Professor of the Secondary Vocational Medical School Ljilja Raičević has filed a lawsuit against the Podgorica institution for unlawful dismissal.

Her lawyer, Nikola Bulatović, argues in the lawsuit that the decision to dismiss her is illegal, as it constitutes an act that “is not recognized by the Labor Law.”

“As per Article 148 of the Labor Law, the director is responsible for making the decision on the disciplinary action taken. Thus, any action not dictated by law cannot be lawful. This would be analogous to the court issuing a decision instead of a verdict in this case. Would the appellate court affirm that decision, labeled as a decision? Certainly not,” the lawsuit, which “Vijesti” has seen, states.

Raičević previously informed “Vijesti” that on Saturday, November 30, the director of the institution, Kristina Radoman, notified her that she had signed the dismissal decision the day before.

Raičević indicated to “Vijesti” that this is yet another attack, coming after nearly three years of harassment from the director, asserting that she will prove it using all legal mechanisms available to her.

According to the ruling, Raičević reportedly awarded unreasonable grades to two fourth-grade students in the same class during the first semester. They requested a commission review, and on October 30, the commission determined that one student deserved a higher grade, subsequently adjusting it to a four. A similar adjustment was made on November 4 for the second student.

“…Based on the evidence gathered, the conditions were met for terminating the employment of teacher Ljilja Raičević as per Article 111, paragraph 1, point 13 of the General Law on Education and Training…”, states the decision.

Director Radoman previously stated to Vijesti that Raičević “should assert her rights guaranteed by law before the relevant authorities.” She denied Raičević’s allegations of harassment.

Lawyer Bulatović contends in the lawsuit that the decision does not clarify whether the violation of work obligations is minor or serious.

“According to Article 147 of the Labor Law, an employee has the right to request an oral statement from the director regarding a warning. The plaintiff made such a request, but the director denied her that privilege,” Bulatović claims.

He noted that in Raičević’s case, “it remains unclear who the members of the Commission for testing student knowledge are, who constituted that Commission, and what qualifications the examiners possess.”

“The introduction to the disputed decision cites the Sectoral Collective Agreement as the basis for its issuance but fails to reference any specific provisions of that agreement. According to the Labor Law, when imposing disciplinary measures for work violations, the employer must consider the severity of the breach, its ramifications, the employee’s responsibility, past conduct, and any prior violations of obligations… All these considerations were notably absent in this specific case,” Bulatović concludes.

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