The Constitutional Court is threatened with blockade again

SOURCE: RTCG- AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS

The Constitutional Court sent a letter to the President of Parliament Andrija Mandić informing him that Judge Budimir Šćepanović has fulfilled the conditions for the termination of his office. The statement was forwarded to the Administrative Committee and the President of the State. It is not yet known when the Parliament will determine the termination of his mandate, nor when the proposal by the Head of State Jakov Milatović to elect Mirjana Vučinić as a judge of the Constitutional Court could be put on the agenda.

The Constitutional Court unanimously determined that the reasons for the termination of office for Budimir Šćepanović occurred no later than today, both under the Labor Law and the Pension Insurance Law. The four judges agreed without his presence and informed the President of the Parliament. Based on that letter, the plenum should determine the termination of office for Šćepanović, and when this could happen is still unknown.

15 days ago, the President of the State sent the Parliament a proposal to elect Mirjana Vučinić to replace Šćepanović, which has not yet been put on the agenda. Therefore, the President of the State calls on the MPs to express their opinion as soon as possible.

"Some delay in the context of putting the vote on the Constitutional Court judge on the agenda is not something that is so surprising. You know that I did my part of the job, that I proposed a Constitutional Court judge when necessary. That is where my part in this procedure ends. Now everything is up to the Parliament of Montenegro," said Milatović.

Last year, judge Milorad Gogić also retired, for whom the Parliament has still not found a replacement, while at the end of December, by a majority decision, Dragana Đuranović's office ceased, on which the Venice Commission's opinion is awaited. Thus, the Constitutional Court remains with four judges, which could affect its functioning.

Jelena Božović, president of the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament, says that everything will be fine and that by the end of July we will perhaps have a complete part of the judges for whom the call has been issued so far.

DPS MP Aleksandra Vuković-Kuč says that if the government realizes that it must discuss these solutions with the opposition, their hand is extended.

"We are ready, regardless of everything in the previous period, to maintain a dialogue with the government and choose the best people who will represent us in the Constitutional Court," she said.

For the Deputy Prime Minister for Justice, Momo Koprivica, certain consequences of the truncated composition already exist.

"The artificially produced political crisis by the opposition led by the DPS led to the blocking of the electoral process in Kotor. That Constitutional Court made different decisions in the same cases in Podgorica and in Kotor. The goal was of a political nature, for that one group of judges, to paralyze the political processes," Koprivica said.

Vuković-Kuč states that if the ruling majority does not show responsibility, the citizens will be held hostage.

"So it would really not be good for us to end up in a situation where the composition is truncated, as we had the case, and for it to be dysfunctional, as we also had the case," said Vuković-Kuč.

This year, Desanka Lopičić's 12-year mandate should also expire, because she was elected in December 2013.