The judges in the criminal department of the Court of Appeal are prioritizing the resolution of cases related to organized crime and corruption, as stated by the President of the Court of Appeal of Montenegro, Mirjana Popović.

Out of a total of 2,129 ongoing criminal and civil cases, 96 percent have been resolved, leaving only three and a half percent unresolved by the end of the previous year.

In 2024, the court received 33 new cases concerning organized crime and corruption, out of which 27 were concluded by the year’s end.

“By the end of December 2024, there were 75 unresolved cases, including 32 old cases classified as ‘red envelopes’, which are over three years old. Since January 2025, these cases have become the priority for the judges of this court, with a target completion date of March 31, 2025,” Popović announced at a press conference presenting the annual report from the prior year.

She further noted that despite the 32 pending old cases, the judges remain committed to resolving them. Additionally, there is an anticipated significant increase in new cases entering the court during 2025, which will be closely monitored.

Journalists highlighted that the Supreme Court of Montenegro observed an uptick in cases regarding legality protection last year, finding that both the High Court in Podgorica and the Court of Appeal had violated the law in several instances, particularly in organized crime cases.

Popović acknowledged noticing the public outcry surrounding the Supreme Court’s rulings in response to requests for legality protection.

“Upon taking the role of President of the Court of Appeal in April last year, I became aware of the Supreme Court’s rulings that identified legal violations favoring defendants. This issue demands my attention. I began to analyze it and realized that accessing historical data regarding requests for legality protection and the corresponding decisions was not straightforward. I urged the Supreme Court and the Judicial Council of Montenegro to incorporate the frequency of such Supreme Court decisions into the judge quality assessments, and that change has been implemented. Now, such a determination is viewed negatively in quality evaluations and will influence how judges are assessed by the Judicial Council,” she explained.

In response to a query from “Vijesti” regarding the ramifications of identified violations favoring defendants, Popović stated:

“In such cases, court proceedings cannot be restarted. I proposed reforms in the way we maintain statistical data, which will now reflect negatively for judges and impact their quality assessments. Should a judge’s performance not meet established criteria, the consequences will be enforced as prescribed by law,” she shared.

The ongoing court matter concerning the defendants in the murder of Slavoljub Šćekić, an official from the Ministry of the Interior of Montenegro, continues in the Court of Appeal. Popović acknowledged the public’s interest in knowing when this case will conclude, noting that the latest hearing was postponed due to one of the defendants’ health concerns. She expressed her confidence that the case would be resolved within the legal timeframe and that the public would be kept informed.

She agreed with the notion that Montenegrin courts tend to adopt a lenient penal approach.

When a journalist inquired whether it posed a challenge that judges from the special department handling organized crime cases were responding to the Court of Appeal’s judge recruitment advertisement, Popović clarified:

“The Court of Appeal is currently understaffed in both civil and criminal courts. The allocation of newly elected judges will depend on the demands at the time of their appointment. Colleagues applying for these positions are well within their rights to do so. The assessment of whether they leave unresolved cases behind falls under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Council. I cannot intervene, and therefore have no opinion to render,” concluded Popović.

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