On the path to the European Union, Montenegro needs to make further progress in the implementation of the rule of law, including progress, not regress in the implementation of judicial reform. This was said to the daily Pobjeda in the European Commission, in their comments on the Draft Law on Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption.
They noted that Montenegro must ensure a broad consultation process when adopting new legislation that is key to the success of the rule of law reform process.
The draft law, signed by MPs Slaven Radunović, Dragan Krapović, Branka Bošnjak, Dragan Ivanović and Miloš Konatar, envisages the abolition of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office and the establishment of the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption, by means of which the mandate of the current special prosecutors would be terminated.
“The rule of law is one of the core values of the EU and as such, a critical element of the EU accession process, which determines the overall pace of Montenegro’s EU accession negotiations. Montenegro needs to make further progress in rule of law reforms, including advances rather than setbacks in the implementation of judicial reforms”, said the European Commission’s Spokesperson Ms. Ana Pisonero to Pobjeda.
The European Commission reminded that the adoption of the constitutional amendments in 2013, which strengthened the independence and accountability of the judiciary, was a precondition for Montenegro to open accession negotiations with the EU.
“There is a special interim benchmark in Chapter 23 that requires Montenegro to implement these constitutional amendments in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and European standards and best practices. This also applies to laws such as the Law on Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Law on Special Prosecutor’s Office”, Ms. Pisonero said.
“As a result of the reforms already implemented, Montenegro has established bodies and mechanisms to ensure judicial and prosecutorial independence and accountability. We encourage Montenegro to consistently use these mechanisms and to build on the work done to further develop results in the fight against corruption and organized crime”, Ms. Pisonero concluded.
