The Supreme Court of Montenegro has dismissed the appeal made by Higher Court Judge Suzana Mugoša as unfounded, affirming the Disciplinary Council’s decision to reduce her salary by 30 percent for three months.

The Public Relations Service of the Supreme Court highlighted that the Disciplinary Council’s ruling from February found Judge Mugoša guilty of a significant disciplinary breach under Article 108, paragraph 3, item 13 of the Law on the Judicial Council and Judges, for publicly sharing her views on a non-finalized case.

“In statements that appeared in various Montenegrin media on November 20 and 21, 2023, the judge claimed that the decision regarding a case she was managing, referred to publicly as the ‘coup d’état’, was a buy-out, asserting that the Court of Appeal’s decision was a forgery of an official document, a claim she had made a year prior.

The Supreme Court found that the facts were correctly established and that the substantive law was properly applied in the Disciplinary Council proceedings. The Court concluded that the contested decision’s operative part was clear and based on pertinent evidence, and the disciplinary action—reducing her salary by 30 percent for three months and banning her from promotion for two years—was regarded as appropriate and lawful,” stated the Supreme Court.

Additionally, the Supreme Court’s ruling underlined that the right to freedom of expression for a judge is not absolute, and must be exercised with adherence to the principles of judicial independence and impartiality. The Court cited the European Court of Human Rights’ practice, which necessitates judges to exercise caution when publicly commenting on cases that are still under consideration.

“The Supreme Court determined that the Disciplinary Council’s decision did not infringe upon the right to freedom of expression, nor did it violate freedom of expression in a manner that contravenes Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

“As assessed by the Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Council’s decision is fully compliant with legal and international standards,” the statement concluded.

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