The Prime Minister ordered only strict observance of the law

For the sake of correct interpretation of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, as well as media allegations and speculations which stated that Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić has committed a certain crime, which, as the media and some officials of the former regime stated, is defined by law as a criminal offense of "illegal influence", first of all we want to point out that the Criminal Code does not define any criminal offense under that name.

Furthermore, Article 422 of the Criminal Code defines the criminal offense of Trading in Influence:

(1) Whoever either directly or through a third person solicits or receives a bribe or accepts the promise of a bribe for himself or another for agreeing to use his official or social position or his real or supposed influence to intercede that an official act be performed or not be performed shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from three months to three years.

(2) Whoever takes advantage of his official or social position or his real or supposed influence to intercede or promises to intercede that an official act which must not be performed be performed or that an official act which must be performed not be performed shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from six months to five years.

(3) Where the influence set out in paragraph 2 of this Article was traded for a bribe, the perpetrator shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from one to eight years.

(4) The bribe accepted shall be confiscated.

Media allegations refer to paragraph 2 of this Article. Therefore, in this case, a criminal offense exists when one takes advantage of his official or social position or his real or supposed influence to intercede or promises to intercede that an official act which must not be performed be performed or that an official act which must be performed not be performed.

In order for a criminal offense to exist, in the sense of Article 422, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code, one would have to intercede that an official act is performed contrary to the law.

It is clear that requiring officials to apply the law when performing their official duties is not a feature of this criminal offense, nor of any other criminal offense, because respecting the law is an ideal that protects the Criminal Code, and defines criminal offenses when acting contrary to the laws of Montenegro.

Also, what the Prime Minister of Montenegro personally advocated on the night of 4 and 5 September is strict application and respect for the law, which is a category elusive to the previous regime, which will have to learn that the Constitution and laws of Montenegro are the only law of this Government and its Prime Minister.