PDF generated: 12 Aug 2019, 20:10

constituteproject.org

Montenegro's Constitution of
2007

This complete constitution has been generated from excerpts of texts from the repository of the
Comparative Constitutions Project, and distributed on constituteproject.org.
constituteproject.org PDF generated: 12 Aug 2019, 20:10

Table of contents
Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
PART 1: BASIC PROVISIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 1: The State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 2: Sovereignty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 3: State territory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 4: State symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Article 5: Capital and Old Royal Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 6: Human rights and liberties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 7: Prohibition of infliction of hatred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 8: Prohibition of discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 9: Legal order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 10: Limits of liberties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 11: Division of powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Article 12: Montenegrin citizenship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Article 13: Language and alphabet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Article 14: Separation of the religious communities from the State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Article 15: Relations with other states and international organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Article 16: Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

PART 2: HUMAN RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

1. COMMON PROVISIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 17: Grounds and equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 18: Gender equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 19: Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 20: Legal remedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 21: Legal aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 22: Right to local self-government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 23: Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Article 24: Limitation of human rights and liberties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Article 25: Temporary limitation of rights and liberties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2. PERSONAL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Article 26: Prohibition of death penalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Article 27: Bio-medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Article 28: Dignity and inviolability of persona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Article 29: Deprivation of liberty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Article 30: Detention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Article 31: Respect for person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Article 32: Fair and public trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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Article 33: Principle of legality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Article 34: More lenient law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 35: Presumption of innocence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 36: Ne bis in idem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 37: Right to defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 38: Compensation of damage for illegal action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 39: Movement and residence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 40: Right to privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 41: Inviolability of home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Article 42: Confidentiality of correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Article 43: Personal data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Article 44: Right to asylum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3. POLITICAL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Article 45: Electoral right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Article 46: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Article 47: Freedom of expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Article 48: Objection of conscience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Article 49: Freedom of press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Article 50: Prohibition of censorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Article 51: Access to information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Article 52: Freedom of assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Article 53: Freedom of association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Article 54: Prohibition of organizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Article 55: Prohibition of operation and establishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Article 56: Right to address international organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Article 57: Right of recourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 58: Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 59: Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 60: Right to succession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 61: Rights of foreign nationals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 62: Right to work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 63: Prohibition of forced labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 64: Rights of the employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Article 65: Social council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Article 66: Strike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Article 67: Social insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Article 68: Protection of the persons with disability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Article 69: Health protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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Article 70: Consumer protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Article 71: Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Article 72: Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Article 73: Protection of mother and child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 74: Rights of a child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 75: Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 76: Freedom of creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 77: Science, culture and arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 78: Protection of natural and cultural heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5. SPECIAL - MINORITY RIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 79: Protection of identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Article 80: Prohibition of assimilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
6. PROTECTOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

PART 3: ORGANIZATION OF POWERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

1. PARLIAMENT OF MONTENEGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Article 82: Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Article 83: Composition of the Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Article 84: Mandate of the Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Article 85: Rights and responsibilities of the Members of the Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Article 86: Immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Article 87: Cessation of mandate of the Member of the Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Article 88: Constitution of the Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Article 89: Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Article 90: Sessions of the Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Article 91: Decision-making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Article 92: Dissolution of Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Article 93: Proposing laws and other acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Article 94: Proclamation of laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2. PRESIDENT OF MONTENEGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Article 95: Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Article 96: Election . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Article 97: Mandate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Article 98: Cessation of mandate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Article 99: Discharge of duties in case of impediment or cessation of mandate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3. GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Article 100: Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Article 101: Decrees with legal power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Article 102: Composition of the Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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Article 103: Election . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Article 104: Incompatibility of duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Article 105: Resignation and impeachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Article 106: Issue of confidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Article 107: Issue of no confidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Article 108: Interpellation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Article 109: Parliamentary investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Article 110: Cessation of mandate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Article 111: Civil service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Article 112: Delegation and entrusting of duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4. LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Article 113: Manner of decision-making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Article 114: Form of local self-government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Article 115: Municipality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Article 116: Property-related powers and financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Article 117: Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5. THE COURT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Article 118: Principles of the judiciary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Article 119: Panel of judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Article 120: Publicity of trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Article 121: Standing duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Article 122: Functional immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Article 123: Incompatibility of duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Article 124: Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Article 125: Election of judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Article 126: Judicial Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Article 127: Composition of the Judicial Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Article 128: Responsibility of the Judicial Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
6. ARMY OF MONTENEGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Article 129: Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7. DEFENSE AND SECURITY COUNCIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Article 130: Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Article 131: Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Article 132: Proclamation of the state of war . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Article 133: Proclamation of the state of emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8. STATE PROSECUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Article 134: Status and responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Article 135: Appointment and mandate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Article 136: Prosecutorial Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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Article 137: Functional immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Article 138: Incompatibility of duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

