The Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey is a co-operation initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe for South East Europe. It is a three-year programme, which was implemented from May 2016 for a period of 36 months. The actions under the Horizontal Facility are funded primarily by the EU and are co-funded and implemented by the Council of Europe.
In the context of the implementation of the new system for the evaluation and promotion of judges, and Following the establishment of the panels for evaluation of judges’ performance by the Judicial Council of Montenegro, the COE supported the seminar “Uniform approach to the application of criteria, sub-criteria and indicators for the evaluation of judges’ performance” which took place on 29 March 2018 in Becici, Montenegro.
Participants were the members of the evaluation panels and court presidents, who gained insight into the legal framework and the procedure for the evaluation of judges, the criteria for evaluation and the indicators for drafting the report and proposing the evaluation mark for judges and court presidents.
The need for a uniform application of the evaluation criteria was emphasized by participants who discussed challenges and dilemmas they may confront during the evaluation process. They all agreed on the fact that the evaluation process will contribute to the enhancement of the independence and accountability of the judiciary in Montenegro – provided it is conducted in an efficient manner.
The seminar was organised by the Action “Accountability of the Judicial System”, jointly funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey” and implemented by the Council of Europe.
