N12.T11 – Prosecutorial Council Appeals to Parliament to Elect New Members; Special Prosecutor’s Office Strengthened
HRA NEWSLETTER 12 – TOPIC 11
The Prosecutorial Council of Montenegro, currently lacking four members, at its first session of the new term held on September 5, appealed to the Parliament of Montenegro to “elect the missing members of the Prosecutorial Council from among distinguished lawyers as soon as possible.”
“This is necessary for the Prosecutorial Council to function smoothly, particularly in the areas of evaluating and determining the disciplinary accountability of state prosecutors and heads of state prosecutor’s offices, as well as assessing violations of the Ethical Code for State Prosecutors,” the Council stated.
It should be noted that the Prosecutorial Council recently received five new members from the ranks of state prosecutors. At the Conference of State Prosecutors held on June 20, the following were elected as members: Jelena Đaletić, Ana Marinović, Zoran Vučinić, Marko Bojović, and Ivan Gačević. The Minister of Justice appointed Stevan Brajušković as a member. Earlier, in May, the Parliamentary Committee on Political System, Judiciary, and Administration issued a public call for the election of one member from among distinguished lawyers representing NGOs, and two members from among distinguished lawyers who are not practicing attorneys. The Bar Association in the meantime proposed attorney Sanja Radulović as a member of the Prosecutorial Council.
At the same session, Jelena Đaletić was elected as Vice President of the Council, and the resignation of the head of the Ulcinj Prosecutor’s Office was formally acknowledged.
“The resignation of Denis Zvrko from the position of Head of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Ulcinj and as state prosecutor in that office was acknowledged, and a decision was made to publish a public announcement for the election of a new head of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Ulcinj, in accordance with the adopted amendment to the Plan of Vacant Prosecutor Positions,” the Council stated.
At its subsequent session, the Council decided to strengthen the Special Prosecutor’s Office. Instead of 16, the Office will now have 20 prosecutors.
The Human Rights Action welcomed the Prosecutorial Council’s decision to reinforce the Special Prosecutor’s Office. It is hoped that a larger number of special prosecutors will also allow greater focus on war crimes cases, which are currently handled by two prosecutors who also manage other types of complex cases.
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