The participants in front of the Regional Court in Bonn. Montenegro
A group of judges from Montenegro took part in a comprehensive specialist programme in Bonn from 27 October to 1 November 2024, which was organized by IRZ together with the Montenegrin Center for the Training of Judges and Public Prosecutors.
During the visit, the participants attended an extensive hearing in a murder trial before the jury court, as well as several civil proceedings on current legal disputes (claims arising from mask deliveries at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, data protection on the internet). The program was rounded off by lectures and expert discussions on criminal and civil proceedings and on legal education in Germany.
The participants found the conduct of proceedings by German judges to be very effective and constructive and praised the objective way in which the legal professionals involved in a case deal with each other. At the same time, they pointed out that it is difficult for judges in Montenegro to hold open discussions about the prospects of a case. This is often seen as a sign of prejudice. In this context, the participants discussed the job description and the tasks of judges, as well as questions of how to conduct a trial effectively.
IRZ also provided the participants with extensive translations of German legal texts and publications in Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian in electronic form, which were compiled as part of other IRZ measures. These included the German Code of Criminal Procedure and the German Penal Code, as well as a translation of the German Law on Judicial Officers, produced in cooperation with the Association of German Judicial Officers, and specialist literature on the official evaluation of judges.
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.
