03 March 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković met earlier today with President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Guido Raimondi.
Montenegro is very committed to the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights and executes the decisions of the ECHR in Strasbourg without exception and in the short term, it was noted at the meeting.
"We believe that the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights that have been made in relation to Montenegro are in its interest, not against it," PM Marković said, adding that the judicial system is strengthened and that it gives additional support to the implementation of the Convention.
Prime Minister Marković emphasised that Montenegro is striving towards the full implementation of European values and in this context pointed to the importance of NATO membership and EU negotiations. He added that a special focus was placed on meeting the provisional benchmarks for chapters 23 and 24 and in relation to the need to strengthen the rule of law, highlighted the importance of the freedom of the media, the fight against human trafficking, organised crime and corruption, and the strengthening of law enforcement authorities.
European Court of Human Rights President Guido Raimondi praised the promptness in the execution of the European Court's decisions, noting that efforts to fully implement the rule of law are of the utmost importance.
Both sides stressed the importance of signing Protocol 16 by Montenegro, which extends the jurisdiction of the European Court to provide advisory opinions at the request of the national court of the highest instance, arising from the need to reduce the inflow of cases from the member states of the Council of Europe within the comprehensive reform of the system that rests on the Convention on Human Rights.
President of the Supreme Court Vesna Medenica and judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg Ivana Jelić also attended the meeting.
