parliamentary guide

1C E N T E R F O R D E M O C R A T I C T R A N S I T I O N

PPAARRLLIIAAMMEENNTTAARRYY GGUUIIDDEE

This publication is made possible with the support provided by:

Podgorica, 2006

P A R L I A M E N T A R Y G U I D E

2 C E N T E R F O R D E M O C R A T I C T R A N S I T I O N

PublicationParliamentary guide

PublisherCenter for Democratic Transitionst. Bratstva i jedinstva 65/II,81 000 Podgorica, Crna Goratel/fax: + 381 60 10 50 e-mail: [email protected]

RepresentativeMarko ânovi}

Editors of the second updated editionDragan Koprivica, Milena Jovanovi} i Milica Kova~evi}

PhotographyBoò Todorovi}

TranslationAna Kova~evi} - Kadovi}

Layout and designBlaò Crvenica

Printing houseStefani '91

Circulation1500 copies

PREFACE ..........................................5

1. CENTER FOR DEMOCRATICTRANSITION................................61.1. Our ID Card ..................................8

2. HISTORY OF MONTENEGRINPARLIAMENTARISM ..................102.1. Montenegrin Parliament

before 1905 ................................122.2. Montenegrin Parliament

from 1905....................................132.3. Montenegrin Parliament

from 1906 until 1915 ................142.4. The Period between

Two World Wars ........................162.5. Montenegrin Parliament

after World War II ......................162.6. The Building of the Parliament

of the Republic of Montenegroin Podgorica ................................19

3. CITIZENS AND PARLIAMENT ..223.1. The Influence of Citizens and

Civil Sector over the Work ofLegislative Bodies ........................24

3.2. Reforms of the Parliament of theRepublic of Montenegro ............25

3.3. CDT's Parlamentary Program ......27

4. CONSTITUTION ON THE PARLIAMENT ....................30

4.1. Parliamentary procedures regulatedby the Constitution ............................32

5. INTERNAL ORGANIZATIONOF THE PARLIAMENT ..............345.1. Speaker and Deputy Speaker

of the Parliament ........................365.2. Working Bodies of

the Parliament ............................375.3. Party Caucuses ............................41

6. PARLIAMENT ANDGOVERNMENT ..........................426.1. Parliamentary Oversight

over the Executive ......................44

SOURCES ........................................48

C E N T E R F O R D E M O C R A T I C T R A N S I T I O N

TABLE OF CONTENTSTABLE OF CONTENTS

Entrance to the Montenegrin Parliament



Plenary Hall


Dear reader,

We would like to present you the second updated edition of the"Parliamentary Guide" by the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT).This publication is a product of the work of our coordinators, ourpartners from the Parliament, colleagues from the NationalDemocratic Institute's (NDI) office based in Podgorica and donorsSlovak Aid and East-West Parliamentary Practice Project.

The purpose of this guide is to provide the public-at-large withthe most important information on the leadership, organization andwork of the Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro, party caucus-es, history of Montenegrin parliamentarism and other significant issuesregarding the work of this significant institution as well.

We would also like to improve the communication between the cit-izens and the Parliament by informing citizens about different possibili-ties to visit the Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro or to contactelected MPs directly. Furthermore, we would like to give our assessmenton the current level of reforms in the Parliament of the Republic ofMontenegro and to point out further steps in its development.

We are especially pleased that the second notably updated edi-tion of this publication will be published in the year when we cele-brate the 100-year anniversary of Montenegrin constitutionality andparliamentarism.

At the end, we would like to express our gratitude to all thosewho, directly or indirectly, helped us to publish this edition of theParliamentary Guide, as well as the previous one. We remain open toall your suggestions and proposals aimed at improving this publication.

Respectfully,

CDT

Podgorica, 2006

PREFACEPREFACE

Image of Skup{tina'sinterior



1. CENTER FOR1. CENTER FORDEMOCRATICDEMOCRATICTRANSITIONTRANSITION

Civic election monitoringParliamentary programLegislature and citizensI vote for the first timeThe "Action" network


TThe Center for Democratic Transition is anongovernmental organization foundedin cooperation with the National Demo-

cratic Institute in 2000 with the aim to influ-ence positively the implementation of demo-cratic standards and improvement of demo-cratic processes in Montenegrin societythrough monitoring and evaluation of elec-tions and promoting positive values and prin-ciples of Western developed democracies.

Non-democratic atmosphere during elec-tions pointed out the necessity to involve thecivil sector in the election process and itsdemystification. For this reason and due to theparticular political situation, we decided thatCDT should primarily focus its attention onelection monitoring. Besides our efforts aimed atconducting democratic elections, we stand forthe improvement of human and national minor-ity rights, increasing transparency of the legisla-tive process, and involving the public-at largein exercising their political and civil rights.

In September 2000, CDT conducted thefirst project of civic election monitoring bymonitoring regularity of Federal elections.Since then, CDT has conducted campaigns ofcivic monitoring of all elections inMontenegro. Here is the list:

- Parliamentary Elections (April 2001);- Local Elections (May 2002); - Parliamentary Elections (October 2002); - Presidential Elections (22 December

2002 - 11 May 2003); - Monitoring all extraordinary local elec-

tions in Montenegrin municipalities in2004 and 2005.

CDT election monitoring activities arecoordinated by the staff from the centralheadquarters in Podgorica, while the opera-tional part of the work is performed by sixregional and 30 municipal coordinators andover a 1,000 trained volunteers. The ParallelVote Tabulation (PVT) is a statistical methodused by CDT for projection of both theturnout and final results of elections based ona random representative sample. We achievedthe biggest success (with 0.5% error) at theparliamentary election held in October 2002when we announced the election results only55 minutes after closing the polling stations.We used this method in monitoring all otherelections in Montenegro.

We made all findings and analysis publicand presented them to all relevant national andinternational institutions and representatives.

In cooperation with the NationalDemocratic Institute (NDI) from Washington,we participated as observers in general elec-tions in Bosnia and Herzegovina in April2000. In addition, our representativesobserved regularity of parliamentary electionsin Serbia in 2000.

As a part of OSCE monitoring missions,CDT representatives observed presidentialelections in Belarus in 2002, parliamentaryelections in Azerbaijan in 2003, and presi-dential elections in Macedonia in 2004.


1.1. OUR ID CARD1.1. OUR ID CARD


CDT is one of the founders of the Euro-pean Network of Election Monitoring Organi-zations (ENEMO). Within the ENEMO obser-vation missions, we observed presidentialelections in Ukraine in 2004. The ENEMOmission was the largest international observa-tion mission in Ukraine, and it evaluated theelection process in accordance with interna-tional standards for democratic elections. CDTrepresentatives also participated in ENEMOmonitoring missions in Kyrgyzstan in 2005(parliamentary and presidential elections) andin Albania in 2005 (parliamentary elections).

Since 2005, CDT has conducted the proj-ect "I vote for the first time" with the aim tocontribute to a democratic, free and fair elec-tion process in Montenegro through educationof new voters on the election system and vot-ing procedure, to increase the active partici-pation of the youth in political processes andsocial life of Montenegro and to promote edu-cation concerning political rights in Monte-negrin schools.

Since July 2001, in cooperation with theParliament of the Republic of Montenegro andthe National Democratic Institute (NDI), CDThas realized the program "Open Parliament."The purpose of the "Open Parliament" pro-gram is to inform the citizens about the workof the Parliament of the Republic ofMontenegro, increase transparency in its work,and encourage participation of the citizens inparliamentary activities as well.

