N1.T3 – Vesna Medenica in Court Proceedings: Hearings Delayed 23 Times Across Two Criminal Cases
HRA NEWSLETTER 1 – TOPIC 3
Three criminal proceedings are pending against Vesna Medenica, the former president of the Supreme Court, who served in that capacity for thirteen years (from December 19, 2007, until December 31, 2020). One of these cases has recently concluded with a guilty verdict in the first instance. Additionally, the competent authorities are contemplating the initiation of another proceeding based on an anonymous report from employees of the Railways of Montenegro, who have accused her of abuse of office.
Among the cases against her, the most complex involves allegations that she was part of a criminal organization allegedly led by her son, Miloš. The indictment filed by the Higher Court in Podgorica accuses her of abusing her official position between 2019 and 2021 by unlawfully influencing court rulings in favor of the criminal organization.
Thus far, this court process has been plagued by delays, with no fewer than 17 hearings postponed. The first main hearing in this case was scheduled for May 4, 2023, but was postponed because several defendants failed to appear.
The pattern of delays continued as follows:
1) Defendants’ failure to appear at the hearing (10 instances);
2) Defence attorneys’ failure to appear (twice);
3) Merger of proceedings;
4) Postponements pending decisions on the defence’s requests to disqualify judges and prosecutors;
5) Delays resulting from appeals against decisions concerning trials in absentia;
6) Postponements to allow the defence attorney time to review the case file.
Progress in the proceedings was notable in August 2023, when the accused were heard for the first time. The most recent hearing on October 3, 2024, was postponed due to the absence of the defence attorney for one of the defendants.
In a separate case involving Vesna Medenica and suspended judge Milica Vlahović-Milosavljević, which is also before the High Court in Podgorica for suspected abuse of office, there have been six postponements. Although the trial commenced on July 2, 2023, substantive actions have only occurred during the hearing on September 17, 2024, when witnesses were finally heard. The reasons for the postponements in this case included:
1) Request for evidence extraction from the case file (twice);
2) Defence attorney’s requests for postponements;
3) Defence attorney’s requests to disqualify the judge;
4) Absence of witnesses;
5) Absence of the president of the panel.
Furthermore, Vesna Medenica faced charges for allegedly creating an undue benefit for former Rožaje judge Milosav Zekić in 2019 by not informing the Judicial Council about ongoing criminal proceedings against him, which should have led to his removal from office until the conclusion of those proceedings. In this particular case, on November 4, 2024, the High Court in Podgorica issued a first-instance verdict sentencing her to six months in prison.
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