Human Rights Action believes that the procedure for election of the Supreme State Prosecutor should have ended yesterday because none of the candidates received the required 3/5 majority of votes in the second round, in accordance with the Constitution.

A provision of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, which is inconsistent with the Constitution prescribes that the second round of voting, regarding candidates who got the majority of votes but not the required 3/5 majority, should be repeated.

Tomorrow HRA will submit an initiative to the Constitutional Court of Montenegro to examine the constitutionality of provision 178a of the Rules of Procedure, which obviously changed the procedure for the election of the Supreme State Prosecutor, as prescribed in the Constitution.

Amendment IV to the Constitution of Montenegro, which prescribes the procedure for the election of the Supreme State Prosecutor, prescribes only two rounds of voting, while the provision 178a of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, introduced a third round, contrary to the Constitution.

We note that the Prosecutorial Council proposed Branko Vučković for the Supreme State Prosecutor to the Parliament, but in the first round of voting, held on 27 December 2013, he did not get the two-thirds majority, and yesterday, on 26 March 2014, in the second round of voting, the Parliament declared itself on all four candidates, one of which needed the 3/5 majority to be elected for the SSP.

As none of the candidates got the required majority in the second round, the Constitution prescribes that the procedure shall end and begin from the start, by announcing a new public tender for the election of the SSP.

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Amendment IV to the Constitution of Montenegro

With majority vote of all its Members, the Parliament shall adopt laws regulating the following: manner of exercising liberties and rights of citizens, Montenegrin citizenship, referendum, material responsibilities of citizens, state symbols and use and application of state symbols, defence and security, army; founding, merger and abolition of municipalities; and shall proclaim state of war and state of emergency; adopt spatial plans; pass the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament; make decisions regarding the calling for state referendum; make decisions on reducing terms of office; make decisions on releasing the president of Montenegro from duty; elect and release Prime Minister and members of the Government from duty and make decisions on confidence in the Government; appoint and release the Protector of Human Rights and Liberties from duty.

The Parliament shall elect and release from duty the judges of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme State Prosecutor and four members of the Judicial Council from among reputable lawyers by two-third majority vote in the first voting and by three-fifth majority in the second voting of all the Members of the Parliament no sooner than a month. In the first voting the Parliament shall elect the Supreme State Prosecutor at proposal of the Prosecution Council. If the proposed candidate is not supported by the required majority, in the second voting the Parliament shall elect the Supreme State Prosecutor from among all the candidates that meet the legal requirements.

This Amendment shall replace Article 91 paragraph 2 and supplement Article 91 of the Constitution of Montenegro.

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Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Montenegro

3a. Election of the Supreme State Prosecutor

Article 178a

A debate shall be opened for the proposal for the election of the Supreme State Prosecutor.

The completed debate shall be followed by public voting.

If the proposed candidate for the Supreme State Prosecutor is not elected in the first round of voting, the debate on all the candidates for the Supreme Public Prosecutor who meet legal requirements shall be opened after at least a month.

Upon completion of the debate referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, the second round of voting shall commence.

Election of the Supreme State Prosecutor, in the second round, shall be conducted by secret ballot in the manner specified in the provisions of these Rules of Procedure regarding secret ballot.

If none of the candidates referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article is elected, the second round of voting shall be repeated regarding the candidate who got the majority of votes.

If more than one candidate referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article got the equal majority of votes, the voting shall be repeated on these candidates.