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17 NGOs: New legal framework should contribute to RTCG becoming a genuine public service

We call on the Ministry of Culture and Media to ensure, through the new Law on RTCG, that the appointment of new members of the RTCG Council takes place immediately after the expected rapid adoption in the Parliament of Montenegro, and the Parliament to halt the ongoing process of appointing two members of the RTCG Council under the current law.

Considering the escalation of controversies within RTCG, largely contributed by the current composition of the RTCG Council through disregard for court decisions, we believe it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Media, as well as the Parliament of Montenegro, to contribute to the urgent resolution of this situation within their respective authorities.

The latest version of the draft Law on RTCG (Law on the National Public Broadcaster – Public Media Service of Montenegro) sets clear criteria for the selection of RTCG Council members, requiring a level VII-1 of professional qualification and 10 years of work experience, while for the general director, a level VII-1 of professional qualification and a minimum of 10 years of experience are required. Additionally, the draft Law on RTCG foresees an increase in the number of RTCG Council members from the current 9 to 11. Furthermore, the draft Law outlines a procedure for the selection of RTCG Council members that limits the inappropriate influence of political parties on the selection process by ensuring that representatives of NGOs in this body are not elected by members of the Parliament’s Administrative Committee but rather by the NGOs that must meet rigorous criteria to demonstrate their activity. These provisions, along with the tightening of criteria for the selection of RTCG Council members, should lead to greater independence of the RTCG Council and consequently greater autonomy of the RTCG management.

The Ministry envisages a three-year delay in the implementation of the law to allow the current Council and management of RTCG to complete their mandate. This demonstrates the Ministry’s inappropriate dismissive attitude towards pressing issues and consciously undermines the necessary changes that should be induced by new media laws.

The current Council was elected through a procedure that allowed strong political influence through the Parliament of Montenegro’s Administrative Committee, which, according to their political preferences, selected representatives of NGOs, who constitute 4 out of 9 Council members. Such a Council twice illegally appointed the Director-Genera of RTCG twice, as confirmed by court judgments and the decision of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC).

The Parliament is currently conducting the procedure for the election of two Council members for a new term, although it is clear that the new legal text must be swiftly adopted for Montenegro to receive the IBAR in June, and one of the two candidates participated in the double illegal appointment of Raonić.

We remind that the process of amending media laws has been ongoing for almost 30 months, and that the key requirements of the European Union and the Council of Europe are to increase the autonomy of the governing bodies of RTCG and the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM). These are obligations of the state of Montenegro in the EU accession process. The final adoption of these legal texts is expected in the next month.

We believe there is no valid argument to delay the election of all governance structures of RTCG for three years, as this is the only way to create conditions for this institution to free itself from political parties’ influence and professionalize into a genuine public service.

Violating the law and disregard for court rulings in RTCG cannot contribute to the position of the Government, which claims to be committed to European integration and the rule of law.Therefore, we call on the Ministry of Culture and Media to consider this demand from the civil sector and to include in the provisions in the final version of the draft Law on RTCG that enable the implementation of the law immediately after its adoption, and for the Parliament of Montenegro to suspend the current procedure and elect all new Council members according to the new legal solution.

Media Centre, Goran Đurović
Centre for Civic Education (CCE/CGO), Daliborka Uljarević
NGO Prima, Aida Perović
Montenegrin PEN Centre, Milan Marković
Association SPEKTRA, Jovan Ulićević
Centre for Investigative Journalism CIN-CG, Milka Tadić Mijović
Centre for Monitoring and Research (CeMI), Zlatko Vujović
Alliance for Equal Rights of LGBTI Persons ERA, Danijel Kalezić
Montenegrin Women’s Lobby, Aida Petrović
Association of Youth with Disabilities (UMHCG), Marina Vujačić
Montenegrin LGBTIQ Association Queer Montenegro, Staša Baštrica
NGO Juventas, Ivana Vujović
Association of Montenegrin Publishers, Vladimir Vojinović
Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG), Radomir Kračković
Women Rights Centre (WRC), Maja Raičević
Institute Alternative, Stevo Muk
Centre for Development of non-governmental organisations (CRNVO), Zorana Marković

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The second episode of IA podcast (Re)Form with Marija Hajduković: Counting public administration employees

In the second episode of the IA podcast (Re)Forma, we discussed the activities undertaken in the process of public administration reform, the importance of data accessibility, and the announced (urgent) amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees with Marija Hajduković, General Director of the Directorate for Strategic Planning in Public Administration, International Cooperation, and IPA Funds at the Ministry of Public Administration.

