Montenegro and Croatia sign agreement to boost criminal justice cooperation

Zagreb, Croatia (9 September 2011) -- Minister of Justice Duško Marković and his Croatian counterpart Dražen Bošnjaković signed today the Agreement on Mutual Enforcement of Court Decisions in Criminal Matters aimed at promoting criminal justice cooperation between Montenegro and Croatia and the fight against transnational crime.

The Agreement seeks to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the field of justice, in particular the fight against organised crime and corruption. It also creates the necessary international and legal framework for Montenegro - Croatia relations and enables mutual enforcement of court decisions in criminal matters.

The core principles of the deal are those of fairness and social rehabilitation of sentenced persons, achieved through the enforcement of criminal sanctions in their own state.

The signing of the Agreement also creates the legal basis for the transfer of supervision of the offenders on whom a suspended sentence has been imposed, as well as the transfer of imprisonment or detention measures against persons who are citizens of the other party or who have a permanent or temporary residence on its territory