PODGORICA – Montenegrin ruling coalition submit a new version of the prosecutorial laws to the Assembly in the coming days, announced Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazović during yesterday’s press conference.
Abazović explained that the ruling coalition had reached an agreement on the amendments to the Law on State Prosecution that would impact the efficiency of all prosecutorial institutions in Montenegro, including the Special State Prosecution, whose work the new ruling majority had found particularly controversial.
“I think we have found a solution that is optimal, that is completely aligned with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and the European Commission. We remain maximally open to the criticism of the NGO sector, international organisations dealing with the area and domestic expert opinion which could affect the quality of the text”, Abazović said, Vijesti report.
The new ruling coalition caused a controversy in February when it proposed changes to the Law on State Prosecution and replacing the Law on Special State Prosecution, which would also entail the removal of the current Special State Prosecutor. EU expressed its concerns over some proposed changes, after which the parliamentary session with these legislative proposals was cancelled.
The draft laws were removed from the agenda in February and are now expected to be re-submitted.
One of the leaders of the right-wing Democratic Front Milan Knežević said that this coalition accepted the proposed changes. He said that the goal of the laws was to “break the monopoly based on nepotism, corruption and relations with organised crime by some prosecutors”, Vijesti report.
He expects that the laws will be adopted by the end of April or beginning of May.
Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić wrote on Twitter that, with the adoption of these laws, “justice will come to Montenegro sooner than it has been hoped”.