Radulović: Adoption without the necessary procedure and quality introduces laws into the legal system that lack proper implementation

Any delay in the adoption of laws obstructs the negotiation process with the European Union (EU), but their adoption without the necessary procedure and quality introduces into the legal system laws that lack proper implementation or are insufficiently communicated to the professional and general public - said the President of the Association of Lawyers Branislav Radulović.

In an interview with the MINA Agency, Radulović said that both the dynamics of EU integration and the quality of legislative activity must be achieved.

On Monday, the Parliament of Montenegro adopted 25 laws necessary to meet the criteria in the EU negotiation process at two extraordinary sessions that lasted a total of less than one hour and 30 minutes.

Debate on these laws was not conducted in detail, rather, it was consolidated and reduced to statements by the Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević, and three opposition MPs. These opposition MPs did not speak about the proposed legal solutions themselves, but criticized the manner in which the laws were adopted.

Responding to the question of how he comments on the adoption of laws in this way and whether this represents a violation of parliamentary procedures and a degradation of parliament, Radulović said that political elites, primarily due to a rather narrow view of the issue, have imposed an extremely problematic dilemma.

As he explained, that dilemma concerns what the primary and fundamental interest of the current legislative activity is - whether it is the speed of adopting laws or their quality and respect for procedure.

- The Association of Lawyers of Montenegro does not wish to participate in this, in our view, false debate, because both goals must be achieved simultaneously - both the dynamics of EU integration and the quality of legislative activity must be ensured - Radulović emphasized.

He noted that in the EU integration process, some of today’s EU member states, when they were candidates for membership, adopted legislative acts in English without translating them into the national language in order to accelerate the process.

- However, at the same time, they paid special attention to procedure and ensured that the adopted legal solutions were not merely „bare statistics for the European checklist“, but a concrete contribution to the quality of the rule of law and legal certainty for their citizens and legal entities to which those legal solutions applied - Radulović added.

Asked whether European integration can justify the adoption of laws without adequate debate and public involvement, he replied that a serious mistake is made by advocating only one of the two requirements - speed of adoption or quality of laws.

These two requirements, Radulović stressed, cannot be viewed partially or separated from one another.

- Any delay in the law-making process is a direct, intentional or unintentional obstruction of the very demanding negotiation process with the EU, but at the same time, the adoption of laws without the necessary procedure and, in particular, without quality in their content introduces into the legal system „dead letters on paper“ - laws that lack proper implementation or are insufficiently communicated to the professional, academic, or business community - Radulović said.

He cited the example of the new Law on Business Organizations, which, as he said, went through very demanding procedures, yet is still not sufficiently clear to the business community, especially to companies founded by the state or local self-government units, in terms of its concrete application and the obligation of re-registration within a very short deadline.

- What, then, can be expected from 25 new legal solutions whose titles we are not even able to precisely list on this occasion - Radulović asked.

EU integration, he said, cannot be an excuse for the proposer of laws for poor and insufficiently communicated legal solutions, especially not for those that have not undergone verification by the European Commission.

- This applies, for example, to the proposed amendments to laws in the field of security, which 18 non-governmental organizations and professional associations, including the Association of Lawyers, precisely pointed out in their letter - Radulović stated.

Responding to the question of what the possible consequences are for the quality of laws when a large number of them are adopted in a short period of time, he said that no matter how demanding the European agenda may be and how much it requires accelerated procedures that must be met with a quality response, one must be aware of the danger of disrupting the legal order through legal solutions that produce legal effects upon entering into force, while the very bodies adopting them or the subjects to whom they apply are insufficiently familiar with their content.

- Unfortunately, it must be stated that it is evident that the executive and legislative branches do not have proper coordination on this issue, or at least such an impression is created in the public. After all, in his well-known quote, Cicero warned the Roman Senate that „When there are too many laws, justice is lost in their multitude“ - Radulović said.

Asked to comment on the fact that two extraordinary sessions with a large number of laws on the agenda were scheduled at the last moment, although this could have been done earlier, starting from January 15, he said that this example precisely indicates a noticeable lack of quality organization in the law-adoption process.

- In this way, an effect is achieved that results in a short-term benefit in the EU integration process, but also a permanent defect in the fact that there are legal solutions for which there was no public debate with either the professional or political public - Radulović said.

According to him, all of this may result in the factual existence of „new laws“ within the legal order, but without their actual and consistent application by those to whom these legal solutions are intended.

- Therefore, the Association of Lawyers and the overall professional public will not side with any of the „conflicting parties“ that advocate a partial approach, but will insist on quality parliamentary procedures, quality legal solutions, and respect for the agenda agreed upon in the EU negotiation process, because the goal of laws is not their mere „existence“, but their full, non-selective, and consistent implementation - Radulović stated.

Responding to the question of why Montenegro still does not have a Law on Parliament and whether the adoption of such a legal act could prevent the practice of adopting laws under accelerated procedures, he said that Parliament has a relatively well-regulated Rules of Procedure, which is also a constitutional category contained in Article 91, paragraph 2 of the Constitution.

As he explained, a much bigger problem is the fact that Montenegro is the only country in the region that does not have a Law on the Government, so the manner of work, organization, composition, and functions of the Government are regulated not by law, but by decrees and other lower-level by-laws.

- As far as Parliament itself is concerned, it has a relatively well-regulated Rules of Procedure, which is also a constitutional category contained in Article 91, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, and whose adoption requires a majority of all MPs - Radulović said.

He added that only a simple majority would be required for a Law on Parliament, while the Constitution prescribes a higher majority for the adoption of the Rules of Procedure than would be required for a potential Law on Parliament.

However, he said, this issue is not of relevance in the case at hand - „25 laws in 90 minutes“, because the problem is not the lack of regulation, but its application.

- Therefore, we believe that no matter how long someone may have professional experience in monitoring the work of parliament, they can no longer know with certainty the order of sessions, the manner of convening them, or the schedules and methodology of work of the legislative committee, which significantly undermines both legal certainty and the dignity of the legislative body - Radulović concluded.