Judicial power is not protected from illegitimate influences from political and other centers of power, said Ms Vesna Medenica, president of the Supreme Court of Montenegro. Whether or not she will resign is her personal decision, Ms Medenica says.
Although Minister of Justice has indirectly called on Ms Medenica to resign, she says that she will remain in her third term of office.
She said that one of the objectives of judiciary this year was to maintain and secure its status of independent power and to take equal part in the system of the division of powers.
“Unfortunately, we have witnessed that judiciary has been left without support. Seems like judicial power has been left unprotected from illegitimate influences pf political and other centers of power. However, results of our work in the area of respect for international law, Constitution and laws, confirm that that’s the only way to ensure that judiciary promotes and protects rule of law”, Ms Medenica said.
It is clear, she says, that in the state system of division of powers, adoption of democratic standards can’t be carried out by judiciary only.
“Holding that independent and autonomous judiciary is the crown of democratic state, based on rule of law, I promise I will keep performing my duty of the president of the Supreme Court of Montenegro conscientiously, independently, impartially, fairly, responsibly, in accordance with the Constitution and laws, on behalf of Montenegrin citizens and for them”, Ms Medenica said.
Performance of judiciary
Ms Medenica said that last year Montenegrin courts “had 131.956 cases”.
Results courts achieved in the area of protection of rights of parties to adjudicate within a reasonable time can’t be denied, Ms Medenica states.
In the reporting year, out of 92.305 decisions, only 0,5% in complex forms of cases was enforced after the lawful deadline.
In the Supreme Court of Montenegro, average procedure takes 56 days.
At the end of year, a total of 2.912 cases older than three years were registered.
“Court’s task is not only to administer justice in efficient and fair court procedure, but also to ensure its quality. Last year, percentage of abolished decisions was 17,8% while 73,65% of decisions were confirmed”, Ms Medenica said.
In overall structure of imposed criminal sanctions, warning measures are dominant, that is, probation, which has been imposed in 42% of cases.
“When it comes to the structure of imposed sentences, imprisonment sentence has been imposed in 26,8% of cases while fine has been imposed in 4,5% of cases. There has been a 7,17% increase in the labor sentences. High Court in Podgorica has a total of 14.868 cases and achieved update rate of 99,7%”, Ms Medenica said.
Activities of the Specialized department of the High Court in Podgorica are put in the focus of the national and international attention, as this department is in charge of ruling in cases of organized crime, corruption, terrorism and war crimes.
“This department had a total of 97 cases, 41 of which have been resolved”, Ms Medenica said.
She says that cases of organized crime, high corruption, terrorism and war crimes still have absolute priority in work.
“I would like to point out that all cases in relation to war crimes and terrorism before this court were settled last year”, Ms Medenica said.
She expressed concern over the fact that NGOs supported by the EU in the area of judicial reform have failed to speak up about many posts on social media targeting judges acting in cases relevant to the public.
Ms Medenica emphasizes that the latest Non paper has recognized exceptional result Mo9ntenegro achieved in the previous period, concerning delivery of judgments in cases related to human trafficking and money laundering.
She added that judicial system had demonstrated its efficiency, responsibility and quality during the coronavirus epidemic.
“From 16 March, when measures to tackle coronavirus were brought in, courts have received 14.639 cases and managed to resolve 14.231. Acting on the front line, courts have adequately responded to the task of protecting citizens’ health and significantly contributed to the corona-free status of our country”, Ms Medencia points out.
