Cabinet passed innovated Draft Law on freedom of religion or belief and legal status of religious communities

Podgorica, Montenegro (5 December 2019) -- At today’s session the Montenegrin Cabinet passed an innovated text of the Draft Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Legal status of Religious Communities, in which all the recommendations of the Venice Commission were fully accepted and integrated. It is an extremely liberal law, which provides a higher degree of freedom of thought, conscience and religion and a significantly higher degree of rights and freedoms than any other law in this area in our environment. The adopted Draft Law guarantees full freedom of religion for all believers and the equal position of all religious communities in Montenegro, as well as full freedom of beliefs for all non – religious citizens.

Also, the drafted law establishes property rights of the state over religious facilities that represent cultural heritage of Montenegro, which was built and acquired from the public revenues of the state trough centuries.

In accordance with this, The Draft Law provides all religious facilities that represent cultural heritage and that were in a property of state of Montenegro, prior to the loss of its independency in 1918 and that later did not go adequately become the legally owned by some of the religious community, will be recognised as a state property.

However, if any religious community have evidences in disposal that it has become the owner of some property, on the basis of previous or today’s regulations in force, the state will recognise and respect that. Any dispute in relation to the ownership of religious property will be resolved before the competent court, as any other property dispute, in accordance with the laws in force in Montenegro.

On the basis of the recommendations of the Venice Commission, an innovated text of the Draft Law is further improved and précised trough the following key exchange and amendments:

Additionally, it is précised that acting of religious community can only be restricted if it is necessary in a democratic society for the protection of public safety, public order , health or morals or protecting the rights and freedoms of others, while the measure of restriction commensurate with these values.

There is left even broader freedom of choice, in the registration of the religious communities. Explicitly, it was stated that religious community whose religious centre is abroad is not obligated to register, but decides freely on if it will require registration in the Register, while unregistered religious communities cannot have a status of legal entity. Beside that the law permits any religious community that have at least three adult believers, who do not have to be a Montenegrin citizens and if they are granted permanent residency in accordance with the law, to register.

The additional conditions are introducing in the judicial prohibition procedure of the religious communities, which is permitted only if the legitimate aim of protecting public safety, health or moral, or protection of rights and freedoms of others cannot be achieved by milder restrictions.

The possibility of financing activities of religious communities from the state budget and the budget of the local authority is explicitly provided.