"Legislative Bodies and Citizens:Strengthening of Democratic Institutions andCivil Society in Western Balkans" is a programaimed at helping parliaments and NGOs fromWestern Balkan countries to improve func-tioning of democratic institutions and partici-pation of civil society in decision makingprocesses. MPs and parliamentary staffers,representatives of NGOs from Albania, Bosniaand Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia andMontenegro and Kosovo, and members of theDutch Parliament and Parliaments of otherEuropean countries are participants in thisprogram. CDT is the local partner for theimplementation of the East-West Parliamen-tary Practice Project in Montenegro

The Center for Democratic Transition is amember of Montenegrin Network of Non-Governmental Organizations called "Action,"which, through a series of actions, programsand projects, encourages public support toreforms in Montenegro, including intensifyinglegislative changes and implementation ofreform regulations.


Operators in the CDT PVT Center

2. HISTORY OF2. HISTORY OFMONTENEGRIN MONTENEGRIN

PARLIAMENTARISMPARLIAMENTARISM

Zetski domConstitution of Principality

of Montenegro Government Building

CASNOMontenegrin National Parliament

Architecture"Sutjeska" by Petar Lubarda

H I S T O R Y O F M O N T E N E G R I N P A R L I A M E N T A R I S M



OOver the history, the general conventions ofMontenegrins, or councils of clan-chiefs,1

were bodies of a representative character, i.e.,a kind of National Assembly, which had been heldsince the XVII century. It is considered that NationalAssemblies, i.e., general conventions of Montenegrins,were from the time of Vladika Danilo's governance(1697-1735) held once a year on 12 July (St. Peter'sDay) according to some unwritten rules.2 InMontenegrin tribal society, the assemblies were a sig-nificant factor in solving common issues. However, byits decisions, the assemblies almost never established astrong inter-tribal unity for undertaking any importantactions or becoming an organ of the state in an insti-tutional sense.

After passing the first Montenegrin law (Zakonik)in 1798, Metropolitan Petar Petrovi} I3 establishedstate organs, among which there was theAdministrative Court of Montenegro and the hills4.The Administrative Court of Montenegro and the hillsrepresented the first institution with elements of astate organ. Above all, this organ exercised judicialpower but also some other forms of administrativepower. Thus, according to its basic characteristics, itdid not represent a classic parliamentary body.However, given that it was elected on a tribal basisand as such consisted of tribal chiefs, it can be con-sidered as having a parliamentary character.

At the end of 1831, during the reign of PetarPetrovi} Njego{ II (1830-1851), the Senate was estab-lished in significant state reforms made with the sup-port of Russian delegates Ivan Vukoti} and MatejaVu~i}evi}. As the highest state organ, the Senateexercised judicial and administrative power represent-ing a principal support in strengthening the entire

state system. However, neither at its creation nor laterdid the Senate have the character of supreme stateorgan. The supreme authority was concentrated in thehands of the prince-bishop - and later the prince.

The Senate is considered to be the first institu-tion in Montenegro that formally and factually had acharacter of state institution.

The Senate was reformed in 1837. Pero Tomov,brother of the reigning prince-bishop, was electedChairman of the Senate, and \uro Savov Petrovi} waselected Deputy Chair. At that time, the Senate had 14members and it was "holder and executor of the threehighest powers," i.e., legislative, executive and judi-cial power. With the 1879 reforms, the affairs that hadbeen run by the Senate up to that period were trans-ferred to three newly established bodies: a StateCouncil, a Ministry, and a Supreme Court.

The State Council was composed of ministers,the metropolitan and other high officials appointed bythe prince. Apart from its advisory function, its primaryfunction incorporated legislative activities includingdrafting basic laws and discussion of certain legislativeproposals submitted by certain ministers, which werefinally passed and proclaimed by the prince. In itsnew concept, the State Council should have been thelegislative body and the highest state authority.

After the 1876-1878 war, the size of theMontenegrin territory was more than doubled. Nik{i},Kola{in, Spu`, Podgorica, Bar and Ulcinj were liberat-ed towns, giving Montenegro access to the Adriatic Sea.

Significant legislative activity developed at the endof the XIX century and beginning of the XX century.


2.1. MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENT2.1. MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENTBEFORE 1905BEFORE 1905

1 The Chief was the head of the clan.2 Translator's note: From 1696, the position of vladika, or prince-bishop, became hereditary in the Petrovi} family with sovereign power

descending from uncle to nephew because, as members of the order of the black clergy, vladikas were forbidden to marry. During the reign ofDanilo II Petrovi} Njego{ (1826-1860), Montenegro became a secular state, i.e., a lay principality rather than a bishopric-principality, and DaniloII served as a secular prince from 1851-1860.

3 Translator's note: Petar I Petrovi} Njego{ (St. Peter of Cetinje) was ruler of Montenegro and bishop of the Serb Orthodox Church from1747 to 1830. He was the most popular spiritual and military leader of the Petrovi} Dynasty.

4 Translator's note: 'Montenegro and the hills' refers to Old Montenegrin territory which consisted of nowadays Montenegro and several hills.

IIn 1905, many internal and external factorscaused Prince Nikola to introduce theConstitution of the Principality of

Montenegro. In his Luka's Day Proclamation,he addressed the people and said amongother things: "When one is a member of theenlightened humanity, he has to be a free cit-izen, as well. In order to achieve that, wewill follow the examples of the enlightenedand modern nations. Thus, whatever theyprove to be better in their political life than inour patriarchal regime, we will apply slowlyto our society."


Written laws replaced the Common Law. Among theadopted laws, the lawyer Valtazar Bogi{i} wrote theGeneral Property Code for the Principality ofMontenegro, which was translated into many languagesand serves as an extraordinary example of establishedharmony between traditional and modern times.

At that time, Russia, the Austro-HungarianEmpire, France, England, Italy, Serbia, Turkey,Germany and the United States opened their legationsin Cetinje.

2.2. MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENT2.2. MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENTFROM 1905FROM 1905

ZETSKI DOM IN CETINJEZETSKI DOM IN CETINJE

Zetski dom in Cetinje

"On Wednesday, 31 October 1906, at 9:00,the first National Parliament of Montenegro electedaccording to the Constitution, met in Cetinje inZetski dom."

"I hope, that the National Parliament willmeet the requests of My Government and fullfilthese tasks in order to build up the reputation ofour beloved country, to become even more profes-sional in fullfilling the tasks prescribed by history."(King Nikola, 6 November 1906, at the first regu-lar solemn session of the National Parliament)

The building of Zetski dom was not plannedto be the seat of the Montenegrin Parliament.

It was built from 1884 until 1888 as a "hugebuilding where theatre, museum and library weresituated." Construction was completed in 1896. Thearchitect Josip Slade designed it in a neoclassicalstyle. Skillful craftsmen from Boka Kotorska built it.

The Montenegrin Parliament had been meet-ing in Zetski Dom until 1910.


OOn 27 September 1906, elections wereheld in Montenegro in accordancewith the Constitution and the Law on

Election of Members of Parliament. The Duke[ako Petrovi} was elected President of theNational Parliament. The first session of theparliament was held on 31 October 1906.

The Club of People's Representatives,which served as a basis for forming thePeople's Party, the first political party inMontenegro, was founded in the NationalParliament. The President of the NationalParliament, the Duke [ako Petrovi} was elect-ed President of the Club.

The Parliament, elected for the period from1906 to 1909, was dissolved on 9 July 1907.

The next elections were held on 31October 1907. The People's Party did not par-ticipate in the elections.

The National Parliament met on 21November 1907. At the next session held on27 November, the Parliament verified themandates. The eminent lawyer Labud Gojni}was elected President of the Parliament.

At the sitting held on 14 December 1908,the engineer Marko \ukanovi} was electedPresident of the Parliament and was re-electedon 1 December 1909.

The lawyer Milo Do`i} was electedPresident of the National Parliament on 1December 1910.

The Elections for the National Parliamentwere held on 14 (27) November 1905. Sixty-two (62) members of the Parliament were elect-ed indirectly, while 14 MPs entered theParliament due to their positions. As there wereno political parties at the time, those with per-sonal and family merits would win the elections.Very often, winners were also those whose clanor tribe was larger. A significant number ofyoung and educated people were also elected.

The National Parliament was unicameral.Only a Montenegrin citizen with permanentresidence in Montenegro and having reachedthe age of 30 could be elected a Member ofParliament. The term of office of a Member ofParliament was four years; the National Parli-

ament was renewed either upon the expiry ofits mandate or after the dissolution before theexpiry of its mandate.

The National Parliament would elect thePresident by secret ballot, for each sitting.

The Prince would call the NationalParliament.

The Prince could dissolve the NationalParliament, but the state was not allowed tooperate without a Parliament for more than sixmonths. The Parliament was not the holder ofthe constitutional power - instead, constitu-tional power belonged entirely to the Prince.


2.3. MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENT2.3. MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENTFROM 1906 UNTIL 1915FROM 1906 UNTIL 1915


The work of the Parliament from 1907-1911 was closed on 12 February 1911.

The election for a new mandate ofParliament was held on 27 September 1911.The first session of the newly elected NationalParliament was held on 1 December 1911. Atthe second session, Jovan Plamenac, who wasalready Minister of Education and InteriorAffairs and later would be the President of theGovernment in Exile, regent and leader of theChristmas Rebellion, was elected President ofthe National Parliament. Although theNational Parliament was elected for the peri-od from 1911-1914, it did not meet againafter 1912 because of the Balkan Wars.

A decree of King Nikola on 25 October1913 dissolved parliament, and the electionfor the 1914-1917 Parliament was called for11 January 1914.

The first session of the MontenegrinNational Parliament, elected on 11 January1914, was held on 28 January. At the secondsession, the report of the VerificationCommittee was adopted, and Milo Do`i} waselected President of the Parliament.

When the Austro-Hungarian Empiredeclared war against Serbia, the MontenegrinNational Parliament convened an extraordi-nary session on 1 August 1914. Montenegrodeclared the war against the Austro-Hungarian Empire on 6 August.

The Government building in Cetinje

The Italian architect Cesare Augusto Koradiniconstructed the Government Building in Cetinje.The foundation stone was laid on 7 June 1909,and the opening celebration took place on 15August 1910 when Montenegro was proclaimed aKingdom.

The Government Building was purposelydesigned for "the principality government andother institutions in Cetinje."

At the time when it was built, theGovernment Building was the largest object andthe first building in Montenegro to be made ofreinforced concrete. Craftsmen from abroad con-structed it in a neo-Baroque style. There is a largeclock on the frontside, and, beside it, there are fig-ures of a man (Day) and a woman (Night), follow-ing the example of Michelangelo's Tomb of theMedicis in Florence. Under the clock, there arefigures of the Goddesses Flora and Minerva.

The last sitting of the Parliament of theMontenegrin Kingdom was held in theGovernment Building in December 1915.

Since 1918, it was known as the House ofFreedom.

THE GGOVERNMENT THE GGOVERNMENT BUILDINGG IN CETINJEBUILDINGG IN CETINJE


16

TThe first elections in Montenegro afterWorld War II were held on 3 November1946, when the Constituent Assembly

was elected and later, on 31 December 1946,passed the Constitution of the NationalRepublic of Montenegro, and continued exer-cising its mandate as the National Parliamentuntil the following election in 1950.

During the war, the Montenegrin NationalParliament was not convened until 25December 1915, when, in an already criticalsituation for Montenegro, an extraordinarysession was convened. At the secret sessionheld on 26 December, the Government askedfor full freedom of action for its future work.However, the government fell in non-confi-dence vote and consequently resigned. A newGovernment was elected on 2 January 1916.

At the session on 4 January 1916, theParliament adopted the resolution in which itwas emphasized that it would endure "incombat until the final victory, in which wenever doubted". The Montenegrin NationalParliament was dissolved on the very sameday, and it did not sit again becauseMontenegro was occupied.

IIn November 1918, the so-called PodgoricaAssembly was held. At this session, two deci-sions were made: (1) deposing the

Montenegrin dynasty of Petrovi}i, and (2) unifi-cation of Montenegro with Serbia in the jointstate, called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats andSlovenes under the Serbian Kara|or|evi}idynasty.

Since the foundation of the Kingdom ofSerbs, Croats and Slovenes on 1 December1918 (on 5 October 1929, the Kingdom ofYugoslavia was proclaimed), Montenegro didnot exist as a separate administrative unit -instead it was a part of the Zeta territory, whichlater became Zetska banovina (a region ruledby a Ban). In the Yugoslav Parliament, whichhad over 300 MPs, eight to 10 MPs from dif-ferent parties were delegated from Montenegro.

2.4. THE PERIOD BETWEEN2.4. THE PERIOD BETWEENTWO WORLD WARSTWO WORLD WARS

2.5. MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENT2.5. MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENTAFTER WORLD WAR IAFTER WORLD WAR I II

The fourth sitting of the Montenegrin Anti-Fascist Parliament of National Liberation (CASNO)was held in Cetinje from 15-17 April 1945 in thebuilding of the Zetska banovina. At this sitting,CASNO was turned into the Montenegrin NationalParliament - "the highest organ of people's authori-ty and legislative organ of Federal Montenegro".

THE MONTENEGGRINTHE MONTENEGGRINNATIONAL PARLIAMENTNATIONAL PARLIAMENT



Until the election of the Constituent Assembly,the function of the people's representative organ(Skup{tina) was performed by the NationalParliament of the National Republic of Montenegro,composed of councilors of ZAVNO fromMontenegro and Boka5 and constituted in Kola{inin November 1943. In July 1944, ZAVNO wasturned into CASNO. In April 1945, CASNO wasturned into the Montenegrin National Parliamentand, in 1946, into the National Parliament of theNational Republic of Montenegro (NR CG).

The parliamentary system in Montenegro,established by its Constitution and the constitutionsof the federation and the other five republics, hadtwo forms in the XX Century: (1) from 1946-1974,

the parliamentary political representative system;and (2) from 1974-1992, the parliamentary dele-gate system.

From 1945 to 1990, the Montenegrin Parlia-ment was single-party.

The first multi-party elections in Montenegroafter the World War II were held in 1990.

In the period after the World War II until theparliamentary elections in October 2002, therewere 19 elections for the Montenegrin Parliament.From 1963 to 1967, one half of the MPs wereelected every second year (1965 and 1967).

Titograd in 1950s

In one of the halls of theHotel Crna Gora, which wasarranged and adapted for the needsof the National Parliament, the firstsession of the Republic Council ofthe newly elected NationalParliament was held on 15December 1953.

5 Translator's Note: ZAVNO was the sitting of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation with representatives from throughout Yugoslavia.



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MANDATES OF THE MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENTMANDATES OF THE MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENTAFTER WORLD WAR IIAFTER WORLD WAR II


Architecture

The building of the Parliament of theSocialist Republic of Montenegro was designedby the architect Ivan Zdravkovi}. The construc-tion works were finished in 1954.

It was constructed in the architectural styleof socialist-realism.

Having in mind that the building of theMontenegrin Parliament was build more than 50years ago, nowadays its space does not respondto all the needs of a modern parliament.

Interior of the Parliament

A modern library with a research centeris planned for the basement of the building,which is under reconstruction these days.

There is also a restaurant with a bar inthis part of the building.

The plenary hall where sittings of theMontenegrin Parliament take place, the RedSalon for meetings - primarily of parliamentaryworking bodies, and the party caucus officesare on the ground floor of the building.

2.6. THE BUILDING OF THE2.6. THE BUILDING OF THEPARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OFPARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF

MONTENEGRO IN PODGORICAMONTENEGRO IN PODGORICA

Image of Skup{tina's interior


Sutjeska, Oil on canvass, 1955, 209 x 504 cm

The "EU Info Counter" opened on 16December 2003 is also on the ground floor. Itwas founded in cooperation with theEuropean Union with the aim to provide theMPs with easier and better access to informa-tion about the European Union, its institutionsand its member states, as well.

The Speaker's offices, Secretary General'soffice, and the offices of the parliamentaryservice are on the first floor of the Parliament.

The offices of the Deputy Speaker, BlueSalon for meetings, and a renovated confer-ence room with up-to-date equipment forholding conferences and seminars are locatedon the second floor.

The premises of the Republic ElectionCommission are also on the second floor.


The Works of Art in the Parliament

In the premises of the Parliament, there arepaintings done by P. Lubarda, D. Karad`i}, V.Tatar, and other eminent Montenegrin painters.

The most significant work of art in theParliament is the painting by Petar Lubarda(1907-1974) called "Sutjeska", which is in theplenary hall. This artistically successful com-position symbolically represents the resistanceof Montenegrin people against Fascism and itscentury-long fight for freedom.

In 2003, in the main hall, a plaque of St.Peter Cetinjski was installed.

There is also another plaque installed in themain hall in 2005 on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of Montenegro's constitution.


C I T I Z E N S A N D P A R L I A M E N T

3. CITIZENS AND3. CITIZENS ANDPARLIAMENTPARLIAMENT

Parliamentary reformswww.skupstina.cg.yu

Town hall meetings "Citizens ask"Parliamentary toursInternship program



IIn countries which are in the process oftransition and building of democratic insti-tutions, free elections and indirect partici-

pation of citizens in exercising power throughtheir elected representatives, are rarely suffi-cient to exercise the rule of law. The demandfor the implementation of democratic gover-nance of the majority requires the improve-ment of the political culture together with theactive participation of citizens and non-gov-ernmental organizations in gradual building ofdemocratic governance institutions.

According to the Article 2 of theConstitution of the Republic of Montenegro, itis prescribed that sovereignty belongs to thecitizens and that citizens exercise their powerindirectly and through their elected represen-tatives. The right to exercise power indirectlyis also guaranteed by the Article 85 of theConstitution which stipulates that beside theGovernment and MPs, at least 6000 votershave the right to propose the law or someother regulation or general act. This provisiongives citizens the right to legislative initiativeand the right to submit the law proposal,because the government and institutions indemocratic societies get legitimacy from thepeople's will.

In most of the cases, the Government ofthe Republic of Montenegro uses the right topropose laws and other acts; however, mostrecently the legislative initiatives come from6000 voters or MPs who prepare the texts incooperation with the non-governmentalorganizations. Recently, several acts enteredthe parliamentary procedure in this way, whilesome of them were adopted in the Parliament.This mechanism of law-proposing is easier toimplement in practice with the support ofnon-governmental organizations which havenecessary experiences and human resourcesfor exercising procedures of collecting signa-tures, preparations of legal texts and theirelaboration in the committees and plenarysessions of the Parliament.

Demands for respecting and improvingprinciples of good governance, as a precondi-tion for the state institutions to respond effi-ciently to the citizens' needs, point out to thenecessity of strengthening of the civil societyand the role of non-governmental organiza-tions in the democratic world. Good gover-nance relies on non-governmental organiza-tions and uses their capacities in the society.The cooperation in non-governmental sectorimplies the usage of advantages of newknowledge and skills that NGOs have thanksto their flexibility and significant experience inthe field, as well as the possibility to applythem in an adequate way where necessary.

3.1. 3.1. THE INFLUENCE OF CITIZENS THE INFLUENCE OF CITIZENS AND CIVIL SECTOR OVER THEAND CIVIL SECTOR OVER THE

WORK OF LEGISLATIVE BODIESWORK OF LEGISLATIVE BODIES


On the HOME PAGEyou can find the reviewof the INFORMATIONon the latest activitiesof the Parliament. Onthe left side, there is amenu, through whichyou can access sectionsSPEAKER and SECRE-TARY GENERAL withtheir biographies. In thesection PARTY CAU-CUSES, you can get theinformation on thenumber of MPs by par-ties and contact infor-mation of parliamentaryparties as well. The na-mes of MPs and their party affiliation you can find in the section MPs. The list of sessions you can find in the section SESSIONSand information on working bodies, number of members and contact information of working bodies you can find in the sectionWORKING BODIES. Within this menu, there are also sections PROPOSAL OF LAWS and ADOPTED LAWS where you can down-load in word format law proposals and all adopted laws since 12 November 2002 up to now. In the section DOCUMENTS youwill find the Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro, the Rules of Procedure of Montenegrin Parliament, Law on Election ofDeputies and MPs, as well as other documents which can be useful. On the right side, there are sections ANNOUNCMENTS,CURRENT INFORMATION and STATEMENTS where the information are updated on daily basis so you can be timely informedabout the events in the Parliament.


IIn last several years, the Parliament of theRepublic of Montenegro has been in theprocess of reforms which led to significant

changes and progress. These reform activitiesare aimed at rationalization and making thelegislative process more effective; promotingthe importance and role of parliamentarycommittees and party caucuses, improving theoversight function of the parliament andachieving more transparency in the work ofthe parliament as well as improving the com-munication between the Parliament and thecitizens.

Having in mind the above mentionedgoals, in March 2003, the Parliament of theRepublic of Montenegro formed the WorkingGroup for Drafting the Rules of Procedure ofthe Montenegrin Parliament (ad hoc commit-tee), that made a new improved version of theparliamentary rules of procedure. In thisprocess, the Parliament has cooperated close-ly with the National Democratic Institute(NDI), in gathering and using precious com-parative experiences. Unfortunately, theParliament delays with the passage of thisdocument and in that way it postpones posi-tive effects that the new rules of procedurewill bring to the supreme legislative body.

Home page of Skup{tina's website (www.skupstina.cg.yu)

3.2. REFORMS OF THE PARLIAMENT3.2. REFORMS OF THE PARLIAMENTOF THE REPUBLIC OF MONTENEGROOF THE REPUBLIC OF MONTENEGRO


Apart from the above mentioned, a func-tional computer and communication networkis also installed in the Parliament with the aimto enhance research activities and improve theinformation flow in the parliament. This proj-ect enabled parliamentary staffers to performtheir daily duties by using computers moreoften, which contributes to the efficiency ofwork, in general.

The Parliament also got a modern web-site www.skupstina.cg.yu in order to providecitizens with better access to draft laws andadopted laws, and other documents and infor-mation regarding the work of the parliament.

It is important to mention that the Mon-tenegrin Parliament also made progress in thefield of parliamentary cooperation and parlia-mentary diplomacy, first of all through regularorganization of the "Cetinje's ParliamentaryForum" whose participants are representativesof European Union countries and countrieswhich are on the road to European integration.Apart form this, the Montenegrin Parliamenthosted autumn conference of the OSCEParliamentary Assembly, the biggest interna-tional conference ever held in Montenegro,where more than 200 parliamentarians partici-pated from 55 OSCE member countries.

Through comparative analysis of the budg-et of European parliaments, and representativebodies in the region, it is evident that theParliament of the Republic of Montenegro hassignificantly less financial, spatial, and humanresources. For example, the budget of theParliament of Croatia is ten times bigger thanthe budget of the Montenegrin Parliament, andin comparison with the number of MPs, eachMP has at its disposal five times bigger sum ofmoney at annual level. The situation is similar,or even with more obvious differences in otherEuropean parliaments, ranging from almost fourtimes more money per an MP in Czech

Republic up to 30 times more in Italy.Comparative analysis of the number of staffersin European parliaments, who are technicaland professional support to MPs in performingtheir daily duties, also shows that MontenegrinMPs in comparison to their colleagues fromEurope and region perform the same dutieswith less staffers and equipment. According tothe comparative data, MPs usually have fromone to five staffers and assistants at their dis-posal, while in the Montenegrin Parliament thenumber of staffers in comparison to the num-ber of MPs is 0,78. There is a similar situationonly in Parliament of Spain where the numberof staffers per an MP is 0.93 and in Luxemburgthat numerical relation varies from 0.73 staffersper MP up to 1.73 because of the possibility ofan MP to hire additional assistants for theresearches using the financial assets approvedby the budget of the parliament.

