Justice ministers Marković, Miljenić: Relations between Montenegro and Croatia empowered by successful judicial cooperation

Zagreb, Croatia (16 June 2014) -- Excellent bilateral relations established between Montenegro and Croatia will be further enhanced by signing the cooperation memorandum between the two justice ministries. This memorandum will set out modes of direct support for strengthening judiciary within Montenegro’s broader integration agenda, Montenegro’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Duško Marković and Croatian Justice Minister Orsat Miljenić agreed at a meeting held in Zagreb earlier today.

DPM Marković thanked Minister Miljenić for Croatia’s increasingly active role in the Western Balkan, and for continuous exchange of experiences from its negotiation process, particularly in the area of judicial reform, which is "valuable for Montenegro due to the success of the Croatian judicial reform and the essential closeness of the two legal systems.”

The meeting particularly focused on the work of the joint commission for the settlement of property and other related issues. The two officials stated the two countries have no outstanding issues, and that most of the issues addressed by the commission have been successfully resolved. In that regard, the next meeting of the commission was scheduled for this fall, with the issue of the Training Ship Jadran on its agenda.

Ministers Marković and Miljenić praised the cooperation between judicial institutions in Montenegro and Croatia, referring to the importance of cooperation between the two prosecutor’s offices in the field of war crimes, including crimes in the Morinj camp. In that regard, they sent a joint message that all war crimes, regardless of the territory where they were committed, must get a satisfactory court’s epilogue.

"It is in Croatia’s interest to prosecute all war crimes. Police and the prosecutor’s offices of the two countries should cooperate more closely in this regard as we believe that all war-related traumas must be closed," Minister Miljenić concluded.