The lectures, which were preceded by a welcoming address by the German Ambassador, Peter Felten, provided a comprehensive overview of the draft law and its history, as well as the content of comparable laws in EU states. This made it possible to classify the draft Montenegrin law by means of comparative law and provided insights into possible improvements to its design.
During the second part of the workshop, the audience engaged in intensive discussions about the reform project, which lasted longer than originally planned.
The importance attached to the event in Montenegro is also demonstrated by the participation of the ombudsman Siniša Bjekovč, employees of various ministries, members of the parliament, members of foreign embassies and media representatives.
Announcement of the panel with IRZ expert Holger Sperlich, Brussels. Montenegro
The National Anti-Corruption Conference, founded by the non-governmental organisation MANS (Network for the Affirmation Promotion of the Non-Governmental Sector), took place for the 16th time in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica on 7 December 2023. In addition to IRZ, the EU delegation, the Embassy of the Netherlands and the US non-governmental organisation National Endowment for Democracy (NED) are among the co-organisers.
Holger Sperlich, Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union in Brussels, presented the German and European experiences on the topic of "Prevention and sanctioning of conflicts of interest".
Montenegro, which has a new government since the beginning of November 2023, was found to have made only slight progress in the fight against corruption according to the European Union's last country report. Corruption, including high-level corruption, continues to be a cause for concern in Montenegro, the European Union stated. Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that the conference is of particular importance in this region, and therefore members of parliament and government officials were also among the participants.
The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milokoje Spajić, spoke at the opening reception and the Minister of the Interior, Danilo Šaranović, and the Vice-President of the Montenegrin Parliament, Boris Pejović, were present as well. The discussions were correspondingly lively and controversial.
Project funding from the German Federal Foreign Office made the XVI National Anti-Corruption Conference in Montenegro possible, which also received extensive media coverage.
Professor Dr Udo Steiner, former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court (center) during his presentation, to his right, President of the Constitutional Court, Budimir Šćepanović. Montenegro
"Protecting the right to privacy" was the title of the regional conference of the constitutional courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, which IRZ organised in Budva from 4 to 6 October 2023 in cooperation with the Constitutional Court of Montenegro with funding from the Federal Foreign Office.
The presidents of the Constitutional Courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valerija Galić, North Macedonia, Dobrila Kacarska, and Serbia, Snežana Marković, and the judge at the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, Snežana Armenko, held presentations on the relevant jurisdiction of their courts. The opening speech was given by the President of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, Budimir Šćepanović, and the responsible Head of Section at IRZ, Dr Stefan Pürner. The jurisdictionof the Federal Constitutional Court was presented by its former judge, Prof Dr Udo Steiner.
The different topics of the presentations showed how broad the life circumstances and legal issues are that fall under the term "right to privacy". This ranges from the right to informational self-determination and the requirements for surveillance of communications of suspects during investigation proceedings to the concept of gender and the constitutionality of an opt-out solution for organ transplants.
For the first time since the pandemic, this traditional regional conference was able to take place in person again and was characterised by intensive discussions, again far beyond the scheduled working hours, particularly on the latter two topics mentioned above. The opportunity for informal bilateral dialogue was used intensively in the margins of the conference.