Despite the above mentioned limiting fac-tors, the initiated reforms could have beenfaster, and in the previous period it should havebeen done more. The Montenegrin Parliamenthas not only to endure in the process ofreforms but also to undertake the upcomingtasks with more intensive engagement in orderto reach the aspired standards.

International and domestic non-govern-mental organizations participated in a significantnumber of projects with the aim to reform theParliament, organizing study missions, seminars,consultations and activities for MPs.

Cooperation of the Parliament with non-governmental organizations is especially intensi-fied in last years and it was initiated in 2001with the "Open Parliament" Program by theCenter for Democratic Transition. With this pro-gram, the Parliament has become more openedto the citizens in a real sense of the word.



SSince July 2001, in cooperation with theParliament of the Republic of Montenegroand the National Democratic Institute

(NDI), CDT has realized the program "OpenParliament". The purpose of the program "OpenParliament" is to inform the citizens about thework of the Parliament of the Republic ofMontenegro, increase transparency in its workand encourage participation of the citizens inparliamentary activities.

In the first phase of realization of this pro-gram, main activities included town hall meet-ings "Citizens ask" and citizens' tours in theParliament of the Republic of Montenegro.

Town hall meetings "Citizens ask" wereorganized in order to improve the communica-tion between voters and their elected represen-tatives, not only in pre-election period but alsoduring their entire mandate. Town hall meetingswere organized in all bigger municipalities inMontenegro where Montenegrin MPs talked tothe citizens on different topicalities andresponded to their questions.

Citizens' tours to the MontenegrinParliament have been organized by CDT sincethe beginning of the Parliamentary program inorder to introduce the citizens with the organi-zation, work and history of the MontenegrinParliament. The visit-tours are organized byCDT coordinators who provide citizens with theinformation on the history of Montenegrin par-liamentarism, data on the current compositionof the Montenegrin Parliament, its work, rules,organization and all technical issues importantfor the functioning of the Parliament as well.

If a parliamentary session is ongoing, thevisitors have chance to feel the atmosphere ofa parliamentary debate from journalists' boxes.During the tour-visits the participants are giventhe possibility to meet and talk with MPs andparliamentary staffers. All citizens who visit theparliament in the organization of CDT get acopy of "Parliamentary guide".

3.3. CDT'S PARLAMENTARY PROGRAM3.3. CDT'S PARLAMENTARY PROGRAM

Orphans and abandoned children from asylum Mladost in Bijela touring Skup{tina



Coordinators and participants in the Internship program with the leadership of the Montenegrin Parliament

In September 2003, the project "OpenParliament" is enriched with the new activitycalled the "Internship program. Besides goodcooperation with the National DemocraticInstitute and the Parliament of the Republic ofMontenegro, in realization of the Internshipprogram we also have a new very importantpartner - University of Montenegro. This pro-gram enables students to learn a lot on thisimportant institution through direct contact, andto gain practical knowledge necessary for theirfuture professional engagement. At the sametime, this program provides them with the pos-

sibility to contribute to the work of theParliament through performance of administra-tive duties including preparing minutes, reports,amendments and working on comparativeanalyses and researches. Since the beginning ofthe project, 30 students in their final universityyear from the Law, Economic and Electro-tech-nical Faculties have taken part in the Programso far, and had chance to apply their theoreti-cal knowledge by working as interns inMontenegrin Parliament. The fourth generationincludes ten students doing their internship inthe Parliament since November 2005.


Within its activities in the Parliamentaryprogram, CDT publishes a newsletter with theinformation on legislative activities of theMontenegrin Parliament. The newsletter is dis-tributed periodically depending on the activi-ties of the Parliament

Apart from the cooperation through the"Open Parliament", CDT has cooperation withthe Parliament of the Republic of Montenegroas the local partner of the East-WestParliamentary Practice Project, through theprogram of "Legislation and Citizens". The pro-gram includes cooperation and exchange ofexperiences between parliaments on theBalkans through mutual visits, roundtables, andannual regional conferences.

Images of Skup{tina's interior


4. CONSTITUTION 4. CONSTITUTION ON THE PARLIAMENTON THE PARLIAMENT

Competencies of the ParliamentElection of MPs

MP immunitySittings

Dissolution of ParliamentIntroduction of bills

C O N S T I T U T I O N O N T H E P A R L I A M E N T



4.1. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES4.1. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURESREGULATED BY THE CONSTITUTIONREGULATED BY THE CONSTITUTION

CCompetencies of the Parliament, as theorgan of the legislative power, areestablished by the Constitution of the

Republic of Montenegro.

Thus, according to the Article 81 of theConstitution of the Republic of Montenegro, theParliament of the Republic of Montenegro shall:

1. pass the Constitution;2. enact laws, other regulations and general acts;3. enact Physical plan of Montenegro, budget

and annual balance sheet;4. determine principles for organization of the

state administration;5. ratify international treaties within the com-

petences of the Republic;6. call for a republican referendum;7. float public loans and decide on entering

into indebtness of Montenegro;8. elect and recall President and members of

the government, president and judges of theConstitutional Court, president and judgesof all courts;

9. appoint and dismiss the State Prosecutorand other officials;

10. grant amnesty for criminal offences pre-scribed by the republican law;

11. perform other duties as prescribed by theConstitution.

The Parliament shall consist of the MPselected by citizens in direct and secret ballot,on the basis of a general and equitable votingright. An MP shall be elected for every sixthousand voters.

Each MP shall decide and vote accordingto his own belief and may not be recalled.

Term of office of the Parliament shall lastfour years. In case of the state of war the termof office of the Parliament shall be extendedfor as long as peace is not established. At theproposal of not less than 25 MPs, theGovernment or the President of the Republic,the Parliament may decide to shorten its termof office.

An MP shall enjoy his/her immunity. AnMP shall not be called to account for aspeech delivered in the Parliament. No MPmay be subject to criminal proceedings nordetained without prior approval of theParliament. An MP may be detained withoutthe approval of the Parliament if he is appre-hended during a criminal offence for whichthe penalty prescribed exceeds five years ofprison sentence. The President of theRepublic, members of the Government,judges, judges of the Constitutional Court andthe State Prosecutor shall also enjoy theimmunity as MPs.


C O N S T I T U T I O N O N T H E P A R L I A M E N T

Besides the above mentioned regulations,the Constitution of the Republic ofMontenegro also regulates the following issuesregarding the work of the MontenegrinParliament.

Sittings

The Parliament shall operate in regularand extraordinary sessions. Regular sessions ofthe Parliament shall be convened twice a year,in accordance with the Rules of Procedure ofthe Parliament. The first regular session shallbegin on the first working day in March andthe second session on the first working day inOctober. The Parliament shall convene on theextraordinary session at the request of not lessthan one third of the total number of MPs, orat the request of the President of the Republicand of the Prime Minister.

Decision making

The Parliament shall vote if more thanone half of the total number of MPs attend thesession, and the decision shall be made by amajority of votes of the MPs present, if nototherwise prescribed by the Constitution. TheParliament shall make decisions by a majori-ty of votes of the total number of MPs on thelaws regulating the manner in which the free-doms and rights are exercised, the electoralsystem, the material obligations of the citizens,the state symbols, the dismissal of thePresident of the Republic and the election ofthe Government and the vote of confidence tothe Government, a referendum, shortening ofthe term of office and its Rules of Procedure.

