Representatives of the Center for Monitoring and Research (CEMI), Zlatko Vujovic, Ph.D., and the Supreme Court, Vesna Vuckovic, Ph.D., signed a Memorandum on Cooperation on 05/30/2022, the aim of which is to contribute to further democratization and raising the level of application of the rule of law and respect for human rights in Montenegro through an advocacy campaign aimed at key decision makers in the area of application of the criminal justice system in Montenegro.
The Supreme Court and CeMI will exchange information and work together on the implementation of the project "Access to justice and human rights in Montenegro - trial monitoring project 2021-2023", which is being implemented with the support of the European Commission (EIDHR), as foreseen in the Memorandum.
"One of the goals of the project is to strengthen public awareness of the most important aspects of equal access to justice, including new legal mechanisms and human rights." The goal of the project is to strengthen the role of civil society in promoting human rights and good governance, especially in the area of the rule of law and access to justice," said Vuckovic.
The project envisages monitoring and analysis of court proceedings and respect for human rights, with a focus on respect for the procedural rights of accused persons and victims, and monitoring of access to justice for vulnerable groups and those prosecuted for violating measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
"For the purposes of monitoring, CeMI will renew and improve the methodology of monitoring court proceedings and provide training to team members who will deal with this activity." Court proceedings will be monitored by trial monitors through attendance at selected hearings and inspection of the files of legally binding court decisions," Vujovic said.
The project activities will be accompanied by the issuance of thematic and annual reports on topics of importance for the protection of human rights in the criminal justice system, as well as by the organization of a national conference at which the report on trial monitoring will be presented to the key actors of the national judiciary, international partners and civil society organizations.
The Supreme Court will inform the courts about the concluded Memorandum and the activities that CeMI will implement in accordance with it, and provide support for the implementation of CeMI's project activities within its jurisdiction