Strengthening accountability of the judicial system and enhancing protection of victims' rights in Montenegro
The main objective of the project is to support the Montenegrin authorities to enhance the accountability and professionalism of the judicial system and judicial independence as well as to fully align domestic legal and institutional framework and practice on victims’ rights with the EU and ECtHR standards.
Main partners and beneficiaries : Ministry of Justice, Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Prosecution Offices, Members of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils, Association of Court Interpreters and Translators, Chamber of Notaries, Chamber of Public Bailiffs, Association of Court Experts, Montenegrin Government Agent's Office before the European Court of Human Rights, Judicial Training Centre, Police Directorate, Law Faculties, Bar Association, judges, prosecutors, judicial staff in courts and prosecution offices, police officers, lawyers, mediators, public bailiffs, notaries, court experts and court interpreters/translators, students of law, civil society representatives
The project is structured in two Components:
Component 1:
- Reformed policy framework put in place and ethical and professional standards applied into day-to-day working practice of judges, prosecutors and other legal professionals.
- Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils, Ministry of Justice, Judicial Training Centre and courts and prosecution offices implement new financial and administrative management procedures and communication policies.
- Capacities to reach settlements by the means of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) further strengthened to improve the scope and quality of ADR.
Component 2:
- Montenegrin victims (including vulnerable groups) are better informed about their rights and how to claim them.
Key activities
- Assessment of the existing system of recruitment, selection, promotion, evaluation and dismissal of judges and prosecutors in a gender sensitive manner.
- Development of judicial ethics guidelines.
- Trainings of members of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils, judges, prosecutors and other legal professionals received on judicial independence, ethics and discipline, in line with Council of Europe recommendations and best practices.
- Training of members of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils, and heads of courts and prosecution offices on performance-based financial management and communication tools.
- Training of Judicial Training Center (JTC) members on training needs assessment, delivery and impact assessment.
- Training of mediators and judges on European standards in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and best accountability practices in ADR services.
- Citizens’ satisfaction with and awareness of ADR benefits and possibilities in judicial disputes measured and followed with concrete recommendations for improvement.
- Development of recommendations provided for transposition of the Directive 2012/29/EU into the domestic legislation.
- Legislative support in establishing of the Victim Support Services and technical assistance in ensuring their full functionality are provided
- Development of the National Strategy for Victims Protection.
- Regular Inter-judicial meetings among the actors involved in on victims’ rights protection and promotion in Montenegro.
- Capacity -building activities for relevant actors (including CSOs) to better inform victims in Montenegro about their rights.
- Awareness-raising activities and information campaigns about victims’ rights and rights of victims with specific needs.
European Union and Council of Europe further support authorities of Montenegro in fulfilling the interim benchmarks on justice reform and victims protection
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