Dissolution of the Parliament

The Parliament shall be dissolved if it shouldfail to elect the Government within 60 days fromthe date when the President of the Republicnominates candidates for the Prime Minister. TheParliament may not be dissolved during the stateof war, in case of an imminent danger of war orthe state of emergency. If the Parliament shouldcease to perform its duties as prescribed by theConstitution for a considerable period of time, theGovernment may dissolve the Parliament, afterhearing the opinion of the Speaker of the Parli-ament and the Chiefs of the party caucuses. TheGovernment shall not be entitled to dissolve theParliament if a procedure for the vote of no-con-fidence to the Government had been initiated.The President of the Republic shall pass the dec-ree on the dissolution of the Parliament and setthe date for the election of the new Parliament.

Introduction of bills

The right to introduce bills, other regulati-ons and general acts shall be vested in the Go-vernment, MPs and at least six thousand voters.

Electronic voting device and MP card


I N T E R N A L O R G A N I Z A T I O N O F T H E P A R L I A M E N T

5. INTERNAL5. INTERNALORGANIZATION OFORGANIZATION OF

THE PARLIAMENTTHE PARLIAMENT

Speaker and Deputy SpeakerWorking bodies

Competencies of commissions and committeesParty caucuses



5.1. SPEAKER AND DEPUTY5.1. SPEAKER AND DEPUTYSPEAKER OF THE PARLIAMENTSPEAKER OF THE PARLIAMENT

The Speaker of the Parliament shall:

convene sessions of the Parliament and pre-side over them;take care of the application of the Rules ofProcedure of the Parliament;take care of the organization of the proce-dure of the Parliament and take initiativesfor its improvement;take care of timely and coordinated work ofthe working bodies of the Parliament;sign acts of the Parliament, except laws;also perform other duties prescribed by theRules of Procedures of the MontenegrinParliament

The number of vice-presidents of theParliament shall be determined by theParliament on the occasion of their election.Vice-Presidents of the Parliament shall assist thePresident of the Parliament in performing dutiesin his/her sphere of action. In case of temporary

absence, the Spe-aker of the Par-liament shall bereplaced by theDeputy Speaker hehad chosen.

Election and Recall of Speaker andDeputy Speaker of the Parliament

A candidate for the Speaker of theParliament may be proposed by at least 10MPs. A MP may participate in proposing onecandidate only. A proposal contains: the nameand surname of the candidate, short biography,party affiliation and explanation. The Speakerof the Parliament shall be elected shall beelected in an open vote. If more than one can-didate for the Speaker of the Parliament hasbeen proposed, election shall be performed bysecret ballot.

Deputy Speaker of the Parliament shall beproposed and elected according to the proce-dure prescribed for the election of the Speakerof the Parliament.

The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of theParliament shall take an oath on the day ofelections. The text of the oath shall be: "Iswear that I will fulfill my duties conscien-tiously and responsibly and in compliancewith the Constitution and Law".

The term of office of the Speaker of theParliament, i.e. Vice President shall ceasebefore its expiry in the event of his/her resig-nation or recall.




Formation and composition

For considering and discussing issues fromthe jurisdiction of the Parliament, for proposingacts and performing other tasks from the jurisdic-tion of the Parliament, the Parliament shall formcommissions and committees, as its standingworking bodies. The Parliament may, through aspecial decision, form some other standing andtemporary working bodies for performance ofduties from its jurisdiction.

A working body shall have a president and acertain number of members, to be elected fromamong the MPs. Composition of a working bodyshall correspond to the number of MPs in theParliament. The Parliament may elect someexperts as consultants within a certain workingbody, without right to decision-making.

President and members of a working bodyshall be elected for the term of office of four years.

A working body shall operate in sessions.President of a working body shall convene theworking body for session, propose the agenda andpreside over a session. President of a workingbody is obliged to convene the working body forsession at the request of the President of theParliament or at the proposal of one third of themembers of the working body, with their listing ofissues to be placed on the agenda of the session.President of a working body shall organize workof the working body.

A working body shall operate in sessionsattended by a majority of members of the work-ing body, and make decisions by a majority ofvotes of the members present.

Representatives of the proposers of an actbeing discussed in the session shall participate inthe work of the working body.

Government representatives, may, on invi-tation, participate in the work of a working body,without right to decision-making.

When performing tasks within its scope ofactivity, a working body, through its president,may request data and pieces of information rel-evant to their work from a state organ.

Commissions and committeesof the Parliament

Working bodies of the Parliament areformed as commissions and committees whichare listed bellow:

Committee for Constitutional Affairs;Legislative Committee;Committee for Political System, Administrationof Justice and Government;Committee of Economy, Finance andEnvironmental Protection;Committee of Education, Science, Culture,Health Services, Work and Social Services;International Relations Committee;Human Rights and Freedoms Committee;Committee for Security and Defence iCommitte for European Integration;Commission for Election and Appointments; Commission for Mandates and Immunity Issues;Commission for Monitoring of PrivatizationProcedure; Commission for Allocation of Funds to theNGOs.

5.2. WORKING BODIES5.2. WORKING BODIESOF THE PARLIAMENTOF THE PARLIAMENT


Competencies (sphere of action) ofcommissions and committees

CCoommmmiitttteeee ffoorr CCoonnssttiittuuttiioonnaall AAffffaaiirrss shall:examine a proposal for amending the Cons-titution; determine the text of a draft and aproposal of amendments to the Constitution;examine amendments to the Constitution of theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia (nowadaysConstitutional Charter), which shall be madeon the grounds of consent of the Parliamentsof the member Republics and examine gener-al issues related to enforcement of theConstitution.

Committee for Constitutional Affairs shallhave a president and 12 members

LLeeggiissllaattiivvee CCoommmmiitttteeee shall examine:

- proposals of laws and other acts which arepassed by the Parliament from the standpointof their compliance with the Constitution andlegal system, as well as in regard to their legalinterpretation;

- proposals for providing authentic interpretationof law;

- acts on initiation of procedures for evaluationof constitutionality of laws or constitutionalityand legality of other regulations;

- take care of a unified legislative methodology,as well as a unified legal and technical pro-cessing of acts passed by the Parliament;

- define a proposal for an authentic interpreta-tion of law;

- define an amended text of a law and otherregulation if authorized thereof by the law, orthe other regulation.

Legislative Committe shall have a presidentand eight members

CCoommmmiitttteeee ffoorr PPoolliittiiccaall SSyysstteemm,, AAddmmiinniissttrraattiioonnooff JJuussttiiccee aanndd GGoovveerrnnmmeenntt shall examine pro-posals of laws and other acts, as well as otherissues referring to:

- the foundation, organization and competenciesof the governing bodies and procedures beforethe bodies;

- defense and security; - system of local self-management;- state symbols; - the use of national symbols and state holidays; - Republican citizenship; - electoral system and referendum;- territorial organization of the Republic;- organization and position of the administrative

centre and the capital city;- Exercise of special rights for members of

national and ethnic groups;- the press and other modes of public informa-

tion;- criminal and other acts, responsibility and

penalties and amnesty, pardoning and legalassistance.

Committee for Political System, Admini-stration of Justice and Government shall have apresident and eight members.

CCoommmmiitttteeee ffoorr EEccoonnoommyy,, FFiinnaannccee aanndd EEnn-vviirroonnmmeennttaall PPrrootteeccttiioonn shall examine propos-als of laws and other acts as well as otherissues related to:

- property and ownership relations;- natural resources;- earning and entrepreneurship;- energetic, mining industry, industry, maritime

affairs and transport; - agriculture, forestry; water resources manage-

ment;- tourism, trade, regional plan of the Republic

and physical planning, housing issues, con-struction land;

- commodity goods;- the Budget of the Republic and annual bal-

ance sheet;- financing state functions; taxes and other fees;- property-legal and obligation relations;- public debts and loans of the Republic, banks,

property and life insurance; - lotteries;



- protection and improvement of the environ-ment, nature and natural resources, protectionagainst dangerous and harmful substances;protection against other sources of threats tothe environment.

