Montenegro

Judges from Montenegro visit Bavaria

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Published: October 30, 2019
The judges from Montenegro at the Regional Court of Munich
The judges from Montenegro at the Regional Court of Munich
Montenegro

From 20 to 24 October 2019, Montenegrin judges were in Wolfratshausen and Munich in Bavaria for another working visit on the “Conduct of court hearings by judges and the role of judges in civil proceedings”. The visit was part of a programme of regular visits by Montenegrin judges to the Regional Court of Munich and the Local Court of Wolfratshausen to learn about jurisdiction in Germany. The President of the Bavarian Association of Judges and President of the Local Court, Andrea Titz, was once again heavily involved in the planning and organisation of the working visit. The working group from Montenegro was made up of high court and commercial court judges. The President of the Administrative Court of Montenegro was also present.

The Montenegrin guests attended hearings at the Regional Court and at the Local Court before taking advantage of the opportunity for intense expert discussions with the Presiding Judge at the Regional Court, Stephan Reich, and the Presiding Judge at the Local Court, Friederike Kirschstein-Freund, who had each presided over the hearings.

Another focus of the working visit was a presentation of the mandatory legal internship of legal trainees in Bavaria given by Christine Haumer, a judge at the Higher Regional Court and Head of mandatory legal training at the Higher Regional Court of Munich.

To round off the visit, there was a meeting with Michael Haußner, a former Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice for the Federal State of Thüringen, and Andrea Titz. Both Michael Haußner, who used to be an advisor to the Ministry of Justice in Montenegro, and Andrea Titz, who has already carried out various training measures in Montenegro, are very familiar with the situation in Montenegro.

The Montenegrin guests were impressed with how German judges condense civil proceedings thanks to their open conduct of hearings and make an active contribution towards settlements. During an exchange of ideas between colleagues, it become clear that the different kinds of legal practice in Montenegro and Germany are due more to the different levels of legal socialisation than to differences in the law in its written form. Article 323 of the Montenegrin Code of Civil Procedure stipulates, similar to § 278 para. 1 of the German Code of Civil Procedure, that “throughout the entire process, the court will strive, in a way that does not compromise its impartiality, to get parties to agree on a settlement.” This proves that, as well as the harmonisation of legal provisions, intense training is also required to ensure the success of legal transformation and that a change in the traditional approach is often useful as well.

The division of powers in the jurisdiction of various South-East European constitutional courts

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Published: June 12, 2019
Prof. Dr. Michael Eichberger (left), former Judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court; Dragoljub Drašković (eighth from left), President of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro; Zoran Pažin (centre), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Montenegro; Zlatko Knežević (to his right), President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Prof. Dr. Michael Eichberger (left), former Judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court; Dragoljub Drašković (eighth from left), President of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro; Zoran Pažin (centre), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Montenegro; Zlatko Knežević (to his right), President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Montenegro

From 5 to 7 June 2019, a regional conference on the “Division of powers and balance between powers” was held in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica. This conference was organised jointly by the Constitutional Court of Montenegro and the IRZ and was funded by the German Foreign Office. Representatives of the Constitutional Courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia attended the conference.

The significance of the conference was underlined by the fact that, following the opening of the conference by the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Montenegro, Dr. Dragoljub Drašković, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice for Montenegro, Zoran Pažin, also gave a welcome speech.

This was followed by the following speeches on jurisdiction by the participating constitutional courts:

  • The relationship between the Parliament and the Constitutional Court of Montenegro in the implementation and protection of the constitutionality of the law (Hamdija Šarkinović, a judge at the Constitutional Court of Montenegro)
  • The division of powers and balance between powers – the independence of constitutional courts with a particular focus on the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Zlatko Knezevic, President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina) 
  • The role of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia in the implementation of the division of powers (Sali Murati, a judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia) 
  • Constitutional legislature and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia: a relationship based on cooperation and mutual control (Dr. Mato Arlović, a judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia)
  • The normative and actual prerequisites for the independence of the constitutional court – the experience of the Republic of Serbia (Dr. Nataša Plavšić, a judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia)

During this part of the conference, the participants already took the opportunity to join the discussions and ask critical questions.

Afterwards, Professor Dr. Michael Eichberger, a former judge at the German Constitutional Court, presented the role of the basic principle of the division of powers in German law in general and various decisions made by the German Constitutional Court in this regard. 

The discussions following this speech and the general discussions during the plenary session addressed a wide range of topics. The main focus was on the relationship between the constitutional court and the legislator, in particular on the practice of constitutional courts in the event of unconstitutional laws. The participants also discussed the position of the constitutional court in the structural organisation of the state. 

As well as working together in a plenary session, the conference also allowed the judges from the participating constitutional courts to make full use of the opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences and to take part in bilateral talks.

Lecture in Podgorica on training law professionals in Germany

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Published: April 10, 2019
Dr. Stefan Pürner, Head of Section at the IRZ, during his lecture. On his left: Prof. Dr. Maja Kostić Mandić and Dr. Branislav Radulović, President of the Montenegrin Lawyer’s Association
Dr. Stefan Pürner, Head of Section at the IRZ, during his lecture. On his left: Prof. Dr. Maja Kostić Mandić and Dr. Branislav Radulović, President of the Montenegrin Lawyer’s Association
Montenegro

On 26 March 2019, IRZ Head of Section Dr. Stefan Pürner gave a lecture in the local language on law training in Germany at a joint event held by the Faculty of Law at the University of Montenegro in Podgorica, the Montenegrin Lawyer’s Association and the IRZ. Due to the current discussions on modifying or even abolishing the Bologna process in Montenegro, which has also been introduced for law studies in the country, this lecture was met with a great deal of interest by the media. Newspapers reported on the event and it was also broadcast in full on the state television network RTV CG.