Greco Criticises Montenegro Over Judicial Council’s Independence

Montenegro has made no progress on the composition or independence of its Judicial Council, the body charged with upholding the independence and autonomy of courts in Montenegro. Nor has it made any progress in reviewing its disciplinary framework for judges, the report of the Group of States Against Corruption, GRECO, the Council of Europe's anti-corruption monitoring body, says.

The report, published in Strasbourg, warns that GRECO is particularly concerned by the Judicial Council's decision to re-appoint five court presidents for at least a third term.

"As far as judges and prosecutors are concerned," it says, "some progress continues to be observed in providing guidance and counselling on the application of the Judicial Code of Ethics and conflicts of interest, and in distributing public information concerning disciplinary proceedings in respect of prosecutors.

"However, it is alarming that no progress has been demonstrated as regards the composition and independence of the Judicial Council, nor in reviewing the disciplinary framework for judges."

The Judicial Council is an independent public body that is supposed to ensure the independence and autonomy of courts and judges in Montenegro. Pursuant to articles of the Montenegrin Constitution, it is comprised of a president and nine members.

In May 2018, the government of Montenegro extended the terms of the Judicial Council's members because of the lack of a two-thirds majority in parliament to elect new members.

In its 2018 report, GRECO had called on Montenegro to ensure the independence of the Judicial Council, and warned of strong political influence.

GRECO also demanded that the Minister of Justice's involvement in the Judicial Council be abolished and said that at...