The Government’s proposal for amendments to the Constitution suggesting that the participation of the minister of justice in the Judicial Council should be abolished, while the majority of the Council’s members should be judges elected by their colleagues, has been sent to the Parliament of Montenegro. The Constitutional Court will be the first to discuss the mentioned proposal for the amendment. As the Government says, their intention is to strengthen judicial independence and to align it with European standards.
The proposal refers to changes to the Amendments VIII and IX of the Constitution of Montenegro that define the composition of the Judicial Council and participation of the justice minister in the disciplinary procedures against judges.
“By removing the minister of justice from the Judicial Council, we send a clear message that we wish to depoliticize the judiciary and come closer to the EU,” the Government of Montenegro states.
The recommendations for the mentioned amendment come from several sources – the European Commission, the Venice Commission and GRECO – the Group of States against corruption, established by the Council of Europe.
However, in 2024 the justice minister already made the decision not to attend the sessions of the Judicial Council and he also withdrew from voting until the adoption of the amendments to the Constitution.
