Montenegrin judiciary is making serious progress in implementation of European Convention on Human Rights

Minister of Justice Zoran Pažin spoke today at the opening of the meeting of the Supreme Court of Montenegro and the AIRE Centre in London on the occasion of the presentation of the report "A Brief Overview of the Application of the European Convention on Human Rights in the Practice of the Supreme Court of Montenegro (January 2015-July 2017)".

Opening the meeting, DPM Pažin especially thanked the AIRE Centre for its long-standing support that resulted in the improvement of legal culture in Montenegro, primarily on the implementation of legal and civilization standards from the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Deputy Prime Minister Pažin also assessed that the practice of the Montenegrin courts was taking seriously the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the area of ​​freedom of expression and pointed to the importance of consistent application of the European Convention in determining the conditions for detention, with the necessity of respecting the presumption of innocence of the defendants.

He emphasised that the European Convention cannot be interpreted without a good knowledge of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. For this reason, he expressed particular satisfaction with the quality of the report itself and concluded that it is an important publication that will be the focus of the work of the judges.

The Supreme Court in cooperation with the AIRE Centre and support of the British Embassy, ​​has been implementing the project "Implementation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the Courts of Montenegro" starting from 2015. The aim of the project is to create a legal space based on respect for human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention. The success indicator of the project is the level of training of judges, especially judges of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, in the field of human rights and freedoms, the adoption of European standards and their full application in the national legal order.

Presentation of the Report is realised within the framework of the round table "The right to access to the court and the right to a reasoned judgment"  on 22-23  February in Kolašin, which brought together domestic and foreign experts and judges.

Vesna Medenica, President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro and Biljana Braithwaite, program manager for the Western Balkans from the AIRE Centre addressed the audiance in the introductory part of the conference.

The Report should serve as a diagnostic tool for examining the extent to which judges apply the practices and standards of the Convention and, consequently, contribute to the further development of case law in the effective application of the Convention.

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER