Montenegro is ready to contribute to strengthening of European system of human rights protection

Copenhagen, Denmark (12 April 2018) -- The unique system of European human rights protection is a product of common values that we, as Europeans, are obliged to develop, nurture and protect, as a guarantee of freedom and European quality of life, Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin said today, addressing the ministers of justice of the member states of the Council of Europe.

The Ministerial Conference was organised in order to adopt the Copenhagen Declaration, which is an expression of the willingness of the member states of the Council of Europe to make the human rights protection system in Europe even more efficient, with a strong affirmation of the principle of shared responsibility, i.e. the need to ensure timely protection of human rights at the national level.

"In Montenegro, we are looking forward to working with our European partners in this significant reform venture, because we know that by strengthening the European mechanism for the protection of human rights we simultaneously strengthen the national capacities to provide our citizens with the highest level of protection of human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights," DPM Pažin said.

He assessed that the implementation of the European Convention through the practice of the European Court of Human Rights was the main focus of the reform of the Montenegrin judiciary, as a key process in transforming Montenegro into a society of European values. "That is why Montenegro has always been and will remain prepared to implement without exception all the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights, regardless of their economic or other implications," DPM Pažin noted.

He also announced that Montenegro is grateful to the European Court of Human Rights for any decision protecting Montenegrin citizens with a certain right guaranteed by the European Convention. "None of these judgement are considered as cost or loss for Montenegro. On the contrary, any judgement of the European Court contributes to the development and improvement of the knowledge and capacity of the Montenegrin judiciary to better protect the rights and freedoms of our citizens by the highest European standards of justice and equity," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Therefore, as he stressed, Montenegro strongly supports the reforms envisaged by the Copenhagen Declaration in the direction of further strengthening the international level of human rights protection in Europe, with parallel strengthening of domestic legal mechanisms for the protection of human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention.