European Legal Experts Back Montenegro Religious Freedom Law

The Venice Commission, a Council of Europe advisory body made up of independent constitutional law experts, said on Monday that the draft religious freedom law was a step forward, but urged the Montenegrin government to organise consultations with the public, including representatives of religious communities, amid tensions with the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The draft law includes a register of all religious buildings and sites formerly owned by the independent kingdom of Montenegro before it became part of the Serb-dominated Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918.

It states that religious communities can only retain ownership of their property if they have clear evidence of ownership, triggering accusations from the Serbian Orthodox Church that the government plans to dispute its holdings.

The Venice Commission argued that religious property must only change ownership after an appropriate administrative or judicial decision to ensure property rights are respected.

"The special administrative and judicial procedure concerning the property rights provided in the draft law should provide protection equivalent to the ordinary judicial procedure so as to comply with the right to property and fair trial requirements. Moreover, the registration of state property rights should take place only after the final decision is made," it said.

The commission said however that the draft law offers significant positive changes to the existing outdated legislation and emphasised that the state has the right to impose strict conditions on the use of property in order to protect cultural heritage.

"The authorities explained that the transfer of the property of religious buildings and lands will not affect in principle the use that is made by...