PART 4: ECONOMIC SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Article 139: Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Article 140: Economic area and equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Article 141: State property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Article 142: Tax obligation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Article 143: Central Bank of Montenegro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Article 144: National Audit Institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

PART 5: CONSTITUTIONALITY AND LEGALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Article 145: Conformity of legal regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Article 146: Publication and coming into effect of the regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Article 147: Prohibition of ex posto facto effect (retroactive effect) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Article 148: Legality of individual acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

PART 6: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF MONTENEGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Article 149: Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Article 150: Initiation of the procedure to assess constitutionality and legality . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Article 151: Decision of the Constitutional Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Article 152: Cessation of validity of a regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Article 153: Composition and election . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Article 154: Cessation of duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

PART 7: CHANGE OF THE CONSTITUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Article 155: Proposal for the change of the constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Article 156: Act on the change of the Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Article 157: Confirmation in the referendum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

PART 8: TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Article 158: Constitutional law for the enforcement of the Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

APPENDIX: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MONTENEGRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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• Source of constitutional authority

• Motives for writing constitution
Preamble
• Preamble

Stemming from:
The decision of the citizens of Montenegro to live in an independent and sovereign
state of Montenegro, made in the referendum held on May 21, 2006;
The commitment of the citizens of Montenegro to live in a state in which the basic
values are freedom, peace, tolerance, respect for human rights and liberties,
multiculturalism, democracy and the rule of law;
• Integration of ethnic communities The determination that we, as free and equal citizens, members of peoples and
national minorities who live in Montenegro: Montenegrins, Serbs, Bosniacs,
Albanians, Muslims, Croats and the others, are committed to democratic and civic
Montenegro;
• Protection of environment The conviction that the state is responsible for the preservation of nature, sound
environment, sustainable development, balanced development of all its regions and
the establishment of social justice;
• Regional group(s) The dedication to cooperation on equal footing with other nations and states and to
the European and Euro-Atlantic integrations, the Constitutional assembly of the
Republic of Montenegro, at its third sitting of the second regular session in 2007,
held on 19 October 2007, adopts THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF
MONTENEGRO

PART 1: BASIC PROVISIONS

• Type of government envisioned Article 1: The State

Montenegro is an independent and sovereign state, with the republican form of
government.
Montenegro is a civil, democratic, ecological and the state of social justice, based on
the rule of law.

Article 2: Sovereignty
Bearer of sovereignty is the citizen with Montenegrin citizenship.
The citizen shall exercise power directly and through the freely elected
representatives.
The power not stemming from the freely expressed will of the citizens in democratic
election in accordance with the law, can neither be established nor recognised.

Article 3: State territory

The territory of Montenegro is unified and inalienable.

Article 4: State symbols

• National anthem Montenegro shall have a coat of arms, a flag and a national anthem.
• National flag

The coat of arms of Montenegro shall be the golden double-headed eagle with lion
on its chest.

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• National flag The flag of Montenegro shall be red in color, with the coat of arms in the center and
the golden brim.
• National anthem The national anthem of Montenegro shall be "Oj svijetla majska zoro".

Article 5: Capital and Old Royal Capital

• National capital The capital of Montenegro shall be Podgorica,
The Old Royal Capital of Montenegro shall be Cetinje.

