Hungarian Supreme Court President praises Montenegro's judiciary reform

Podgorica, Montenegro (20 September 2011)

Montenegro holds a much better starting position for the negotiations with the EU when it comes to the judiciary than some of the candidate countries in the past, Hungarian President of the Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council András Baka noted during his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Duško Marković.

Constitutional changes, as DPM Marković pointed out, are a necessary precondition for the comprehensive judicial reform. In that regard, he acquainted his interlocutor with the concrete Government’s proposals to amend the Constitution, particularly regarding the appointment of the highest judicial office holders in the country.

Commending the results of the Montenegrin judiciary reform, Mr Baka informed DPM Marković about the Hungarian legal solutions in terms of establishing independent and reliable judiciary.

The two officials also discussed comparable solutions as to the appointment of highest judicial office holders in Montenegro and Hungary. It was noted that there is no single European pattern in this area, but that there are some basic guidelines of the Venice Commission which are specifically related to post-communist countries.

The Deputy Prime Minister thanked for the support that the Hungarian Government provides to Montenegro on its European and Euro-Atlantic integration path.