Although Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economic Development, Nik Gjeloshaj, called on Parliament to refrain from reintroducing the Sunday trading ban until a constitutionally sustainable solution is found, following the Constitutional Court’s decision to strike down the non-working Sunday rule in retail, an opinion submitted to the Constitutional Court nonetheless states there are no grounds for accepting a new initiative to review the constitutionality of the provision from the Law on Internal Trade, resubmitted by the Union of Employers of Montenegro (UPCG), Pobjeda daily has reported.
After the Sunday trading ban was introduced back in 2019, the Union of Employers of Montenegro immediately required a constitutional review, but had to wait six years for a ruling. In late January, the Constitutional Court struck down the provision introducing the Sunday trading ban, declaring it unconstitutional. However, several months before the court’s ruling – when it had already become almost certain that such a decision was imminent – the Europe Now Movement, PES, proposed a revised version of the law that, in substance, changed virtually nothing. The only notable addition was a clause suggesting that work on Sundays was prohibited “with an aim to prevent risks and protect the health of workers in wholesale and retail trade facilities”.
The legislative proposal was unanimously backed by 62 MPs in mid-February.
Ahead of Parliament’s renewed vote on the law, Mr Nik Gjeloshaj indicated the Constitutional Court’s ruling was binding and couldn’t be subject to relativization or political interpretation.
“I can’t accept attempts to undermine the Constitutional Court’s ruling, nor efforts to once again impose as a solution something that has already been declared unconstitutional. Such an approach is irresponsible and directly erodes trust in institutions. I support only a solution that respects and implements the Constitutional Court’s decision through legislation, in line with its role as the guardian of constitutionality and citizens’ rights,” he said at the time.
However, in an opinion issued by the Ministry of Economic Development (MER), signed by Mr Gjeloshaj himself, it’s stated that freedom of entrepreneurship is not an absolute right, adding that the Constitution permits restrictions aimed at protecting the public interest, public health, workers’ rights and social security.
