WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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ANTENNA M
Judges of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro - Dragana Đuranović and Budimir Šćepanović, separated their opinion on the decision of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, rejecting the proposal to establish the unconstitutionality of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion.
In their opinion, this case primarily raises the question of the constitutionality of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the legal position of religious communities as a whole, for formal legal reasons.
"Namely, the Parliament of Montenegro, on December 28, 2020, when it first adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities, did not have the majority prescribed by the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly for decision-making, and therefore not for the adoption, i.e. the passing of any legal act, and not at all
of the Law in question. This is due to the fact that, after the resignation of the former MP Flilip Adžić, the parliamentary majority had only 39 MPs present at the session, and that the Parliament, in accordance with the provisions of Article 83, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, has 81 MPs and that, in accordance with the provisions of Article 91 paragraph 1 of the Constitution, the Assembly decides by a majority vote of the deputies present at a session attended by more than half of all deputies, if the Constitution does not stipulate otherwise (and in this particular case it is not), the Assembly could not validly decide, nor pass the Law on 2 Amendments and amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities. This is supported by the fact that the President of Montenegro, due to the lack of a quorum at the session where it was first adopted, refused to sign the decree on the promulgation of the adopted law and returned it to the Parliament of Montenegro for re-examination," the Separate Opinion states.
Also, they believe that there was a basis for accepting the initiative for the initiation of the procedure for the evaluation of the constitutionality of the provision of Article 7 of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities, in the part that refers to the provision of Article 24, paragraph 1 .of the Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities.
"That provision stipulates that existing religious communities that have acquired legal personality according to earlier regulations, that is, whose legal personality has been recognized and recognized by state authorities in the legal system and that have acted as legal entities, are entered in the book of registered religious communities. This provision , although it consists of only one sentence, contains multiple violations of the Constitution of Montenegro, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which acquired legal subjectivity according to earlier regulations, as well as those whose legal subjectivity is recognized and recognized by state authorities," states the separate opinion of two judges.
You can view the separate opinion in detail below:
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