Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe approved the Draft Protocol No. 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which can be adopted by the Committee of Ministers and open for signing and ratification. On the basis of the Report by Mr Christopher Chope from the Great Britain, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Opinion stating that the Draft Protocol No. 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which will enter into force once it has been ratified by ten Parties to the Convention, envisages possibility for the highest courts in Council of Europe member states to obtain, from the European Court of Human Rights, opinions on questions relating to the interpretation or application of rights and freedoms defined in the Convention and its protocols. Draft Protocol No. 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights will strengthen the link between the European Court of Human Rights and States by creating a platform for judicial dialogue, thereby facilitating the application of the Court’s case law by member states national courts. It was concluded that it would significantly contribute to improvement of the case law and faster resolution of similar cases at national level.

Within the second session of the final day of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe summer session, there was a discussion on separation of political and criminal separation. Adopting a resolution on “Keeping political and criminal responsibility separate” based on a report by Mr Pieter Omtzigt from Netherlands, the Parliamentary Assembly said politicians should as a rule be held criminally liable for acts or omissions in the exercise of their office when they “act for personal gain or violate the fundamental rights of others”, but should not be prosecuted for political decisions, which should be for the ultimate judgment of voters. The resolution sets out a number of principles for distinguishing political from criminal decision-making, based on a recommendation from legal experts in the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. In particular, criminal proceedings should not be used to penalise “political mistakes or disagreements”, though politicians should be accountable for ordinary criminal acts in the same way as other citizens.

PACE parliamentarians also called on member states authorities to take measures to ensure the independence of the judiciary and comprehensively execute the relevant judgments of the Court relating to the Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights i.e. prohibition of misuse of power in restricting rights and freedoms.

Head of the Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Mr Zoran Vukčević PhD participated at the Bureau meeting, composed of the President and Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, presidents of political groups and presidents of PACE committees. At the meeting, it was talked on PACE activities in the following period.

Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro participating at the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe was composed of: Head of the Delegation Mr Zoran Vukčević PhD and members Ms Draginja Vuksanović PhD, Mr Mladen Bojanić, Mr Predrag Sekulić PhD, Mr Damir Šehović MA and Ms Snežana Jonica.