Judging by the ruling majority’s actions to date, it's evident they intend to delay the resolution of Judge Dragana Đuranović’s case until she qualifies for retirement under the law, a move that would render any further efforts to reinstate her to the Constitutional Court effectively meaningless, says Zlatko Vujović, Chair of the Board at the Centre for Monitoring and Research (CeMI), in a statement to Antena M.
“This is an agreement signed by both the Prime Minister and the opposition leader, with EU Ambassador (Johann) Sattler acting as mediator. We should therefore expect the ambassador to ensure the deal is respected. Whether additional arrangements were made behind closed doors is unknown, but at the very least, the ruling majority, with the opposition’s support, must implement what aligns with the Venice Commission's conclusions and the position of the European Commission”, Vujović said.
He maintains that the Venice Commission’s position is unequivocal.
“The government might choose to disregard the views of the European Commission, the Venice Commission, and the opposition altogether, essentially deciding, ‘we can get away with this, and we’re not going to act’, but that would bring them into confrontation with the European Commission, which stood as guarantor of this agreement’s implementation”, he warned.
Nevertheless, he noted that Justice Minister Bojan Božović has pledged to fully respect the Venice Commission’s recommendations.
“For that reason, I believe the agreed-upon steps must be carried out. Specifically, the so-called parliamentary decision, or more precisely, the declaration by Speaker (Andrija) Mandić claiming parliamentary confirmation, should be annulled, and the constitutional order restored. The most prudent course for the ruling majority would be to simply allow Judge Đuranović to return to the Constitutional Court. If that doesn’t happen, the entire agreement loses all meaning. In that case, not only the opposition, but also the European Commission, would have been misled. We would be right back where we started, except this time, the opposition holds a crucial advantage: the backing of both the Venice Commission and the European Commission, which have confirmed their position is correct”, Vujović stressed.
He recalled that the opposition had previously blocked the functioning of Parliament, and argued that if the government fails to uphold its commitments, the opposition is not only justified but politically compelled to reinstate those measures.
Personally, Vujović believes the government will attempt to stall, but realistically, he says, it will have to follow through on the agreement or risk stripping the process of any legitimacy.
Asked to respond to President Jakov Milatović’s recent comments, in which the president expressed hope for constructive EU engagement in resolving the judge’s case, despite having previously stated that such issues should be resolved within domestic institutions, Vujović replied: “It reflects poorly on the country when foreign mediation is necessary just to ensure domestic actors abide by the Constitution. It’s genuinely disheartening that we rely on external validation for something every serious legal expert already agrees on: the Constitution was violated. Full stop. Parliament should never have acted the way it did. That kind of overreach undermines the entire separation of powers.
The judiciary exists to provide legal oversight of both the executive and legislative branches. What happened here isn’t just about Judge Đuranović’s salary or remaining tenure. It’s about Parliament encroaching on the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction and, in effect, unlawfully forcing a judge into retirement. If allowed to stand, it sets a precedent for legal chaos. Thankfully, the Venice Commission and EU officials responded firmly and made clear that this cannot be allowed to continue”.
Unfortunately, Vujović added, when it comes to both current and past Montenegrin authorities, progress tends to happen only under pressure from Brussels.
“European integration has been the primary driver of democratic reform in Montenegro. Sadly, we’re still in a situation where, without sustained EU pressure and public demand to meet Brussels’ standards, those in power default to delay tactics. That’s precisely what we’re seeing now with electoral reform, a concerted effort to stall or derail the process at any cost”, Vujović concluded.
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