Montenegro's Human Rights Action proposes reforms to judicial councils

Human Rights Action (HRA) submitted a set of proposals to the Constitutional Committee of Montenegro's Parliament during the public debate on constitutional amendments. The draft amendments target the composition and functioning of the Judicial Council and the Prosecutorial Council.

Key proposals include: excluding the President of the Supreme Court and the Chief State Prosecutor from council membership; introducing a selection system for four distinguished lawyers—one nominated by the Bar Association of Montenegro, one by the University of Montenegro’s Law Faculty, and two chosen through a public call; granting individual four‑year mandates to each council member rather than a collective term; and aligning the status of both councils by having the President of Montenegro appoint their composition and hold a tie‑breaking vote. HRA cites similar arrangements in Croatia, Slovenia, Albania, Moldova, Kosovo and Bosnia‑Herzegovina. The organization expects the committee to consider the suggestions and to inform the public of the outcome.