The Disciplinary Commission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro identified the responsibility of police officers in 16 cases during the year 2022, while in 7 cases, police officers were acquitted of disciplinary responsibility. This Commission is responsible for conducting procedures for serious violations of official duty. The report from this commission does not provide information on the specific violations for which responsibility was established, only indicating cases where a disciplinary procedure was initiated.
According to the report, in one case, there was a delay in the procedure, while in 8 cases, the completion of procedures before other competent authorities is pending. The Commission issued decisions to suspend disciplinary proceedings in 6 cases due to the withdrawal of the disciplinary prosecutor’s decisions to initiate proceedings or the termination of employment.
In 2022, the Commission received 77 cases. According to decisions to initiate disciplinary proceedings, in 52 cases, officials were charged with serious violations of the Law on Internal Affairs, while in 25 cases, violations of the Law on Civil Servants and Employees were considered.
Concerning serious violations of the Law on Internal Affairs, there was a slight increase in the number of cases compared to 2021. The majority of initiated disciplinary proceedings related to the violation of rules and standards established by the Code of Police Ethics. In contrast to the previous two years, when there were no proceedings for taking or not taking action that hinders or obstructs the performance of police duties and the execution of official tasks, in 2022, 10 proceedings were initiated for the mentioned violation. One disciplinary proceeding was initiated due to corruption.
It is worth noting that these procedures were previously under the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Commission for all state officials and employees, while a separate disciplinary commission for the Ministry of Internal Affairs was formed at the end of 2021.
The report of the Disciplinary Commission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is not publicly available, and IA obtained it through a freedom of information request. The report can be downloaded here.
The table provides an overview of initiated disciplinary proceedings for the years 2021 and 2022:
