Spajić: Strengthening Montenegro as a State Governed by the Rule of Law Is a Mission Without an Expiration Date

An independent and efficient judiciary is one of the key foundations of a democratic and European Montenegro, while the results achieved together confirm that all three branches of government can be independent and successful in pursuing shared national goals, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said at a ceremony marking Montenegro’s Judiciary Day. The prime minister emphasized that mutual trust, institutional respect and accountability form the basis of the progress made over the past three years, particularly in the area of the rule of law, which remains one of Montenegro’s most important European integration priorities. “What seemed like an unattainable ideal three years ago is now a reality created through painstaking work and concrete results,” Spajić said, noting that the government had submitted its negotiating positions to the European Union for Chapters 23 and 24, with the aim of closing them by the end of the year. Speaking about specific results, the prime minister stressed that the executive branch had fulfilled numerous commitments aimed at strengthening judicial independence and improving the material status of judicial officeholders, including constitutional changes and the adoption of a special Law on the Rights of Judges and State Prosecutors. “However important EU membership may be to us, strengthening Montenegro as a state governed by the rule of law is a mission that transcends everything and has no expiration date,” the prime minister said, adding that the government would continue supporting legislative and institutional reforms that contribute to more effective enforcement of the law. On behalf of the Government of Montenegro and in his own name, the prime minister congratulated Montenegro’s Judiciary Day, conveying that the executive branch would remain a reliable partner in further strengthening an independent, professional and efficient judiciary, in the interest of citizens and Montenegro’s European future.