Article 6: Human rights and liberties

Montenegro shall guarantee and protect rights and liberties.
The rights and liberties shall be inviolable.
• Binding effect of const rights Everyone shall be obliged to respect the rights and liberties of others.

Article 7: Prohibition of infliction of hatred

Infliction or encouragement of hatred or intolerance on any grounds shall be
prohibited.

• General guarantee of equality Article 8: Prohibition of discrimination

Direct or indirect discrimination on any grounds shall be prohibited.
Regulations and introduction of special measures aimed at creating the conditions
for the exercise of national, gender and overall equality and protection of persons
who are in an unequal position on any grounds shall not be considered
discrimination.
Special measures may only be applied until the achievement of the aims for which
they were undertaken.

• Customary international law

• International law
Article 9: Legal order
• Legal status of treaties
The ratified and published international agreements and generally accepted rules of
international law shall make an integral part of the internal legal order, shall have the
supremacy over the national legislation and shall be directly applicable when they
regulate the relations differently from the internal legislation.

Article 10: Limits of liberties

In Montenegro, anything not prohibited by the Constitution and the law shall be free.
• Duty to obey the constitution Everybody is obliged to abide by the Constitution and the law.

Article 11: Division of powers

The power shall be regulated following the principle of the division of powers into
the legislative, executive and judicial.
• Structure of legislative chamber(s) The legislative power shall be exercised by the Parliament, the executive power by
the Government and the judicial by courts.
The power is limited by the Constitution and the law.
The relationship between powers shall be based on balance and mutual control.

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Montenegro shall be represented by the President of Montenegro.

• Constitutional interpretation Constitutionality and legality shall be protected by the Constitutional Court.
Army and security services shall be under democratic and civil control.

Article 12: Montenegrin citizenship

In Montenegro there shall be a Montenegrin citizenship.
Montenegro shall protect the rights and interests of the Montenegrin citizens.
• Power to deport citizens Montenegrin citizen shall not be expelled or extradited to other state, except in
• Extradition procedure
• International law accordance with the international obligations of Montenegro.

• Official or national languages

• Protection of language use
Article 13: Language and alphabet
The official language in Montenegro shall be Montenegrin.
Cyrillic and Latin alphabet shall be equal.
Serbian, Bosniac, Albanian and Croatian shall also be in the official use.

Article 14: Separation of the religious communities from

the State
• Official religion Religious communities shall be separated from the state.
• Separation of church and state

Religious communities shall be equal and free in the exercise of religious rites and
religious affairs.

• International law
• International organizations
Article 15: Relations with other states and international
organizations
Montenegro shall cooperate and develop friendly relations with other states,
regional and international organizations, based on the principles and rules of
international law.
Montenegro may accede to international organizations.
• Regional group(s) The Parliament shall decide on the manner of accession to the European Union.
Montenegro shall not enter into a union with another state by which it loses its
independence and full international personality.

Article 16: Legislation

The law, in accordance with the Constitution, shall regulate:
 
1. the manner of exercise of human rights and liberties, when this is necessary
for their exercise;
 
2. the manner of exercise of the special minority rights;
 
3. the manner of establishment, organization and competences of the
authorities and the procedure before those authorities, if so required for
their operation;

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4. the system of local self-government;
 
5. other matters of interest for Montenegro.

PART 2: HUMAN RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES

1. COMMON PROVISIONS

Article 17: Grounds and equality

• International law Rights and liberties shall be exercised on the basis of the Constitution and the
confirmed international agreements.
• General guarantee of equality All shall be deemed equal before the law, regardless of any particularity or personal
feature.

• Equality regardless of gender Article 18: Gender equality

The state shall guarantee the equality of women and men and shall develop the
policy of equal opportunities.

Article 19: Protection

Everyone shall have the right to equal protection of the rights and liberties thereof.

• Right to appeal judicial decisions Article 20: Legal remedy

Everyone shall have the right to legal remedy against the decision ruling on the right
or legally based interest thereof.

• Right to counsel Article 21: Legal aid

Everyone shall have the right to legal aid.
Legal aid shall be provided by the bar, as an independent and autonomous
profession, and by other services.
Legal aid may be provided free of charge, in accordance with the law.

