Good morning! The Constitutional Court yesterday annulled the amendments to the President Law that the former-current parliamentary majority adopted in an effort to stay in power. What are we going to do now?
What are the consequences of the Constitutional Court’s decision?
With regard to legal consequences, lawyers should be consulted. Those specialized in the area of constitutional law and political system. What matters is that this decision sends a message that the Montenegrin political system has been stable and protected, and can deal with challenges and aspirations to a complete volunatarization of the constitutional and legal system of Montenegro.
The Democratic Front and Dritan Abazovic are an infernal duo – in the original meaning of the term ‘infernal’. The destructive power of this duo caused far-reaching consequences for the Montenegrin political system, the economy and, worst of all, social cohesion in this country. The double passes of the outgoing Prime Minister and URA – according to the principle you gave me ‘August 30’ I’ll give the ‘Hand of Justice’, apart from being destructive and destabilizing, look as if they were ordered from Belgrade, but we have no evidence for that. We can only have doubts due to business interests of the Abazovic family in Belgrade and the closeness and strange behavior towards Serbian authorities.
The President Law was amended upon the order of the Front, while Abazovic implemented it. The same law shortened the already small scope of president’s authorities, while the government and ruling majority tried to extend their expiry date and free themselves from the check and balances cohabitation with Djukanovic as president. Djukanovic didn’t want to cooperate all the time, he was postponing signing of laws he believed were not in line with the Constitution, and didn’t always cooperate with them when ambassadors were elected. Instead of keeping up with negotiations and trying to find solutions jointly with a man who appointed him prime minister, Abazovic decided to cut it off and join the Front.
The law is now annulled after the Djukanovic danger passed, and when there’s no fear of the uncooperative president. As we said, it could be a good sign, but on the other hand, it may be a signal that the Constitutional Court is still a hostage to the situation and the current political will of those who set it up.
Legal consequences for the system are immediate. All decisions adopted in line with the disputed law are not valid, but those that are important for the parliamentary majority are going to be voted again in parliament, just in other way.
What matters are the political consequences. How will Abazovic and Front be responsible for the rape of the system? They survived the elections, and will most likely be part of the government. If we are to believe the media headlines, Becic strongly advocates for URA in the negotiations and Abazovic’s participation in the government as a matter of life and death. Literally. The majority that demonstrated the intention and will to trample on the highest legal act of this country, now has the opportunity to do it again, whenever they want it, while the Constitutional Court has shown an extremely large division in situations of pronounced political polarization.
All in all we needn’t despair. This court’s decision showed that it makes sense to fight and support initiatives that should protect the constitutional and legal order. Because the constitutional and legal order is a basic guarantor of the stability and survival of Montenegro as a state. That is what the country is. The flag, the coat of arms and the anthem are its symbols, which together with the national mythology serve to connect our nervous and hormonal systems to the dry and impersonal structure of “paper fantasies” that actually make up the state. There would be no country without the binders in which the official sheets containing the complete order are placed. I know they say that paper can withstand anything, but it cannot withstand fire and water. And what Abazovic and the Front did with the constitutional coup can easily be compared to playing with fire in a room full of official papers.
That’s all for today. Until tomorrow.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM observer and columnist
(The opinions and views of our columnists are not necessarily those of the editorial staff of CdM)
