Council of Europe's rapporteurs commend Montenegro's commitment to strengthening rule of law

Podgorica, Montenegro (10 July 2013) – Montenegro’ commitment and efforts invested in the internal reform agenda in order to further strengthen the rule of law and fully implement modern standards in this area are highly commendable and will undoubtedly lead to improved standard of living of Montenegrin citizens and greater inflow of foreign investment and prosperity of the state in general, Nursuna Memecan and Kimmo Sasi, rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, said at the meeting with Montenegro’s Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Duško Marković.

The meeting particularly focused on the constitutional amendments related to judiciary, which would eliminate the possible space for political influence in this area. The Council of Europe’s rapporteurs announced their expectation that the consensus in Parliament would be reached before the deadline, that is, by the end of July.

DPM Marković informed the rapporteurs about the proposed amendments regarding the election of supreme public prosecutor, the Supreme Court’s president, the composition of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Council and the procedure of appointing judges of the Constitutional Court, which are in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

Pointing out to the fact that the rule of law, fight against organised crime and corruption, and protection and promotion of fundamental human rights are the top priorities, but also the greatest challenges, DPM Marković acquainted the Council of Europe’s rapporteurs with current activities in these areas and measures envisaged by the action plans arising from national strategies, and those which arise from the key EU and NATO accession documents, that is, action plans on negotiating chapters 23 and 24.

When it comes to the legislative reform, the meeting gave special attention to amending the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, and praised solutions which protect LGBT people, in terms of the introduction of aggravating circumstances for offenses motivated by hate based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

In the area of institutional capacity reform, the rapporteurs emphasised the rationalisation of the court network, plans to concentrate competencies for the fight against organised crime and corruption, as well as the analysis of the organisational structure, capacity and jurisdiction of public institutions in combating organised crime and corruption.