News
Proposed Law on Free Access to Information Unsustainable in Montenegrin Context
Adoption of the Draft Law on Free Access to Information in proposed form would take us 15 years backwards. We have been moving in this direction for years, facing administrative silence, long-standing procedures in Agency for Free Access to Information and average duration of the procedures in Administrative Court that are longer than 13 months.…
Accountable public finances, Public administration reform
IA at the Third SIGMA Regional Conference on Public Procurement
Ana Đurnić, Public Policy Researcher at the Institute Alternative, participated at the Third Regional Conference on Public Procurement, held on 6-7 November 2019, in Tbilsi, Georgia. Within the second panel on the role of civil society in monitoring the implementation of procurement rules, Ana spoke about the way of functioning public procurement system in Montenegro,…
Five NGOs submitted comments on the Draft Law on Free Access to Information
Five non-governmental organisations submitted to the Ministry of Public Administration numerous comments to the Draft Law on Free Access to Information, as they proposed amendments contrary to the Constitution of Montenegro, international conventions, as well as the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. The draft introduces systematic restrictions on access to information, new…
Other, Public administration reform
Special State Prosecutor Rutović rejects criminal charge against Judicial Council
The Special State Prosecutor, Mr. Veljko Rutović, rejected the criminal charge submitted by the three non-governmental organisations the Human Rights Action (HRA), Network for the Affirmation of the NGO Sector (MANS) and Institute Alternative (IA) on 13 September 2019 against members of the Judicial Council of Montenegro based on suspicions that, in July 2019, the…
Rule of law in the Western Balkans: Necessary steps ahead
Establishing the rule of law remains a key challenge in the Western Balkans and represents one of the greatest obstacles in the EU accession process of the six countries of the region (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia). Rule of law: stagnating or backsliding While the EU’s membership conditions in this…
Local authorities should not ignore citizens’ requests
The Coalition for Transparency and Fight against Corruption at the Local Level (KUM) supports the efforts of non-governmental activists and citizens of Ulcinj to protect the Pine forest area and urges the Ulcinj local authorities to respect the voice of its citizens, but also to act responsibly towards the resources of this municipality. We recall…
Other, Public administration reform, Rule of law
Agency will not act against Bošković: Law does not apply when money comes from abroad
Agency rejected a IA’s request to initiate the procedure against the Minister of Defence Predrag Bošković, suspecting that he had an illegal income of at least 62 000 euro as an official of international handball organisations. Agency rejected the request as unfounded, claiming that the Law on Prevention of Corruption does not apply to international…
Video: Why are we against proposed changes of the Law on Free Access to Information
Institute Alternative is one of 44 organisations demanded that Government give up on proposed Law on Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information We demand from Government and Ministry of Public Administration to give up on proposed changes of the Law on Free Access to Information. Proposed changes introduce new restrictions and drastically…
EU accession negotiations, Other
You4EU Debate in Zagreb
The international conference “Technology for Transparency and Citizen Participation” was held on Friday, September 27th in Zagreb. The conference was organised within the project “YOU4EU – Citizen Participation 2.0”, that Institute Alternative implements with the partners. In the introductory part, the You4EU project and and the publication “50 Questions from YOU to the EU” were…
Dina Bajramspahić in TV show ‘’Načisto’’ broadcasted on TV Vijesti
In an ocean of insolent, arbitrary and ignorant decisions, the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information prepared by the Ministry of Public Administration especially stood out, which was quite difficult in the Montenegrin public life. Reading in disbelief from one article to another, we who have been working in…
Open letter from 44 NGOs ahead of the International Day for Universal Access to Information
In the eve of International Day for Universal Access to Information, 44 NGOs signed an open letter to the Prime Minister of Montenegro and the Minister of Public Administration, requesting that they abandon the proposed amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information that introduce new restrictions and drastically reduce the transparency of institutions,…
Anti – Corruption Agency’s Council to open its door for the NGOs
We submitted the initiative to the Council of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption to enable NGO representatives to monitor its sessions without obligation to participate. We also urged the Council to publish its working materials before sessions, rather than after, as is does now. Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Council, adopted…