Chapter 15: Yugoslavia
Republic of Montenegro
(continued)
According to the wording of this law, the public is informed about this treaty only after it is ratified (the Act on Ratification of International Treaties is published in the federal Official Gazette within thirty days at the latest).
In addition, conclusion of international treaties is within the authority of the Federation (Article 77 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), as well as of member republics that also may, within their competence, conclude international treaties, but not to the disadvantage of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Article 7 of the Federal Constitution and Article 94 of the Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro).
| TABLE 4: International Decisionmaking | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiation of DM (problem/ proposal) | Defining the scope, issues and stakeholders (pre-decision scoping) | Defining the scope of DM (impacts and alternatives) | Evaluation of the alternatives | Selection of the alternative (DM about the selected alternative) | Execution of the selected alternative | Post-decision monitoring & enforcement (feedback/ adjustment) | |
Phases of Decisionmaking LEVELS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION |
|||||||
| Control of decisionmaking (right to decide) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Decisionmaking power is shared (right to joint decisionmaking) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Comments are seriously taken into account (right to be heard) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Adequate notification (right to be informed) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Access to information (right to access to information) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Article 85 of the constitution states that the government, a representative and at least 6,000 voters have the right of proposing a law or another regulation. In the legal system of the Republic of Montenegro there are no guarantees of public participation in the process of adopting laws or other regulations. The only possibility of public participation is that the republic government should decide to organize a public debate on the draft of a law.
The term to hold a public debate may not be shorter than 15 days (Article 36 of the Regulations of the Government). In principle, a public debate may be organized in the process of passing any law, but this is normally the case when the most important, system laws are passed that deal with issues of general interest.
Public participation in the procedure of passing laws and other regulations is also realized through the participation of proposers and representatives of institutions interested in the work on making a draft of the document. A draft law may be published, under the purview of the Republic Secretariat of Legislation (the public is usually engaged when more important regulations are considered).
It must be pointed out here that in the legal system of the Republic of Montenegro the budget of the republic, development plans and strategies, regional plans, territorial plans, etc. have the status of a law and are passed in the same way.
| TABLE 5: Preparation and Approval of National Laws and Regulations, National and Local Policies, Strategies, Programs and Plans | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiation of DM (problem/ proposal) | Defining the scope, issues and stakeholders (pre-decision scoping) | Defining the scope of DM (impacts and alternatives) | Evaluation of the alternatives | Selection of the alternative (DM about the selected alternative) | Execution of the selected alternative | Post-decision monitoring & enforcement (feedback/ adjustment) | |
Phases of Decisionmaking LEVELS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION |
|||||||
| Control of decisionmaking (right to decide) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Decisionmaking power is shared (right to joint decisionmaking) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Comments are seriously taken into account (right to be heard) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Adequate notification (right to be informed) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Access to information (right to access to information) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
The work of municipal bodies is public, and the transparency of their work may be limited or excluded only in cases defined by law.
Transparency of the work is most often realized in the contact with the media (journalists are allowed insight into proposals of enactments, and the municipal assembly may also issue a statement for the press and other media or organize a press conference - Articles 123 and 124 of the Regulation of the municipal assembly of Podgorica of 1997).
Citizens may take the initiative for the adoption of resolutions and other enactments. The mayor then takes a stand on this issue and submits it to the municipal assembly for consideration, and the assembly makes a decision on the initiative in a conclusion. If the initiative is accepted, the assembly sets the term within which the authorized body is to prepare a proposal of enactments on issues contained in the initiative. If the assembly does not accept the initiative, it may decide to hold a referendum (Articles 63 and 64 of the Regulations of the Municipal Assembly of Podgorica). The submitter of the initiative is informed about the stand on the initiative.
Beside the mayor and municipal councillors, 500 voters also have the right to propose local rules and regulations (Article 62 of the Regulations of the municipal assembly of Podgorica).
Conventions and referenda are forms of direct public participation in decisionmaking. All issues important for the local community are considered at citizens' conventions, and authorized bodies are bound to consider opinions and proposals given at citizens' conventions and inform the convention about it (Article 21 of the Statute of the Municipality of Podgorica). At their conventions, citizens may initiate a proposal to hold a municipal referendum or referenda for individual parts of the municipality.
A municipal referendum may be held with the purpose of citizens declaring themselves for or against introduction of voluntary taxes, floating a loan or in cases provided for by the law. By exception, a referendum may also be held in order to obtain citizens' opinion on certain issues that shall be considered and decided upon by the municipal assembly.
