LAW PROGRAM

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

Law Program dates back to early 2000, when Foundation Open Society Institute - Representative Office Montenegro (hereinafter: FOSI) has decided, based on the assessment of the former network institution Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute (COLPI), Budapest, which changed into Open Society Justice Initiative in 2004, to get engaged, with its available financial and expert capacities, in the implementation of activities for judicial reform.

Between 1999 and 2003, FOSI’s work included a number of activities to support the ongoing judicial reform. In partnership with the Ministry of Justice, the Montenegrin Association of Judges and the former office of the American Bar Association in Montenegro (and with COLPI financial support), FOSI established the Judicial Training Center. Its original mandate was creation of an institutional framework for continuous training and professional development of staff working in courts, together with a prospect to include other professionals (prosecutors, legal counsels etc.). Three-year support to funding the operating costs of the Center was supplemented in 2002 by the European Agency for Reconstruction’s support to development of the long-term training plan for the Center. In line with the initial agreement between the founders, the Ministry of Justice took over the responsibility for Center financing in 2005. Following the adoption of the Law on Education in the Judiciary in April 2006 (in force since January 1st, 2007), the Center assumed its current name - Center for Education of Holders of Judicial Office - and was established as a separate organizational unit within the Supreme Court. The Center is successful in accomplishing its mission, having organized a number of meetings and training events (seminars, round tables, worskhops, regional conferences, study visits). According to the survey it conducted in 2005[1], 219 judges (93.59% of the total number of judges in the country) and 69 professional staff (85.2% of the total number in the country) attended some form of training provided by the Center, a fact that distinguishes it as one of the best performing FOSI projects to date.

During this period, FOSI also provided considerable support to the Law School in Podgorica for the purpose of better initial training of law graduates, primarily through the introduction of the law clinics method (in cooperation with ABA CEELI), allocation of funds to equip the library and internet room and expand library holdings. In addition, support was provided to the research done by the Institute for Comparative Law on harmonizing national legislation with the international legal standards. For the purpose of institutionalization of the »Law Clinic Project«, the Law School established the Law Clinic Center. Law clinics were included as compulsory content in official faculty's curriculum as early as 2003, which was an important step toward project's sustainability and effectiveness.

Between 2003 and 2006, in line with the responsibilities stemming from the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro and transfer of legislative competencies from the federal level to the Republic, FOSI supported implementation of activities to reform Montenegrin criminal legislation (and the judiciary in a more general sense), through direct support to the Ministry of Justice mandated working groups drafting criminal legislation. FOSI aimed to contribute to better transparency of the ongoing reform by ensuring participation of all relevant professional groups and civil sector representatives in the legislative process and by creating the preconditions for an open dialog on draft laws. One part of the support was intended to promote alternative sanctions as an alternative to imprisonment, primarily through discussion on the modalities of implementation of the alternative sanctions concept introduced by the consequent legal provisions. Significant funds were allocated to educate holders of judicial office on the standards of respect for human rights and on different aspects of application of the European Convention on Human Rights.

During this period, FOSI launched the activities to improve the legislative framework regulating political party financing (in partnership with the Center for monitoring) and to monitoring of its implementation, in order to enable access to information on various aspects of the process of political party financing and, indirectly, prevent corrupt practices in the domain of political and corruption in the general sense[2]. During this stage, FOSI also supported the activities to promote the Law on Free Access to Information (adopted in 2004) as a useful tool in fighting corruption, primarily by raising the awareness about its purpose, importance and modalities of its implementation among the civil sector, citizens and relevant authorities.

The strategic orientation of the Law Program was significantly modified following the May 2006 referendum on the state status. Program activities from 2007 to date have focused on mobilizing the civil sector to engage in an open dialog on the key issues for further democratization of the society (institutional reform, rule of law, ensuring respect for human rights). In the context of the constitutional reform in Montenegro, FOSI provided support to civil society representatives in their attempt to articulate their interests in the light of the new Constitution and to intensify their efforts in advocating for them. Special attention has been given to human rights protection and promotion of the transparency in the election of judges.

FOSI also focused on strengthening the capacities of civil sector representatives for more efficient monitoring of policies concerning respect for human and minority rights. Together with King Baudouin Foundation from Brussells and in partnership with a coalition of four NGOs[3], FOSI launched the project "Minority Rights in Practice" for the purpose of objective and systematic monitoring of the status of minorities in Montenegro and exploring the courses for its improvement. The program to enhance the capacities of NGOs concerned with human rights was defined in late 2007. It is focused on monitoring compliance with international standards in human and minority rights protection, objective reporting and advocating. The program is currently being implemented, with expert support provided by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Warsaw, Poland.

FOSI further pursued its interest in and provided support to promotion of efficient anti-corruption mechanisms. In 2008, these activities included monitoring the transparency of local government authorities by exercising free access to information in their possession (in partnership with the Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector - MANS) and continuous monitoring of implementation of legislation on political party financing (in partnership with the Center for monitoring) employing the methodology defined by the Open Society Justice Initiative.

In the forthcoming period Foundation remains committed to the priorities identified in the current program strategy - by means of employing its own expertise and/or mandating selected implementing partners to advocate for its strategic interests.