Public bailiffs' professional, responsible and efficient action is highly significant in the context of the justice sector reform, as well as with regards to the overall progress and development of the Montenegrin society. A broad jurisdiction of public bailiffs and their key role in ensuring justice makes the issue of ethics even more relevant. These were the key messages at the opening of the regional workshops on Exercising fundamental human rights in enforcement procedures and Increasing public bailiffs’ accountability and professionalism, which were organised in Bečići, on 18/19 June by the Council of Europe Programme Office in Podgorica, in co-operation with the Chamber of Public Bailiffs of Montenegro.

The workshops have been designed to contribute to greater protection of human rights safeguards in enforcement procedures and to further enhance an ethical culture of the bailiffs' profession by promoting the Code of Ethics adopted in 2019. These events were the occasion to bring together judges, public bailiffs, public administration staff members, the Ombudsman's Office, academic professors and legal practitioners from the country and the region.

Lilit Daneghian Bossler, Head of the Justice Sector Reform Unit, Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law, Council of Europe stated in her opening speech that due to increasing interdependence among different institutions, the role of the Council of Europe standards, and in particular of the European Court’s jurisprudence is ever more vital, placing the judicial dialogue at the centre of both practical and academic debates. She also stated the importance of promoting and further enhancing the implementation of the new Code of Bailiffs Ethics adopted in December 2019 with the support of the Council of Europe and the European Union.

Bailiffs must perform their professional duties with integrity, as their actions are assessed through the lens of the best interest of citizens under any given circumstance - said Evgenia Giakoumopoulou, Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Podgorica. She further stressed that strong adherence to ethical standards for public bailiffs remains a prerequisite both in terms of professionalism and in terms of how they are perceived by citizens.

Maja Smrkolj, representing the European Commission’s DG NEAR, stated that the European Union is a key partner of Montenegro in the judicial reform process and will continue to support Montenegro in related activities. Smrkolj presented an overview of the support provided through EU accession funds to judicial institutions and legal professions in Montenegro, reiterating the importance of continued efforts towards the achievement of accession benchmarks in Chapters 23 and 24.

Siniša Bjeković, Ombudsman of Montenegro, underlined the importance of dialogue on critical issues among judicial stakeholders. In his opening remarks, Bjeković stated that it was rare to have the opportunity to meet with all relevant actors in one place to discuss practical issues and challenges and if necessary, initiate changes in legislation or the evolution of judicial and quasi-judicial practice. He further emphasised that such a dialogue provides a frame for solutions which will enhance the implementation of domestic legislation, but also of the European standards and bring better protection of human rights safeguards in the enforcement procedures in Montenegro. Bjeković also referred to the Recommendation Rec(2003)17 on enforcement as well as to the Guide to good practice on the implementation of the said Recommendation.

Valentina Pavličić, Montenegro State Agent before the European Court of Human Rights, reiterated the importance of professional forums which allow for exchange of opinions and experiences concerning the implementation of conventional standards and domestic legislation. She provided an overview of relevant European Court cases concerning the application of the proportionality test in enforcement procedures, stating that the national authorities need to raise awareness on the standards and principles to be applied in similar cases.

Vidak Latković, President of the Chamber of Public Bailiffs of Montenegro indicated that one cannot speak about respect for human rights, without referring to the professionalism of public bailiffs and judges who intervene in numerous enforcement cases. Therefore, only a responsible, conscientious, trained and professional public bailiff can ensure respect for human rights in a delicate enforcement procedure. Latković also stated that the public bailiffs were successful in making the enforcement procedure faster and more efficient. Despite the pandemic, in 2020 public bailiffs acted upon 66,402 enforcement cases (2,213 cases per a bailiff) and fully resolved one third of these cases, which approximates the number of cases in previous years.

In his video message, Marc Schmitz, President of International Union of Judicial Officers, said that the profession of public bailiffs has been facing new challenges in the last few years, given new technologies, blockchain, digital assets, etc. However, human dimension of the enforcement procedure should be always preserved by public bailiffs.

The values and ethics that the bailiffs have pledged to themselves and their commitment to the community provide for an overall guide in matters that are specifically addressed in the Code of Ethics of Public Bailiffs and in the legislation concerning this profession - said Marija Vuksanović, Senior Project Officer in the Council of Europe Programme Office in Podgorica in the closing address.

During the workshops, the Analysis on the right to property under Article 1 Protocol 1 ECHR in the context of the enforcement procedure in Montenegro was presented. In his presentation, the author of the Analysis, university professor Mihailo Dika emphasised the importance of a proper balance between the rights of a creditor and a debtor, stating that enforcement procedures need to be conducted in line with the principles of proportionality and equality of arms, ensuring respect for a right to a legal remedy and facilitating access to justice, in line with European Court's case law.

The regional workshops were organised jointly by the actions "Accountability and professionalism of the judicial system in Montenegro” and "Improving procedural safeguards in judicial proceeding in Montenegro" under the joint programme of the European Union and Council of Europe - “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.