N3.T3 – JUDGE DANILO JEGDIĆ SENTENCED TO HOUSE ARREST; SOME CHARGES DISMISSED DUE TO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FROM TRIAL DELAYS
HRA NEWSLETTER 3 – TOPIC 3
Suspended judge of the Basic Court in Podgorica, Danilo Jegdić, was sentenced to six months of house arrest after being accused of falsifying six official minutes between September 16, 2014, and April 12, 2016. This verdict, which followed an appeal, saw the High Court in Podgorica overturn the previous decision made by the Basic Court in Nikšić in May 2024, which had sentenced Jegdić to seven months in prison for the extended criminal offense of falsifying an official document.
The final verdict concluded an eight-year-long trial, resulting in a lesser sentence for the suspended judge than he might have faced, which ranged from three months to five years in prison. Notably, one of the alleged actions he committed—falsification of minutes—qualified for the absolute statute of limitations due to the prolonged legal proceedings in the Basic Court in Nikšić, as ten years had elapsed since the offense occurred.
Valentina Pavličić, President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, stated that a commission will be established to investigate who is responsible for the statute of limitations affecting part of the indictment against Jegdić.
“I will request a thorough review of every procedural action taken in this case. Subsequently, we will examine, as a commission, whether there is individual responsibility for the statute of limitations and identify who may be accountable. If responsibility is determined, you can be assured that the necessary proceedings will be initiated against that individual”, Pavličić declared during a press conference on December 17.
The Nikšić Court has previously denied responsibility for the delays in the proceedings, asserting that their judges acted promptly. They attributed the majority of nearly 60 hearing delays to external factors, notably the COVID-19 pandemic and an attorneys’ strike, claiming that the defendant Jegdić himself was primarily responsible for these interruptions.
The trial against Jegdić originally commenced in Nikšić under judge Igor Djuričković, lasting four and a half years. However, following Djuričković’s promotion to the Special Department of the High Court in Podgorica, the case was reassigned to judge Sava Mušikić. After two years of trial proceedings, Judge Mušikić found Jegdić guilty in May 2024.
On December 27, following the guilty verdict, the Judicial Council made the decision to terminate Danilo Jegdić’s judicial office. He had been suspended from his position since 2017 while the criminal proceedings against him were ongoing.