Hajduković highlighted the area related to the civil service system as a significant result of the activities conducted, which includes intensive work on amending the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees. This law underwent changes in 2020, which were then criticised by the European Commission.

“We expect that this law will soon be up for public discussion, and we are currently in communication with SIGMA representatives. I would particularly emphasise the results achieved during these first hundred days of the new Government’s work – primarily the publication of the number of employees in public administration and the publication of the 1.000 highest salaries in the public sector, indicating a real effort towards transparent work and the publication of data held by the authorities,” said Hajduković.

She added that several other activities have been undertaken in the normative part, which is also the most complex.

“First and foremost, I refer to the Law on the Government, the preparation and adoption of the Law on Local Self-Government, and the Law on Information Security,” said Hajduković, adding that the publication of the central-level institution registry is one of the significant results regarding public administration reform.

The Ministry of Public Administration, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, has created an interactive platform that allows the public to track not only the institutions but also the number of employees in institutions at both the central and local levels.

“It is very important to note that this is an interactive platform that will be updated this quarter. This is crucial not only for tracking the number of employees and salaries, but also to reduce the number of requests for free access to information, as many individuals contact the Ministry of Public Administration or the Ministry of Finance to obtain data,” concluded Hajduković.

Current scope of public administration reform – still without public enterprises

Despite initiatives to include public enterprises in the framework of the Public Administration Reform Strategy, which was adopted at the end of 2021, the strategic direction of the Government of Montenegro was that enterprises are not part of the public administration.

“It is important for everyone to understand what the scope of public administration entails, and the introduction of public institutions was a very significant reform. I agree that, in an ideal scenario, including public enterprises would also be beneficial, which is not common practice, and there are no such rules,” said Hajduković, adding that certain activities are being carried out in this area as well. Last month, information on the establishment of an enterprise registry was published, concluding that this part requires some improvement.

Currently, she added, an analysis of the situation in public institutions is being conducted, which will be a starting point for policy creation and, ultimately, the Law on Public Institutions, which Montenegro does not yet possess. However, the adoption of this law is not planned for the 2024 work programme of the Ministry of Public Administration.

Hajduković emphasized that there is both political and financial support, which are key prerequisites for the further process of public administration reform, and that, along with knowledge, this is the only way to achieve results.

“It is very important for me to point out that the Public Administration Reform Strategy was implemented between two governments, and for any reform or achievement of results, political support is very important. Besides political support, it is crucial to have financial resources for the sustainable achievement of those results,” said Hajduković, concluding that, at this moment, there is a strategic document that is relevant and covers all the challenges faced by the Montenegrin administration.

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16 NGOs protest against proposal to extend sitting Constitutional Court judges’ mandates in Montenegro

Members of The Europe Now! Movement (PES), Vasilije Čarapić and Darko Dragović, have proposed an amendment to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance to create an exception to retirement conditions in favour of judges of the Constitutional Court. Adoption of the proposal would extend the mandate of the current President of the Constitutional Court, Milorad Gogić and Judge Budimir Šćepanović, whose terms under the current law expire in May. Additionally, it would affect Judges Dragana Đuranović and Desanka Lopičić, whose functions are supposed to end by the end of this year.

Milorad Gogić and Desanka Lopičić have been judges of the Constitutional Court since 2005, Budimir Šćepanović since 2013, and Dragana Đuranović since February 2023.

The undersigned non-governmental organisations strongly oppose the proposed amendment to the law, considering it an inappropriate influence of the executive branch on the Constitutional Court. We believe that adopting the proposed legislative change and extending the mandates of current judges would unnecessarily jeopardise the integrity of the Constitutional Court, which must uphold the rule of law rather than the interests of the executive.

