In Montenegro, there have been cases where even officials, who have been convicted of a criminal offense, receive compensation to which they are legally entitled one year after the termination of office, the Center for Civic Education states. It adds that such laws distance us from the best practices of developed democracies. Hypothetically, this compensation can also be received by an official suspected or convicted of abuse of the same position, because the law does not provide for the termination of that right based on a final judgment. In December 2022 alone, €180,783 was allocated from the state budget for the compensation to officials upon termination of office, the Ministry of Finance has told the RTCG portal.
At an annual level, about €2.3m was spent for these purposes. The ministry headed by Aleksandar Damjanovic has told the RTCG portal that through law changes, they will consider the period of exercising that right and the way that defines the amount of the monthly fee. They do not specify when those changes will be sent to the Parliament.
