Head of OSCE Mission Waag hands over recommendations for judicial reform in Montenegro

Following the publication of the report  “From Paper to Practice” in June, main findings and figures of the project implementation from July 2021 to March 2024 are now included in a factsheet. During the three years, 59 organised crime and corruption cases were monitored in Montenegro, providing a significant basis for the evidence-based findings published by the project. With the goal of remedying the challenges noted, the report introduces a comprehensive set of 19 targeted and actionable recommendations directed towards the judiciary, to help in the process of developing a more effective system in the fight against organised crime and corruption.

Length of proceedings from indictment to final judgement, quality of legal acts, independence, deterrence policy – these are the main identified areas for further improvement of Montenegro’s judicial responses to serious organized crime and corruption, as noted in the Western Balkans Trial Monitoring factsheet.

“The Project’s trial monitoring identified symptoms of systemic challenges at the institutional, legislative and policy level. However, some initiatives are already underway to address many aspects of the issues identified in the report. These include strategies, action plans, guidelines on sanctioning in plea-bargaining agreements, targeted capacity building as well as steps to improve the efficiency of proceedings by narrowing down the subject matter jurisdiction of the

Specialized Prosecutor’s Office. These are substantial investments, that with sustained efforts can lead to substantial progress,” as said in the report.

On the way forward, it is recommended, among others, to strengthen independence of judges and autonomy of prosecutors, improve indictments and judgements, ensure effective case management and create a more robust deterrent policy and practice in organised crime and corruption cases.

In June, Head of OSCE Mission to Montenegro Dominique Waag officially handed over to the Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novović and President of the High Court in Podgorica Zoran Radović the recommendations for judicial reform in Montenegro. She highlighted the importance of the cases prosecuted by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Montenegrin society, congratulated president Radović on his recent election, and praised the important and courageous work done in tackling organized crime and high-level corruption.

Chief Special Prosecutor Novović thanked Ambassador Waag for the support the Mission has provided to the Special State Prosecutor’s Office during her mandate. “The OSCE report was done very thoroughly and diagnosed the main problems of the proceedings before the courts in Montenegro, and also provided good solutions to overcome them. The co-operation of the Special State Prosecution and the OSCE, along with the assistance provided by the studious and expert analyzes of the current situation in the judiciary, are of great importance for the improvement of the judicial system and an effective fight against corruption,” said Chief Special Prosecutor Novović.

The High Court President Radović agreed with the conclusions and recommendations related to cases of organized crime and corruption in Montenegro, supporting the ongoing co-operation with the OSCE.