Koprivica: Amendments to Law on National Security Agency to strengthen oversight and ensure selection of qualified personnel

The Government of Montenegro has adopted the proposed amendments to the Law on the National Security Agency, which have already been endorsed by the Legislative and the Security and Defence Committees of the Parliament of Montenegro. The proposed law is scheduled for discussion at the extraordinary session of Parliament on 21 January, Deputy Prime Minister for Political System, Judiciary, and Anti-Corruption Momo Koprivica announced. He expressed confidence that the law will be adopted despite anti-European attempts to obstruct parliamentary work.

This proposal introduces reform-oriented changes to strengthen the oversight of the Agency’s legality and efficiency, closes legal loopholes, and enhances accountability mechanisms. We are establishing a new position of Special Inspector, tailored to meet the demands of lawful, accountable, and timely oversight of Agency’s work. This replaces the existing General Inspector position, which was neither clearly nor comprehensively regulated, leading to past abuses and poor staff selection, said Deputy Prime Minister Koprivica.

He emphasized that under the proposed amendments, the Special Inspector responsible for overseeing the legality and efficiency of the Agency’s operations will be a more objective and impartial mechanism. Unlike the General Inspector, the Special Inspector will be appointed outside the agency’s internal structure and hierarchy and will have a clearly defined role within the government system.

The current framework lacks specific grounds for the dismissal of the General Inspector under the Law on the National Security Agency, which serves as a lex specialis. This omission raises questions about the accountability of this role. The proposed amendments introduce specific dismissal criteria to address instances where the actions of the General Inspector have jeopardized or could have jeopardized data collected by the Agency. This is vital for preventing abuses and ensuring accountability in this critical role, Koprivica stated.

He further noted that “the public should be aware that this unacceptable legal gap allowed certain individuals to win legal disputes, not because their claims had merit but solely due to these legal deficiencies.”

The Deputy Prime Minister also highlighted the introduction of integrity checks as an anti-corruption measure within the proposed amendments, marking a significant step forward.

These measures will strengthen filters for selecting qualified and trustworthy personnel with integrity. By incorporating anti-corruption measures into the system step by step, we are ensuring its comprehensive reform. Additionally, this amendment clearly defines the rights, duties, responsibilities, and salary coefficients for the oversight role, Koprivica explained.

He emphasized that sound legal solutions are critical to strengthening institutional frameworks. In the context of the National Security Agency, this is particularly important given the abuses, irregularities, and poor staff selection that have occurred in the past, often with devastating consequences for democracy, national security, human rights, and society as a whole. These amendments represent essential steps towards institutional recovery and integrity, Deputy Prime Minister Momo Koprivica concluded.