N5.T2 – Supreme Court Identifies Legal Violation in Sentencing for Minor Rape
HRA NEWSLETTER 5 – TOPIC 2
The Appellate Court of Montenegro violated the law in favor of the defendant by reducing his 15-year prison sentence for the rape of a minor to eight years. This decision was made by the Supreme Court of Montenegro, which accepted the request for protection of legality from the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office.
The Supreme Court concluded that the Appellate Court “provided completely unclear reasons in the explanation of the ruling, particularly regarding the decision on the sentence, and did not clarify the facts that led to the change in the first-instance verdict.” It was noted that the defendant, B.B., who is three decades older than the 15-year-old girl, committed the aggravated crime of rape, the consequences of which the victim will endure for the rest of her life, and that he exploited his long-standing friendship and neighborly relationship with the victim’s family.
The Supreme Court pointed out that the Appellate Court reduced the sentence even though it found no mitigating circumstances for the defendant.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court also referred to the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, which emphasizes that national courts should never allow serious attacks on physical and mental integrity to go unpunished or create a clear imbalance between the severity of the crime and the harshness of the sentence.
This case, is the second instance this year where the Supreme Court identified a violation of the law by a court in favor of the defendants. According to data from the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, 12 requests for legal protection were accepted last year, with eight accepted in 2023.
The NGO Human Rights Action (HRA) informed Radio Montenegro that these figures are concerning, indicating either the incompetence of some judges or potential corruption. “It is important to emphasize that all these accepted extraordinary legal remedies demonstrate that the law was violated in favor of the defendants. This means the defendants benefited… The Special State Prosecutor’s Office should investigate whether abuse of office is involved in this case, as well as in other cases,” said Amra Bajrović from HRA, stressing the need for vetting in the judiciary.
Judicial Council member Rade Ćetković told Radio Montenegro that the acceptance of “requests for legal protection” does not reflect unprofessional or negligent performance of judicial duties, and therefore, according to current legal provisions, no disciplinary action can be taken against the judge.
Earlier, the President of the Appellate Court, Mirjana Popović, stated that the acceptance of requests for legal protection will influence the evaluation of the judges of that court.
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