Achievements made so far in the implementation of the system of disciplinary and ethical liability of judges, including challenges and solutions for its further improvement were presented at the round table “Disciplinary and ethical liability of judges in Montenegro” which took place in Podgorica on 13 June 2018.
The event, jointly organised by the Council of Europe, the Judicial Council and the Supreme Court of Montenegro provided an opportunity for assessing results attained by supervisory judicial bodies and committees of the Judicial Council and discuss experiences in the initial period of implementation of the new disciplinary and ethical framework.
Ms Medenica, President of the Supreme Court, Mr Vukcevic, President of the Judicial Council, Ms Lakovic Draskovic, Director General of the Directorate for Organisation of Judiciary in the Ministry of Justice, Mr Spitz, Head of the co-operation section at the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro and Ms Gelashvili, Head of the Justice sector reform unit at the Council of Europe welcomed presidents of the courts of Montenegro, members and representatives of the Judicial Council, of the Center for training in judiciary and state prosecution, of the Bar association and of international and civil society organisation.
The discussion emphasized that the role of court presidents in the procedure of establishing a disciplinary liability of judges is of the utmost importance while the role and the position of the disciplinary prosecutor should be further strengthened. Amendment for the revision of the Law on Judicial Council and Judges related to the grounds for disciplinary liability of judges were presented.
Participants had the opportunity to hear about challenges from the Council of Europe member states in the implementation of their disciplinary and ethical framework. Representatives of civil society organisations had a chance to present their views and to assess the work of the ethical and disciplinary committees of the Judicial Council.
The European Union and the Council of Europe confirmed their committment to encourage and support judiciary in Montenegro in the process to strengthen its independence and accountability. The importance of the judiciary being perceived by the public as impartial and independent was also emphasized, as it leads to building the public trust.
The Action “Accountability of the Judicial System” is 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.
Press clipping from the daily Dnevne novine, page 12