Members of judicial institutions from Montenegro visited the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a view of enhancing regional co-operation and promoting the culture of judicial independence and accountability, in line with European standards.

Thanks to this activity, members of the Judicial Council of Montenegro and presidents of six basic courts (Podgorica, Cetinje, Bar, Nikšić, Berane and Plav) had the opportunity to inform themselves about good practices when it comes to the role and responsibilities of judges and court presidents, as well as to the appointment, promotion, professional appraisal and accountability of judges in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Representatives of judiciary of Montenegro also benefited from presentations on financing of judicial institutions and impact management in judiciary which were delivered during the visit. Advanced institutional models and tools developed and applied by HJPC were presented which will be of further use by judicial stakeholders of Montenegro to support the ongoing implementation of the decentralised budgeting in judiciary introduced in 2022 effectively.

Lessons learnt and methodologies devised by HJPC will greatly support the work of the Judicial Council and court presidents in Montenegro in this area, allowing for better correlation between judicial performance target and available resources to further strengthen the efficiency and accountability of judiciary.

This peer-to-peer exchange has been facilitated by the action "Strengthening accountability of the judicial system and enhancing protection of victims' rights in Montenegro” which is part of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye".