The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) concluded a research mission on the independence of the judiciary in Montenegro on 10 April. Montenegro is undergoing significant judicial reform, actively supported by international actors, such as the Venice Commission or the European Union (EU) crucial for the on-going accession process. While the legislative framework is mostly in place or improving, the actual implementation of laws and procedures continues to pose challenges.
The mission has been organized together with Civic Alliance in Montenegro as part of an on-going project and included ICJ Commissioner Justice Radmila Dragičevic‘-Dičic‘ and senior ICJ staff members.
The ICJ met with numerous key stakeholders in Montenegro, including the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Council, the Supreme Court, the Basic Court of Podgorica, the Ombudsperson, judges, lawyers, prosecutors and civil society experts.
The ICJ mission discussed main challenges concerning the organization and independence of the judiciary, the recent initiatives to reform the judiciary, including the most recent Judicial Strategy, on-going legislative amendments and possible upcoming changes in the overall system of the functioning of the judiciary in Montenegro related to its EU accession process.
The mission identified some outstanding urgent issues to be addressed including the lack of judges at different levels of the judiciary, contributing to a significant backlog of cases, organisation and structure of the bodies of the judiciary, and some cases of high level judicial figures currently under investigation on corruption charges.
Lengthy judicial proceedings remain one of the crucial flaws in access to justice in Montenegro, with a number of cases on this issue decided by the European Court for Human Rights, and many more pending.
The ICJ will provide its findings in a final mission report that will set out key recommendations to help Montenegro meet its international obligations on the independence and efficiency of the judiciary.
For more information contact Karolina Babicka at [email protected]