Podgorica, 20 May 2026, dtt-net.com – The President of Montenegro and European Commissioner in charge of enlargement of the EU called today on country’s parliament to “urgently” elect remaining two judges of the six-member Constitutional Court, as parliamentary majority is delaying election of one proposed by President Jakov Milatovic.
“In the area of the rule of law, which is the core of the integration process and on which the overall pace of negotiations depends, it was particularly emphasized that it is urgently necessary to fill the Constitutional Court and elect the missing judges, a process that has been pending for several months,” Milatovic’s office said after a meeting of today in capital Podgorica with Marta Kos, who has travelled to the country to participate in celebration of country’s 20 years of independence since in split from state union it formed with Serbia of what remained from dissolution of Yugoslav federation and when it lost independence in 1918 when it was forces by Serbia Kingdom to join the Kingdom of Croats, Serbs and Slovenes.
The court has 7 seats, 2 are still empty.
In February this year the Parliament did not vote at a session called for election of a new member proposed by Milatovic, because of lack of presence by parliamentary majority lawmakers in the 81-seat body. Candidate Predrag Krstonijević proposed by the President did not had sufficient votes for the position in the 7-seat Constitutional Court in December 2025.
Last year the parliament elected 2 new judges proposed by ruling parties in the governing coalition of the Prime Minister Milojko Spajic.
Non-election of Krstonijević has to do with deep divisions between Milatovic and the main ruling party, Spajic’s Europe Now (PES).
Election of court’s members is one of the reforms in the judiciary that the country should complete as part of reforms needed for EU accession process.
Of the six countries of the region, Montenegro is frontrunner in EU accession negotiations. Since it launched EU accession negotiations in 2012, out of a total 35 negotiating chapters Podgorica has opened 33 for negotiations and closed 14 chapters.
Spajic and his government believe that the country will close remaining 21 chapters in 2026 and become EU member in 2028.