If the government’s true objective had been a principled consideration of the optimal retirement age, this issue would not solely concern Constitutional Court judges but all judges who are in the same legal situation due to the wording of the Constitution. It would not be hastily initiated by the deputies without public debate, an action evidently aimed at preventing imminent expiration of mandates for current Constitutional Court judges.

We believe that the issue of the termination of judicial functions should be opened and resolved on a principled basis for all, in a manner that does not compromise the integrity of the Constitutional Court.

Below are more detailed reasons against the proposal of the said MPs:

1) Hasty changes to the law aimed at extending the mandates of current Constitutional Court judges would only confirm suspicions of political influence on four judges of the court who meet retirement conditions this year under the existing Law on Pension and Disability Insurance. Amending the law would prioritise subjective interests of these four judges over the broader public interest for impartial and objective Constitutional Court.

2) The selection procedure for a judge to replace the outgoing President of the Constitutional Court has been duly initiated and is pending. Six candidates have applied for the position, and there should not be any obstacles to filling the vacancy on time. However, it is also true that the competent Constitutional Committee, led by Simonida Kordić (NSD), has failed to determine whether the applicants meet the requirements and to invite them for an interview during the last month, likely due to the same agenda to extend mandates of the existing judges.

Additionally, the competition to appoint a judge to succeed Judge Šćepanović, who turns 65 on May 31st and thus meets the retirement criteria, has not yet been announced. This is another indication that there is at least an expectation from the Constitutional Court, if not an agreement, for the executive branch to accommodate them and allow for the extension of mandates for all. However, if this competition were announced immediately, it would be possible to timely fill both judicial positions.

3) The proposal is discriminatory towards judges of regular courts, whose functions also need to cease at the age of 65 or after 40 years of service. It also discriminates against other Constitutional Court judges whose functions recently ended for the same reason, and who have been concurrently serving for many years with the current President of the Constitutional Court, Milorad Gogić, Judge Lopičić, and Judge Šćepanović.

Gogić has already met the criteria for the end of his term in accordance with recent amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance. The retirement age has been standardised for both men and women at 65 years, and he reached that age last year. Despite remaining in office under the previous conditions, the executive branch now proposes additional amendments to prolong his tenure. How can we trust that such favours are not to be returned in the future?!

Judge Đuranović has also fulfilled the requirements for the cessation of her functions, as indicated by her biography, having completed 40 years of service during the past year, provided that her work experience has been continuous. Furthermore, she will turn 65 in December of this year, thereby fulfilling that criterion as well. Similarly, Judge Lopičić, according to her biography, will complete 40 years of service during this year, if her work experience has been uninterrupted, thus meeting the requirement for retirement or the cessation of functions.

4) The constitutionality of this amendment to the law would be decided by the same judges of the Constitutional Court (four out of seven) whose mandates would be extended by the legislative change. These judges should be deemed biased and should be exempt from deciding in their own case. However, since there are no replacements for them, and as a result, there would be a lack of quorum to make such a decision, the effective functioning of the Constitutional Court would again be hindered, thereby jeopardising the rule of law. This is certainly too high a price to pay for extending mandates of several individuals.

5) There is a worrying trend of passing ad hominem laws through which political parties on power resolve individual cases, sometimes shortening mandates, sometimes appointing favoured candidates, and now attempting to extend mandates of judges who are supposed to decide on their legislative solutions.

6) The executive branch seems to forget that the essence of negotiations with the European Union is for Montenegro to demonstrate that it has institutions capable of upholding the rule of law, not serving the interests of the ruling parties. The Constitutional Court, as the last bastion of the rule of law, should be beyond reproach. The fact that the executive branch is willing to compromise its integrity in this manner, at all costs, hinders the European path of our country.

Human Rights Action (HRA)
Association Spectra
Center for democratic transition (CDT)
Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
The Center for Civic Freedoms (CEGAS)
Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG)
Centre for Monitoring and Research (CEMI)
Centre for the Development of Non-Governmental Organisations (CRNVO)
Women’s Rights Centre (CŽP)
LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey (ERA)
Institute Alternative (IA)
Media Institute Montenegro (IMCG)
Juventas
Network for affirmation of NGO sector (MANS)
Women’s Safe House
The Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro (UMHCG)

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The Government Draft will not enhance corruption prevention

Cosmetic changes, forgotten quality draft of the parliamentary working group, lack of political will for substantive changes

 The Ministry of Justice prepared and published for public consultation the Draft Law on the Prevention of Corruption which does not bring significant improvements, nor will it, if adopted, enhance corruption prevention.

