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The judiciary in Montenegro and the prosecution of war crimes

2024-05-12 20:02:31, Kosova & Bota CNA

The judicial institutions in Montenegro have not yet investigated and documented the war crimes committed during the 90s, and that the responsibilities for these crimes have not been established in accordance with international standards, says the former member of the Judicial Council of Montenegro and the lawyer Loro Markiqi, who is considered to be well versed in these issues.

In an interview for the Voice of America, Mr. Markiqi considers it necessary to change the Code of Criminal Procedure, but nevertheless he thinks that without a political will of the state and judicial structures of Montenegro it is difficult to achieve any significant progress in this direction.

Experts say that the judicial institutions in Montenegro have not yet investigated and documented the war crimes committed during the 90s and that the responsibilities for these crimes have not been established in accordance with international standards.

The former member of the Judicial Council of Montenegro and lawyer Loro Markiqi, who is considered to be well acquainted with these issues, points out the lack of political will for the fair trial of these cases.

"The political will to prosecute war crimes and war criminals has been lacking. Especially there was no will to pursue the war criminals who committed crimes against the Albanians, because it was different towards other peoples. The judiciary is not the only one to blame for this, but also the police and the prosecutor's office. It has often happened that they accuse the wrong people in order for them to be released later as innocent", said Mr. Markiqi.

In this framework, Mr. Markiqi also blames the Albanian political factor, which, according to him, did not show any appropriate readiness in preventing or instigating some judicial processes against the Albanian community.

"The prosecution of the actors of war crimes against Albanians is also the fault of the Albanian political factor, which failed to put the right pressure on the annulment of some one-sided decisions against Albanians in the Montenegrin courts", said Mr. Markiq.

Mr. Markiqi sees it as necessary to change the Code of Criminal Procedure, but he thinks that without a political will of the state and judicial structures of Montenegro, it is difficult to achieve any progress in this direction.

"I think that changing the Code of Criminal Procedure or even the Criminal Code helps, but it doesn't fix it and it won't make the right change in Montenegro's approach to this issue. I think that the political will of the political structures and the judiciary in Montenegro is decisive in this aspect", said the well-known lawyer Loro Markiq.

In the European Commission Report published at the end of 2023, it is stated that the results of Montenegro in the criminal prosecution of war crimes are limited. Therefore, lawyer Markiqi estimates that Montenegro should face the past by engaging more in the treatment of war crimes cases./ VOA