Montenegro

Strengthening the capacity of Judiciary in Montenegro continues

The representatives of the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and UNDP Montenegro have signed a Cost sharing Agreement which will enable extension of the “Programme for Strengthening Capacities of Judiciary in Montenegro to Fight Corruption and Organized Crime”, which started early in 2008 in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro.  

This Programme has been assisting national institutions, the Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court and Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, to promote new institutes and procedures which will contribute to a more efficient fight against corruption and organized crime in Montenegro.

“Montenegro has all the prerequisites for development of efficient judiciary, and that is why it deserves international support in the fight against all forms of crime,” H. E. Mr. Miraš Radović, Minister of Justice of Montenegro said. “This programme is of a great importance because it will provide support to the Judicial Training Center and enable it to deliver an in‐depth study in the area of integrity and anti‐corruption measures for prosecutors and judges. It consists of three components, based on which the Ministry of Justice will be supported through training programmes and development of IT system”. He also mentioned a unique database that has been created for the police, judiciary and courts. ”This database includes data on persons and cases related to corruption and organized crime. It is a property of the National Commission for implementation of the project for fight against corruption and organized crime,” said Minister Radović.

 

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway, H.E. Mr. Haakon Blankenborg emphasized that organized crime was always a bit ahead of the international political cooperation. He explained that “Norway and Montenegro are small countries that need to do a lot more in the field of fighting corruption and crime than bigger countries are doing”. Ambassador Blakenborg also said: “This is the only way to gain the international community’s trust. The fight against corruption and organized crime must be a priority in every country, as this type of crime is not only a national responsibility but an international challenge as well. For the Norwegian Government international cooperation is a part of mutual efforts to make Europe free of organized crime and corruption. This is why we see this project as a part of European cooperation and, although not at all costs, a part of the process of accession to the European Union”.

 

“UNDP sees donor coordination and cooperation in the field of judicial reform as a very important factor, especially in terms of the reform of criminal legislation and its implementation, as well as following up and solving the issues that EC Delegation sees as priorities in Montenegro in the area of judicial reform,” said Mr. Francisco Roquette, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative. He emphasized that UNDP plans to continue to support the Montenegrin judiciary in line with EC priorities and requests, by providing continuity and sustainability through expert assistance and capacity development, as well as through the supply of the necessary materials, curricula and IT support. In cooperation with the Judicial Training Center, UNDP is providing support to the training curriculum for judges and prosecutors in the area of organized crime. “UNDP also supported the drafting of an Anticorruption training programme for judges and prosecutors which contains a situation analysis, suggestions for improvement and a training plan. This document will be used by the Judicial Training Center for the purpose of unifying trainings and the efforts of donors who will support anti-corruption” Mr. Roquette explained.

                       
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Since late 2007, the Government of Norway has been strongly supporting UNDP’s activities with the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro in the area of judicial reform.

Judicial reform in general is one of UNDP’s main focuses, with an emphasis on the following areas of intervention:

With the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro as the main partner, UNDP has been reinforcing the Montenegrin judiciary since 2004. In 2007, UNDP supported drafting of a crucial document for the judicial reform: “Action plan for the implementation of the strategy for reform of judiciary”.

UNDP also supported drafting of the new Criminal Procedure Code, and is providing expert assistance in drafting of the Criminal Code. UNDP also provided assistance to the Special Department for organized crime and corruption in Podgorica and Special Prosecutor for organized crime and corruption.