The Parliamentary Constitutional Committee will convene tomorrow to finalize the proposal for the appointment of two judges to the Constitutional Court, resuming the process of filling vacancies within the institution after a hiatus of three and a half months.

The committee announced the call for the election of two judges on December 23 of last year and interviewed all candidates by mid-March. The process was subsequently paused pending the Venice Commission’s opinion on the termination of Constitutional Court judge Dragana Đuranović due to retirement eligibility.

At the end of the previous year, based on the Constitutional Committee’s conclusion, Parliament declared Dragana Đuranović’s position vacant as she reached the retirement age set by the Pension and Disability Insurance Act (PIO); her position as a judge was terminated in compliance with the Labor Act. In response, the opposition exited Parliament and obstructed the Electoral Legislation Reform Committee’s work. Following an agreement between part of the opposition and Prime Minister Milojko Spajić on March 15 to address the political deadlock, the opposition returned to Parliament, and a request for the Venice Commission’s opinion regarding this contentious matter was submitted.

The Venice Commission indicated that the Montenegrin Parliament should have adhered to the procedure necessitating formal notification to the Constitutional Court concerning the conditions for terminating a judicial position, noting that their jurisdiction does not extend to interpreting national constitutional norms or the constitutionality of specific parliamentary actions.

In the interim, the term of Constitutional Court judge Budimir Šćepanović also concluded, leaving the court with only four judges out of a required seven.

In mid-May, state President Jakov Milatović (one of the nominees for the judgeship) proposed Mirjana Vučinić as a successor to Šćepanović; however, Parliament has yet to confirm her appointment. Recently, Milatović announced a new advertisement for the position of a Constitutional Court judge, since the term of Desanka Lopičić will end at the year’s conclusion.

Thirteen candidates applied in response to the Constitutional Committee’s public call from December, including: President of the Minor Offences Court in Bijelo Polje Alija Beganović, lawyers Zoran Vukićević and Goran Velimirović, judges of the Higher Court in Podgorica Jovan Jovanović and Marko Blagojević, Deputy Ombudsman Nerma Dobardžić and Mirjana Radović, Administrative Court judge Medina Mušović, Council member of the Personal Data Protection Agency Muhamed Đokaj, human rights expert from the Council of Europe Jovan Kojičić, Ministry of Public Administration employee Sanja Maslenjak, Chief Administrator of Herceg Novi Municipality Nenad Đorđević, and customs inspector Milva Prelević.

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