Efficiency
Montenegrin citizens’ perception of the judiciary is troubling, according to the latest survey by NGO Civic Alliance (CA), titled “(Dis)trust of Citizens in State Institutions and Perception of the Judiciary.” Citizens largely do not believe in the independence of the judiciary, and consider courts to be inefficient.
Only five percent of respondents believe in the independence of Montenegrin courts and judges, while just one fifth (25.2%) believe they are mostly independent. The data show that as many as 41.6% of respondents are unable to assess whether the judiciary is independent.
The survey also found that nearly half of citizens trust the police (45%), while only a third trust judicial institutions (34%). Two thirds of Montenegrin citizens (67.3%) consider courts to be slow in reaching decisions in serious criminal cases, while only 11.4% believe they are efficient.
The survey was conducted in February and involved 1,100 respondents.
Reorganisation of Basic Courts in Pljevlja and Nikšić
The Basic Court in Pljevlja will take over the staff of the Basic Court in Žabljak, who will continue to carry out their duties at that court’s Territorial Division in Žabljak. This was agreed through a proposed law on amendments to the Law on Courts, adopted by the Government of Montenegro.
The Government stated that the change will have no impact on citizens, who will continue to have access to the court through the Territorial Division.
“It will formally no longer be necessary to delegate cases within the jurisdiction of the Basic Court in Žabljak to the Basic Court in Pljevlja, as has been the practice over the past two years,” the statement reads.
The amendments also propose that the Basic Court in Nikšić — previously responsible for the municipalities of Nikšić and Plužine — extend its jurisdiction to cover the territory of Šavnik as well.
The Government states that these decisions represent steps towards fulfilling the measures set out in the Judicial Network Rationalisation Plan and the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Judiciary Reform Strategy 2024–2027, both of which envisage the optimisation of smaller courts.
The Judiciary to Receive Artificial Intelligence Support
The Montenegrin judiciary has acquired its first artificial intelligence-based server, which will be used to develop and implement advanced solutions.
The acquisition of the AI server, as announced by the Ministry of Justice, supports the development of practical solutions for the analysis of case law, improvements in case management, the optimisation of work processes, and better access to the exercise of rights — while fully respecting judicial independence, data protection, and fundamental human rights.
“The acquisition of the first AI server represents an important step towards a modern, more efficient, and more transparent judiciary. This is not merely a technological upgrade, but a long-term investment in institutional capacity, the strengthening of the rule of law, and Montenegro’s European perspective,” said Minister of Justice Bojan Božović.
The NVIDIA DGX H200 server, valued at €394,079, was acquired with the financial support of the European Union under the project “Support to the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Sector — Implementation of the Unified Judiciary Information System,” implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice.
English