WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The Association of Judges has called on the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) to form a case and launch an investigation regarding the statement of the head of the Democratic parliamentary group, Boris Bogdanović, that some judges do not work in the interests of justice, but as allies of crime.
The Association of Judges called on Bogdanović to immediately announce the names of all judges he knows are in the service of crime and thus help the Association and the competent authorities in the fight against crime, and at the same time remove the target from the backs of all those who do their job honorably and honestly.
They said that it is evident that the rhetoric of the Democratic parliamentary group in relation to the Montenegrin judiciary in the recent period is unacceptable and that, regardless of their previous reactions, this political entity continues with inappropriate terminology and targeting of Montenegrin judges as members of criminal organizations.
The Association of Judges stated that, in view of this, they believe it is necessary to react, not only for the sake of objectively informing the public, but also to protect the judicial branch of government and the integrity and independence of the judicial function.
"This time, we will not repeat that the exaggeration of individuals in unfounded criticism leads to a general tendency of the public towards tendentious conclusions, nor can we believe that such statements are a consequence of a lack of experience and knowledge regarding the work of the courts, or the desire of public figures to achieve popularity in the political environment," the statement said.
The Association said that, bearing in mind that Bogdanović holds one of the most important positions in the country, and is also the head of the Democratic parliamentary group, a party that frames office holders from the security sector, it is justified to believe that it has reliable information that some judges are indeed in connection with crime.
"The Association of Judges exists and works to fight for efficient and lawful justice in the service of citizens, so if there are judges who are not worthy of performing the judicial profession, which requires the bravest, most honest and most knowledgeable lawyers that Montenegro has, we are the first to want such judges not to be part of the judicial system," the response states.
The Association called on Bogdanović to assert his professional authority, given his participation in the legislative branch of government, and contribute to creating conditions for the efficient work of courts and through the urgent implementation of the integrity verification process of all judges in Montenegro.
"At the same time, we also call on the SDT to form a case and initiate an investigation regarding Bogdanović's statement, during which the appointed witness will be heard, in order to present his findings and point out judges who do their job illegally," the response states.
The Association of Judges said that, if Bogdanović does not have evidence for the words he said, they believe that he will understand the consequences of the gravity of the words he utters as an MP, as well as that it represents an attack on the Constitution of a democratic state and the judicial branch of government.
"Therefore, we strongly condemn the defamation and insult of the judicial office, as it has been done many times by the political group to which Bogdanović belongs, as impermissible and inappropriate, and we point out that such statements violate the principle of the separation of state powers and undermine judicial independence," the response states.
The Association of Judges called on all holders of state office to carefully choose the words they use in future to refer to the work of the judicial branch of government and thus contribute to the development and strengthening of the independent judiciary of Montenegro, because this is something that is expected of them, just as everyone should dedicate themselves to results in their field of expertise.