Proposing such a draft law text demonstrates the current Government’s lack of political will to contribute to the fight against corruption by improving the legal framework.

 It is particularly concerning that the current Government does not value the previous efforts of the Parliament of Montenegro and civil society to improve the text of the current law. We remind that the working group within the Anti-corruption Committee, which also included NGO representatives, prepared a Draft Law on the Prevention of Corruption in 2023. Additionally, this Committee organised a roundtable in May of last year to discuss the draft law.

The latest working version, which the representative of Institute Alternative in that working group had insight into, represents a significantly better text, although it could have been further improved since we had objections and reservations regarding certain provisions of that draft.

It remains unclear why the Ministry of Justice did not take into consideration numerous quality solutions from that draft law.

Institute Alternative is particularly concerned that the draft law put up for public consultation does not include provisions obligating members of commissions conducting procedures for public procurement, privatisations, public-private partnerships, and concessions with an estimated value exceeding 100.000 euros, to submit income and assets declarations. We remind that these are areas in high-risk of corruption.

The draft law also does not include the jurisdiction of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption to determine the existence of conflicts of interest in performing public functions in the fields of spatial planning, urbanism, concessions, and public procurement by special regulations governing these areas.

 We propose that the Government adopts, as a bill, the text agreed upon in the working group formed by the Parliament of Montenegro in 2023.

Dragana Jaćimović
Public Policy Researcher

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The majority to respect the right of the minority

We appeal to the ruling majority to respect the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly and enable the passage of opposition proposals in accordance with Article 75, as well as the exercise of the control function of the Assembly.

The Rules of Procedure guarantee the right of the opposition that, twice during the regular session, at their request, the committee decides on the control hearing. More and more frequent challenges to this right threaten the control function of the parliament.

Today’s non-decision on the request for a control hearing of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Filip Ivanović, and the Minister of European Affairs, Maida Gorčević, on the subject of “Deviation of the government representatives from the official foreign policy of Montenegro and the consequences that this has on the EU integration process”, submitted by five members of the opposition, showed that the parliamentary majority does not respect then right given to the opposition.

We remind that, in 2020, the representatives of the parties that make up this parliamentary majority changed the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly to enable the opposition’s right to a control hearing by minority initiative twice instead of once during the session, and that this was then presented as a democratic step forward. Difficult passage of opposition proposals for control hearings was also demonstrated at the session of the Committee for Economy, Finance, and Budget held at the beginning of March, where it was decided to request the opinion of the Collegium of the President of the Assembly regarding two minority initiatives to hold control hearings.

Additionally, although the Committee for Security and Defense subsequently adopted the initiative on the control hearing on the occasion of the election of the acting director of the Police Administration, the adoption of this initiative was followed by dilemmas regarding how it should be decided on this matter – whether it should be voted on or not. The initiative was adopted at the next session, but the control hearing has not yet been conducted.

Bojana Pravilović
Institute Alternative

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Interviews for Managerial Positions in the State Administration: Far from Competency Assessments

The subject of this analysis are public competitions for managerial positions in the Montenegrin state administration, with a special focus on the competence check, which should be carried out in relation to the previously established framework - which includes innovation, leadership, results-orientation, communication, and cooperation.

Failure to issue minutes of interviews conducted with candidates for such positions is a limiting methodological factor in the assessment of procedures and their application in practice. However, we were able to review the reports on the verification of knowledge, abilities, competences, and skills with key questions and evaluations given by members during interviews, as part of the procedure of public competitions, conducted in the period between September 2022 and September 2023. Therefore, this analysis is a unique opportunity to present to the general public what it looks like in practice, but also how the institute of follow-up interviews, which is conducted before making the final decision on the selection, works.

The reports we have seen show that competency assessments have not taken root, which points to the need to further strengthen the capacities of all state authorities and the Human Resources Administration, in order to apply the competency framework as a tool that can help establish a system of merit-based recruitment.