In 2025, a total of 1.877 cases related to domestic violence or violence within the family community were opened in Montenegro’s state prosecutor’s offices, marking a significant rise compared with the year before and confirming both the increased workload and the visible effects of the implementation of the guidelines for handling such cases, the prosecutor’s office says.
A total of 1.213 criminal charges were brought against adults, while 44 cases were conducted against 28 juveniles. In addition, 584 requests were filed to launch misdemeanor proceedings.
“In 2024, there were 977 reports concerning domestic violence or violence within the family community, indicating a 24.2% increase in reported cases, and that only in criminal proceedings,” the prosecutor’s office noted.
A particularly sharp increase was seen in the area of misdemeanor proceedings.
“Comparing the data on requests filed to initiate misdemeanour proceedings in 2024 and 2025, it’s evident that there has been a significant increase in the number of cases opened, as in 2025 the number of such requests was 8.22 times higher than in 2024,” the statement said.
Of the total number of cases opened in 2025, 24% were classified as misdemeanors, while in 15% of cases the legal qualification of the offence hadn’t been determined by the time the report was submitted, which then increased the workload for state prosecutors.
However, they maintain that the increased workload hasn’t affected the efficiency of the proceedings.