Committee for Economy, Finance andEnvironmental Protection shall have a presidentand eight members.

CCoommmmiitttteeee ffoorr EEdduuccaattiioonn,, SScciieennccee,, CCuullttuurree,,HHeeaalltthh SSeerrvviicceess,, WWoorrkk aanndd SSoocciiaall SSeerrvviicceessshall examine proposals of law and other actsas well as other issues related to:

- pre-school, primary and secondary education;- university education; - science, culture, art, sport, physical and tech-

nical education;- protection of scientific, cultural, artistic and

historical values;- health care, protection of disabled persons,

mothers and children;- marriage and family; employment, work and

rights of employees.

Committee for Education, Science, Culture,Health Services, Work and Social Services shallhave a president and eight members.

IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall RReellaattiioonnss CCoommmmiitttteeee shall exam-ine international contracts which are confirmedby the Parliament and other acts and issuesfalling within the competence of the Parliamentin this area.

International Relations Committeeshall have a president and six members.

HHuummaann RRiigghhttss aanndd FFrreeeeddoommss CCoommmmiitttteeee shallexamine proposals of laws and other actsrelated to the manner of exercise of freedomsand rights of a human being, as well as gen-eral and specific issues from the area of exer-cise, improvement and protection of humanrights and freedoms.

Human Rights and Freedoms Committeeshall have a president and six members.

CCoommmmiitttteeee ffoorr GGeennddeerr EEqquuaalliittyy shall examineand follow the exercise of freedoms and rights ofa human being and a citizen prescribed by theConstitution referring to gender equality, andespecially: examine proposals of laws and otheracts important for exercising of gender equalityprinciples, encourage application and realizationof this principle in the republic Laws; encour-age and propose signing of international docu-ments on gender equality and follow the imple-mentation of those documents in the Republic;propose measures and activates for genderequality improvement especially in the field ofeducation, health system, public information,social policy, employment, entrepreneurship,family relations, decision-making process andother things; participate in preparation and draft-ing documents and harmonization of legislationin this field with the standards in legislation andprograms of European Union; cooperate withNGOs which deal with gender equality issues.

Committee for Gender Equality shall have apresident and ten members.

Cabinet of Secretary Generalof the Montenegrin Parliament


CCoommmmiitttteeee ffoorr SSeeccuurriittyy aanndd DDeeffeennssee shall exer-cise parliamentary control over the work of thepolice and the Agency for National Security;examine exercise of freedoms and rights of ahuman being and a citizen prescribed by theConstitution in application of authorization ofthe police and Agency for National Security;examine law proposals, other regulations andgeneral acts passed by the Parliament, strategyand other issues from the field of security anddefense of the Republic and its citizens; exam-ine proposals for appointment of heads of thepolice and Director of the Agency for NationalSecurity.

Committee for Security and Defense shallhave a president and 12 members.

CCoommmmiitttteeee ffoorr EEuurrooppeeaann IInntteeggrraattiioonn shall fol-low and when needed initiate harmonization ofthe legal system of the Republic with theEuropean Law, examine exercise of rights andduties of the Republic of Montenegro stemmingfrom international treaties related to the Councilof Europe, examine international treaties ratifiedby the Parliament or which are approved by theParliament and given to the Parliament of Serbiaand Montenegro for ratification. The Committeeshall examine other acts and issues falling with-in the competence of the Parliament in this area,cooperate and exchange experiences withappropriate working bodies of other parliamentsand international organizations.

Committee for European Integration shallhave a president and 12 members.

CCoommmmiissssiioonn ffoorr EElleeccttiioonn aanndd AAppppooiinnttmmeennttssshall:

- submit to the Parliament proposals for elec-tion, appointments and dismissals, except pro-posals which, in compliance with theConstitution and law, are submitted by otherproposers;

- propose regulations which regulate issues con-cerning exercise of rights and duties of MPs

and officials elected or appointed by theParliament and, on the basis of authoriza-tions, pass additional regulations for theirimplementation;

- determine a proposal for providing funds in theBudget of the Republic for functioning of theParliament and its administration and take carefor the funds to be used accordingly;

- pass individual acts of issues related to thestatus of MPs and officials elected or appoint-ed by the Parliament;

- give consent to the act of organization andclassification of working positions in theAdministration of the Parliament;

- appoint, within the Administration of theParliament and on the proposal of theSecretary General of the Parliament, persons towork posts established by the Act ofOrganization and Classification of WorkingPositions and in relation to the Administrationof the Parliament and staffers in theAdministration perform tasks which in relationto state organs and staffers in these organs areperformed by the Government;

- determine reimbursements and remunerationsfor work to scientists and researchers for theirengagement in the working bodies of theParliament;

- perform other tasks stipulated by law or someother regulation.

Commission for Election and Appointmentsshall have a president and 12 members.

CCoommmmiissssiioonn ffoorr MMaannddaatteess aanndd IImmmmuunniittyy IIssssuueessshall: discuss reasons for termination of man-date of a certain MP and submit a report there-of to the Parliament accompanied by a propos-al for filling the parliamentary vacancy; reportof the Republican Electoral Commission on fill-ing the parliamentary vacancy; issues of exer-cise or denial of an MP's immunity and otherissues related to mandates and immunity rightsof MPs.

Commission for mandates and immunityissues shall have a president and four members.




CCoommmmiissssiioonn ffoorr MMoonniittoorriinngg ooff OOppeennnneessss aannddTTrraannssppaarreennccyy ooff PPrriivvaattiizzaattiioonn PPrroocceedduurree shallfollow implementation of openness and trans-parency of privatization procedure by:

- informing the public with the privatizationprocess and procedures,

- examining objections of participants in priva-tization procedure referring to the violation ofthe principal of openness and transparency,

- monitoring of annual plans of privatizationpassed by the Government,

- monitoring of the work of the Council forPrivatization,

- examining information provided by the carrierof privatization process,

- proposing of regulations and amendments to theregulations by which the principles of opennessand transparency are exercised and the proce-dure privatization process improved,

- initiating discussion in the Parliament on theissues of openness and transparency of priva-tization process,

- giving out recommendations to the stateorgans - careers of the privatization process interms of ensuring openness and transparencyof the privatization process,

- pointing out to violations of the principles ofopenness and transparency,

- initiating and proposing the procedure ofaccountability of the institutions and individu-als for breaches of openness and transparencyof the privatization process.

The Commission, at least once a year, shallsubmit the report on openness and transparencyof the privatization process.

Commission for Monitoring of Opennessand Transparency of Privatization Procedureshall have a president and nine members.

CCoommmmiissssiioonn ffoorr AAllllooccaattiioonn ooff FFuunnddss ttoo tthheeNNGGOOss based on the public competitionannounced each year, shall perform the allo-cation of funds for giving financial assistanceto the NGOs provided in the Budget of theRepublic.

Commission for Allocation of Funds to theNGOs shall have a president and six members.

AAdd hhoocc wwoorrkkiinngg bbooddiieess operating in theParliament of the Republic of Montenegro arethe following: Council for Constitutional Affairs,Working Group for Drafting Rules of Proceduresof the Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro,Working Group for Preparation of the Law onProperty on Former Social Political Organi-zations.

PParty caucuses (hereinafter: club of MPs)shall be established in the Parliament. Aclub of MPs shall contain at least two MPs,

and one MP may be a member of only one clubof MPs. As a rule, a club of MPs is constitutedat the first session of the Parliament, by submit-ting a list of members of the club signed by eachmember of the club to the President.

