N7.T6 – The Judicial Council Did Not Allow Judges from the Special Department of the High Court in Podgorica to “Escape”
HRA NEWSLETTER 7 – TOPIC 6
The Judicial Council has decided not to permit the Special Department of the High Court in Podgorica to lose judges who applied for promotion to the Court of Appeal of Montenegro. This decision ensures that the department, which is charged with handling cases involving organized crime, corruption, and war crimes, retains the necessary capacity to manage its most complex cases. As of the end of 2024, the Special Department has 168 unresolved cases.
During its April meeting, the Judicial Council opted to promote only Judge Ognjana Boljević from the Civil Department of the High Court in Podgorica to the Court of Appeal, while denying the promotion requests of her colleagues from the Special Department: Amira Đokaj, Igor Đuričković, and Vesna Kovačević. Former President of the High Court in Podgorica, Boris Savić, also applied for promotion to the Court of Appeal but did not receive approval.
“In light of the public interest, the efficiency of the Special Department’s work, and the ongoing cases before this department, the Judicial Council did not select the other judges for the Court of Appeal of Montenegro, as the candidates are directly involved in these ongoing cases,” the Judicial Council announced.
Human Rights Action (HRA) had previously emphasized the impracticality of allowing judges from the Special Department to advance, given that several serious cases are already delayed and others are extending beyond reasonable timeframes.
“If these judges were permitted to advance, we would revert to square one, facing the risk of a large number of detained defendants potentially being released. This would significantly heighten the risk of their flight. We cannot afford to restart these cases; these judges must acknowledge their responsibilities and positions,” said Bojana Malović from HRA in an interview with TV Nova.
Currently, the Special Department of the High Court in Podgorica is handling cases involving notable figures such as former President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro Vesna Medenica, former President of the Commercial Court Blaž Jovanić, former Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić, former Special Prosecutor Saša Čađenović, and Judge Milica Vlahović Milosavljević.
At a meeting on December 13, the Judicial Council unanimously agreed to increase the number of judges in the Special Department by six. It was also decided that the number of advisers should be raised to ensure each judge has one dedicated adviser. Since then, two additional judges have been appointed to the department, and five more judges have been selected for the High Court in Podgorica.
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