Determining the quorum for today’s Parliament sitting, the agenda of which includes a debate on the amendments to the Religion Freedom Law is legally unfounded, CdM finds out unofficially.
https://www.cdm.me/english/the-parliamentar…n-self-isolation/
Upon request of 10 MP’s, the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Mr Aleksa Bečić, determined the quorum by the roll-call of the MP’s. Namely, the MP Ms Maja Vukićević, was not able to attend physically as she is in self-isolation because of coronavirus, but she participated online.
Mr Bečić reasoned his act by calling upon Article 222a of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.
Article 222a
A Member of Parliament who, due to the application of a measure aimed at protection of the population from infectious diseases in an emergency situation caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, is restricted in his freedom of movement by the competent authority, may decide at a Parliament’s session and its working bodies outside of the Parliament’s head office through a secure ICT.
The MP referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall notify the President of the Assembly or the President of the working body, in writing or electronically (e-mail), of the existence of reasons for participating in the work of the session remotely (isolation measures) no later than the beginning of the scheduled session or the continuation of an interrupted session.
The remote session is conducted through the information technology referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, which enables the transmission of data, images, and sound in real-time, of such quality that the identity of the MP who decides at the session can be established without a doubt.
However, nothing is said about whether the quorum can be determined this way. Should the Parliament continue to work this way, all its decisions will be as such reached at the 1918 Podgorica Assembly.
