This was concluded at a meeting between the President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, Valentina Pavličić, and the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Austria, Anna Šporer.
During the meeting, special attention was paid to the reform processes in the Montenegrin judiciary in the final phase of negotiations with the European Union. President Pavličić pointed to the concrete results achieved in the previous period, including the development of guidelines for handling cases of organized crime and high-level corruption.
Significant progress was also highlighted in resolving old cases, with most courts resolving between 60 and 80 percent of these cases, which represents an important step towards a more efficient judiciary. In this context, the need for further strengthening of the human and infrastructure capacities of the courts was emphasized, in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the achieved results.
They also discussed improving the protection of victims of crime, through the establishment of clear guidelines for the exercise of their rights, as well as the importance of continued cooperation between courts and prosecutors. Special focus was also placed on developed case law with the support of the EUROL 4 project and modern tools, including the application of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
Opinions were also exchanged on preserving the independence of the judiciary and relations with other branches of government, with the assessment that transparent communication with the public is key to strengthening trust in judicial decisions and avoiding the perception of their political motivation.
The interlocutors assessed that judicial systems face similar challenges, but that they can be improved more efficiently through cooperation and exchange of experiences, especially in the context of European integration and strengthening of democratic institutions.
Minister Sporer expressed Austria's readiness to continue to support Montenegro in judicial reform, while President Pavličić emphasized that Montenegro will remain a reliable partner in building and protecting European standards of the rule of law.