However, when considering all these instruments of public participation in decisionmaking on the local level, one has to bear in mind that issues within the sphere of environmental protection are uniformly regulated at the level of the republic and that in this sphere competence of local authorities is severely restricted.
| TABLE 6: Preparation and Approvalof Local Rules and Regulations | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiation of DM (problem/ proposal) | Defining the scope, issues and stakeholders (pre-decision scoping) | Defining the scope of DM (impacts and alternatives) | Evaluation of the alternatives | Selection of the alternative (DM about the selected alternative) | Execution of the selected alternative | Post-decision monitoring & enforcement (feedback/ adjustment) | |
Phases of Decisionmaking LEVELS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION |
|||||||
| Control of decisionmaking (right to decide) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Decisionmaking power is shared (right to joint decisionmaking) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Comments are seriously taken into account (right to be heard) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Adequate notification (right to be informed) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Access to information (right to access to information) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
The initiative to adopt territorial and urban plans may be taken by all the interested users of space (Article 18).
Public participation in passing these plans is primarily realized through the participation in a public debate on the draft of territorial and urban plans. It must be pointed out here that the Law on Physical and Urban Planning is the only legal document providing for obligatory holding of a public debate. A public debate cannot last longer than 30 days, and, within this period, various activities are carried out in order to inform the citizens and get feedback on the proposed solutions. For example, drafts of territorial plans for the municipality are submitted to institutions engaged in this sphere as well as to the public through the municipality, and citizens are informed about this through the Official Gazette. Also, usually on the last day of the term for the public debate a convention is organized at which both the representatives of competent institutions and citizens are present.
During the public debate, both individuals and NGOs may make remarks and suggestions to be included in a report compiled by the institution in charge of preparing and drawing up the plan. Still, their influence is restricted because although the party drawing up the plan is bound to consider the remarks, it has a discretionary right to evaluate their acceptability and either reject or adopt them.
In practice, individuals and citizens' associations take a more active part in the process of passing detailed plans that directly affect their immediate living space.
| TABLE 7: Preparation and Approval of Territorial Plans (Spatial/Local Land-Use Plans) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiation of DM (problem/ proposal) | Defining the scope, issues and stakeholders (pre-decision scoping) | Defining the scope of DM (impacts and alternatives) | Evaluation of the alternatives | Selection of the alternative (DM about the selected alternative) | Execution of the selected alternative | Post-decision monitoring & enforcement (feedback/ adjustment) | |
Phases of Decisionmaking LEVELS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION |
|||||||
| Control of decisionmaking (right to decide) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Decisionmaking power is shared (right to joint decisionmaking) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Comments are seriously taken into account (right to be heard) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Adequate notification (right to be informed) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Access to information (right to access to information) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Thus, there is a paradoxical situation that the legal document that should regulate public participation practically makes it impossible, and reduces it to a mere formality.
| TABLE 8: Environmental Impact Assessment | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiation of DM (problem/ proposal) | Defining the scope, issues and stakeholders (pre-decision scoping) | Defining the scope of DM (impacts and alternatives) | Evaluation of the alternatives | Selection of the alternative (DM about the selected alternative) | Execution of the selected alternative | Post-decision monitoring & enforcement (feedback/ adjustment) | |
Phases of Decisionmaking LEVELS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION |
|||||||
| Control of decisionmaking (right to decide) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Decisionmaking power is shared (right to joint decisionmaking) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Comments are seriously taken into account (right to be heard) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Adequate notification (right to be informed) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Access to information (right to access to information) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Article 35 of the Law on Environmental Protection of 1996 provides for the following sources of financing environment protection: budget funds, funds from special sources prescribed by local authorities with the consent of the republic government, funds from collected penalties in accordance with this law, funds from environmental compensations and funds from other sources.
Funds for environmental protection are paid into a special account within the republic budget, so that in this way already limited possibilities of public participation are practically completely excluded. The transparency of the work is realized exclusively within the institutions of the system: in parliament during the procedure of adopting the budget and annual financial statement, through the finding of the budget inspector as well as on the basis of the report on the annual financial statement of Payment Operations Service.
Most of these permits are issued by local authorities, and so it stands for sitting procedure according to Article 2 of the Law on Modifications and Amendments of the Law on Local Home Rule of 1995.
There are no signs of change related to public participation practice in this sphere, not even in the drafts of new regulations.
| TABLE 9: Siting and Permitting | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiation of DM (problem/ proposal) | Defining the scope, issues and stakeholders (pre-decision scoping) | Defining the scope of DM (impacts and alternatives) | Evaluation of the alternatives | Selection of the alternative (DM about the selected alternative) | Execution of the selected alternative | Post-decision monitoring & enforcement (feedback/ adjustment) | |
Phases of Decisionmaking LEVELS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION |
|||||||
| Control of decisionmaking (right to decide) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Decisionmaking power is shared (right to joint decisionmaking) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Comments are seriously taken into account (right to be heard) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Adequate notification (right to be informed) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Access to information (right to access to information) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