5.3. PARTY CAUCUSES5.3. PARTY CAUCUSES



P A R L I A M E N T A N D G O V E R N M E N T

6. PARLIAMENT6. PARLIAMENTAND GOVERNMENTAND GOVERNMENT

Oversight over the ExecutiveParliamentary questions

InterpellationVote of no confidence



6.1. PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT6.1. PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHTOVER THE EXECUTIVEOVER THE EXECUTIVE

PParliamentary oversight over the execu-tive is one of the basic parliament'sfunctions in a parliamentary system.

The most efficient tool of parliamentaryoversight over the executive is the right of theparliament to pass the budget. Without thebudget, i.e. financies, the government is notable to perform its function, so that non-pass-ing the budget in the parliament is equal tothe fall of the government. All other tools usedby the parliament to oversight the governmentcan be divided into two groups: the first groupconsists of tools used by the parliament to getinformed on the work of the government, andthe second group consists of the tools forquestioning political responsibility of the gov-ernment in the parliament.

Tools used by the parliament to getinformed on the work of government can bepermanent and temporary. Permanent tools forparliamentary oversight over the work of gov-ernment are standing parliamentary commis-sions/committees. Temporary tools of the par-liamentary oversight of government are thefollowing: inquiry committees, parliamentaryquestions and interpellation. From the tools forquestioning political responsibility of the gov-ernment, a motion of no-confidence vote is atypical tool in parliamentarism.

Inquiry committees

Inquiry committees are formed in order toexamine an important issue related the workof the government.

Parliamentary questions

A parliamentary question is a concretequestion posed by an MP to a member of thegovernment or to the government as a stateorgan in oral or written form. It has to beposed clearly and it may not be of an argu-mentative nature or contain commentsreferred to other people and events. Aresponse to the MP question is given at thesame sitting when it was posed by an MP orat the following sitting of the parliament, inany case during the same sitting. An MP maypose the maximum of three questions at eachsitting. After the response to the MP's ques-tion, there is no debate in the parliament.After s/he has been given the answer, an MPwho posed the question may comment theanswer in the time limit of three minutes andpose an additional question. It means that themember of the government who gave theanswer can take floor once more, but withthis, the entire procedure regarding the parlia-mentary question has to be finished.

As you can see, when it is about the par-liamentary question, we have an MP who asksand a member of the government whoanswers the question. There is no debate orvoting on parliamentary questions. The pur-pose of parliamentary questions is the infor-mation which could discredit the governmentor be of significance for the eventual ques-tioning of political responsibility of the gov-ernment in the parliament.



PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

Parliamentary questions - a mechanism by which legislators can requestinformation from executive leaders and call them to account on policyactions - are the traditional form of oversight in parliamentary systems.Although originally developed in the British House of Commons, this prac-tice can now be found around the world. Parliamentary questions are thebest known in their oral form, when opposition members interrogate gov-ernment leaders on policy issues during a forum known as "question time".Question time is generally a dynamic and very public process. Questiontime serves essentially two purposes. One purpose is oversight. Forcing par-liamentary leaders to answer questions allows ordinary MPs and the publicat large to examine (and eventually pass judgment on) government policiesand measures. The second purpose is political. Parliamentary questions offera forum to both governing and opposition parties to engage in partisandebate, often for the benefit of an interested public.

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Rostrum in the Parliamentary hall

Interpellation

The interpellation is a qualified questionsubmitted to a member of the Government orthe entire Government. At least one quarter ofthe total number of MPs may submit the inter-pellation for a debate on certain politicalissues connected with the work of theGovernment. The interpellation shall be sub-mitted to the Speaker of the Parliament in awritten form, and the issue to be discussedmust be concisely formulated and explained.

The Speaker of the Parliament shall deliv-er the interpellation to MPs and to theGovernment. If some MPs decide to give up oninterpellation so that the number of submittersgoes below 1/4 of the total number of MPs itshall be considered that the interpellation waswithdrawn. The debate on the interpellationmay be closed by making a decision on issuesin the interpellation, but may also be closedwithout making a decision. In comparison toparliamentary questions, in the interpellation,the emphasis is put on the debate, while theparliamentary question is asked concretely andit requires response without possibility to opena debate.

To interpelate means to ask, but ask and protest



THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INTERPELLATION AND PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

One of the differences between the interpellation and parliamentary questions is the debate. In interpellation thedebate is conducted because the government is asked to explain and justify its procedure which MPs tend to deny inthe parliament.

The question in the interpellation, is usually an important issue of national interest.While in parliamentary questions we have an MP who poses a question and a memeber of government who

responds, in interpellation all the MPs and all government members can take part in the debate.In comparison to parliamen-

tary quesitons, the interpellationusually ends with voting.

The purpose of the interpella-tion is not the information as it is inparliamentary questions, but discus-sion and debate, which could befollowed by sanctions to the gov-ernment.


Vote of no confidence

A motion of no confidence vote to theGovernment must contain the reasons whythe vote of no confidence is proposed. Adebate on the motion is opened at the ses-sion of the Parliament. Before the debateopens, a representative of the proposer hasthe right to justify the motion, and the PrimeMinister to answer them. Upon the conclu-sion of the debate, MPs shall conduct a noconfidence vote.

The Government itself can also initiate avote of confidence in the Parliament. Thequestion of the vote of confidence may beasked and explained by the Prime Minister onbehalf of the Government. Upon the conclu-sion of the debate, MPs shall vote on confi-dence vote.

One of the most frequent tools for questioning political responsibility of the government in parliamentarism is amotion of no confidence vote. Such motion is posed by a certain number of MPs in the parliament. For the recall ofthe government, it is necessary that the same proposal is adopted by the same majority of MPs needed for the govern-ment's election.

The government is obliged to resign in case of a successful no-confidence vote.


Plenary Hall


LEGISLATIVE HEARINGS

Parliamentary practice in some developed countries includes the instrument of legislative hearings which can bedefined as a mechanism for gathering of information used by parliamentary committees. Legislative hearings can be con-ducted on the issues such as lack of some legal solutions, but more frequently legislative hearings are organized onalready proposed laws and other acts. The purpose of legislative hearing is to track the level of implementation of gov-ernment's policies and activities. Legislative hearings give possibility to the citizens to participate in the process of defin-ing opinions on certain issues and thus help in raising public awereness on certain measures or issues. We believe thatthis instrument will be included in the text of the new Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Montenegro.


One of the committee rooms in the Montenegrin Parliament.



We used the following sources for the development of"Parliamentary guide"

1. The Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro;2. The Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of the Republic of

Montenegro,3. The Rules of Procedure of the Government of the Republic of

Montenegro,4. Montenegrin Constitutions, Organizations and Composition of State

Organs, MPs and Ministers from 1946-1998 - by Slobodan Dragovi},5. Constitutional Law, PhD R. Markovi},6. Website of the Parliament of Montenegro, www.skupstina.cg.yu,7. NDI website www.ndicrnagora.org, 7. Website of Podgorica www.podgorica.cg.yu.

We want to thank the Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament,Mr. Ranko Krivokapi} and members of his cabinet and SecretaryGeneral of the Montenegrin Parliament, Mr. Milan Radovi} andmembers of the Parliamentary administration for giving support indrafting the second updated edition of the "Parliamentary guide".

We would also like to thank PhD Radoslav Raspopovi} andTatjana Koprivica for their support and censorship they provided usin drafting the second part of this guide.

We owe special gratitude to Lisa C McLean, Zuzana Dzurikovaand Nata{a Bulatovi} from the National Democratic Institute andDeputy Secretary General, Mr. Slobodan Dragovi} for their sugges-tions and support given in drafting of the "Parliamentary guide".

At the end we would like to thank all the participants of all gen-erations of the Internship Program in the Parliament of the Republicof Montenegro and all those who helped us in any other way inorder to publish this guide.

SOURCESSOURCES

parliamentary guide

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