Montenegro

Improving the efficiency of the Justice System – Regional Ministerial Meeting on Mediation in Montenegro

Budva, 1 December 2010

The right to a fair trial is one of the cornerstones of any justice system, and indeed, of any democracy. The resolution of disputes by alternative means is a key element of this, and as such, the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro organized a Regional Ministerial Meeting titled “Strengthening Efficiency of Judiciary through the Promotion of Mediation“.

The initiative was organized jointly with UNDP, UNICEF, and the International Finance Corporation. This was the first time ministers of justice and justice professionals from all across the region sat together to discuss mediation. Ministers of justice and high officials from the Ministries of Justice of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and the FYR Macedonia agreed that the promotion of mediation should be encouraged in all countries of the region, as it is one of the most efficient forms of alternative dispute resolution.  

Together, the delegates agreed to a Joint Declaration, which stated that the signatories would 1) Enhance the cooperation in promoting alternative dispute resolution, particularly with regard to mediation, as one of the most efficient approaches in this field; 2) Contribute to strengthening of direct, close and intensive communication among relevant institutions, aiming at exchanging experiences and practices in mediation procedures; 3) Support the organization of joint trainings, courses, seminars and other forms of mediators education in the region; 4) Encourage relevant institutions to meet in order to both evaluate the performance in the field of mediation and explore the possibilities for its further affirmation and full implementation; and to 5) Organise ministerial conferences on mediation, where all the aspects, challenges and perspectives of mediation in the region will be discussed.
 
Mr. Svetozar Marović, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Montenegro at the opening of the Regional Ministerial Meeting said: “Introduction of the new institute of mediation into Montenegrin legal system is one of the important reform steps on the way to disburden the courts of their heavy workload, reduce backlog court cases, as well as to reduce the overall duration of proceedings. Mediation enables peaceful resolution of a dispute, and this process encourages all parties involved to take responsibility in order to achieve a compromise solution, without an authority to force, bound or punish.” Mr. Marović also said that Montenegro had achieved significant results in reducing the number of backlog cases, which was confirmed in the latest Progress Report on Montenegro of the EU Delegation to Montenegro.   

 “Special chapters in strategic documents of Montenegro’s judicial system were dedicated to the promotion of mediation. The Judicial Reform Strategy 2007 – 2012 recognizes mediation as a way to a faster, cheaper and more comfortable resolution of disputes. Mediation brings greater legal security and greater economic activity to the society as a whole, as well as greater foreign investments,” said Mr. Miraš Radović, Minister of Justice of Montenegro. He further emphasized: “Steady increase in the workload of the courts of first instance, without a mechanism for out‐of‐court settling of disputes, would inevitably lead to a chronic increase in backlog cases and inefficiency of the judicial system. Therefore, insisting that a large number of cases be handled through alternative resolution methods is of crucial importance in modern judicial systems, including Montenegrin judiciary. By combining several measures in our judicial system in the last three years, we managed to reduce the number of backlog court cases for about 75%.”

“For the UN system in Montenegro,mediation means further development and enlargement of the existing alternative dispute resolution structures in the country, better access to justice for all and strengthening efficiency of judiciary. Mediation seeks to help solve problems in a friendly way among parties and prevent future conflicts. It was introduced in Montenegro in 2005 as a way to disburden the courts of their heavy workload, and it presents a benefit for the country with regard to European integration,” said Mr. Alexander Avanessov, UN Resident Coordinator in Montenegro and he added that he hopes that the meeting will contribute to the increased regional cooperation in the area of mediation and further promotion of this institute that offers a broad scope of possibilities for the resolution of disputes and protection of rights outside of the court.

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Presenters at the Ministerial Meeting were Ministers of Justice of the countries in the region. Participants were Ministers of Justice, high officials from the regional Ministries of Justice, as well as representatives of institutions relevant to the field of mediation from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and the FYR Macedonia; also the Minister of Justice of Slovenia, representatives of the UNDP and UNICEF Offices in Montenegro and the region; representatives of the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro.

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The UN agencies have been contributing to the process of promotion of mediation in Montenegro from the very beginning:   

UNICEF has been supporting the Government of Montenegro in its efforts to implement a comprehensive juvenile justice system reform. Through UN Delivering as One Initiative, the Government of Montenegro and UNICEF ensured continuation of its long term efforts to harmonize national legislation, policy and practice with relevant international instruments in the area of juvenile justice.

The Ministry of Justice and UNICEF have invested particular efforts in promotion and application of alternatives to criminal prosecution and institutionalisation of children in conflict with the law. Victim/Offender Mediation for juveniles in conflict with the law has been identified by all partners as one of the most important alternatives and alternative dispute resolution technique which application would have positive impact on general child well-being, rehabilitation and re-socialization. Due to this effort an increase in application of alternatives, especially in the basic courts in Podgorica and Bijelo Polje has been noted.

Further efforts will be invested as we all agree that diversion of cases which involve juveniles from regular court procedures to application of restorative justice methods will definitely have an important impact on children and families as well as society as a whole and will improve the status and position of children in conflict with the law in Montenegro.

UNDP in Montenegro in close cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro contributes to this important work by promotion of mediation in the Montenegrin courts, strengthening the capacities of the national Centre for Mediation, education of mediators, which will all lead to a broader usage of the institute of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution tool. These efforts are realized through UN Delivering as One Initiative in cooperation with the Government of Montenegro and through the support of the Government of Norway. UNDP Montenegro in this process and the judicial reform process in general has received great support from the international partners, such as: Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, OSCE, American Embassy, Council of Europe and the International Financial Corporation.

UNDP will continue its support to this very important initiative in the next two years. The support, among many planned activities, will encompass work on the new Law on Mediation which will include mediation in criminal matters.

Montenegro has an important role to play in encouraging regional cooperation; this role has been repeatedly recognized by the international community. Regional initiatives like this ones are one are therefore an element of the country’s development and UNDP has and will be supporting these efforts.

The UNDP office in Montenegro successfully coordinated implementation of one of the biggest, 15 million dollar regional environmental program in the Western Balkans as well as a number of regional initiatives in the field of justice and human rights. The first regional UNDP practitioners’ meeting on alternative dispute resolution tools, legal aid and legal empowerment of the poor was held in Montenegro, in September 2010. 

In the European Commission Opinion on Montenegro's application for membership is clearly emphasized that reforms in the judiciary are being pursued and that the achieved results include the setting up of new institutions and that measures are adopted to improve independence and efficiency of the judiciary. However, it further stated that there is a long way to go. Lengthy court proceedings remain a cause for concern. Mediation as an alternative dispute resolution tool enables the improvement of the efficiency of justice, provides a better access to justice and thus will contribute to the achievement of compliance with the international human rights standards, which are set in the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

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Mediation is a term usually reserved for dispute resolution process, which involves mediation by an unbiased third person with intention to encourage parties in dispute to reach an agreement voluntarily. One of the aims of mediation is providing parties with the opportunities to manage their own disputes and resolve them to a mutual satisfaction. This implies that parties themselves have a more active and constructive, sometimes even more innovative role in a dispute.

Western Balkan countries have achieved significant progress in the past years in harmonizing with the EU legislation in the area of judicial reforms and the rule of law, but it is necessary to widen equal accessibility to mediation services and undertake measures that stimulate and establish functional mediation programmes in a wider geographical area.

Mediation is a fairly young concept in the countries of the Western Balkans, which requires further development, affirmation and raising citizens’ awareness. Improvement of mediation, as one of the alternative dispute resolution tools, is a possibility available for legal entities and natural persons in order to increase efficiency and decrease costs in a dispute resolution process.