Article 22: Right to local self-government

The right to local self-government shall be guaranteed.

• Protection of environment Article 23: Environment

Everyone shall have the right to a sound environment.
Everyone shall have the right to receive timely and full information about the status
of the environment, to influence the decision-making regarding the issues of
importance for the environment, and to legal protection of these rights.

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Everyone, the state in particular, shall be bound to preserve and improve the
environment

Article 24: Limitation of human rights and liberties

Guaranteed human rights and freedoms may be limited only by the law, within the
scope permitted by the Constitution and to such an extent which is necessary to
meet the purpose for which the limitation is allowed, in an open and democratic
society.
Limitations shall not be introduced for other purposes except for those for which
they have been provided for.

• Emergency provisions Article 25: Temporary limitation of rights and liberties

During the proclaimed state of war or emergency, the exercise of certain human
rights and freedoms may be limited, to the necessary extent.
• Equality regardless of gender The limitations shall not be introduced on the grounds of sex, nationality, race,
• Equality regardless of creed or belief
• Equality regardless of financial status religion, language, ethnic or social origin, political or other beliefs, financial standing
• Equality regardless of political party
• Equality regardless of nationality or any other personal feature.
• Equality regardless of race
• Equality regardless of language There shall be no limitations imposed on the rights to: life, legal remedy and legal aid;
• Equality regardless of religion
dignity and respect of a person; fair and public trail and the principle of legality;
• Right to counsel
• Human dignity presumption of innocence; defense; compensation of damage for illegal or
• Protection from false imprisonment
• Freedom of religion ungrounded deprivation of liberty and ungrounded conviction; freedom of thought,
• Protection from unjustified restraint conscience and religion; entry into marriage.
• Right to life
• Right to marry
• Freedom of opinion/thought/conscience There shall be no abolishment of the prohibition of: inflicting or encouraging hatred
• Presumption of innocence in trials
• Right to public trial or intolerance; discrimination; trial and conviction twice for one and the same
• Prohibition of double jeopardy criminal offence (ne bis in idem); forced assimilation.
Measures of limitation may be in effect at the most for the duration of the state of
war or emergency.

2. PERSONAL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES

• Prohibition of capital punishment Article 26: Prohibition of death penalty

The death penalty shall be prohibited in Montenegro.

Article 27: Bio-medicine

The right of a person and dignity of a human being with regard to the application of
biology and medicine shall be guaranteed.
Any intervention aimed at creating a human being that is genetically identical to
another human being, living or dead shall be prohibited.
It is prohibited to perform medical and other experiments on human beings, without
their permission.

Article 28: Dignity and inviolability of persona

• Human dignity The dignity and security of a man shall be guaranteed.
• Right to privacy The inviolability of the physical and mental integrity of a man, and privacy and
individual rights thereof shall be guaranteed.

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• Prohibition of cruel treatment No one can be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.
• Prohibition of torture
• Prohibition of slavery No one can be kept in slavery or servile position.

• Protection from unjustified restraint Article 29: Deprivation of liberty

Everyone shall have the right to personal liberty.
• Principle of no punishment without law Deprivation of liberty is allowed only for reasons and in the procedure provided for
by law.
• Trial in native language of accused Person deprived of liberty shall be notified immediately of the reasons for the arrest
thereof, in own language or in the language he/she understands.
• Protection from self-incrimination Concurrently, person deprived of liberty shall be informed that he/she is not obliged
to give any statement.
At the request of the person deprived of his/her liberty, the authority shall
immediately inform about the deprivation of liberty the person of own choosing of
the person deprived of his/her liberty.
• Right to counsel The person deprived of his/her liberty shall have the right to the defense counsel of
his/her own choosing present at his interrogation.
Unlawful deprivation of liberty shall be punishable.

Article 30: Detention

• Right to pre-trial release Person suspected with reasonable doubt to have committed a crime may, on the
basis of the decision of the competent court, be detained and kept in confinement
only if this is necessary for the pre-trial procedure.
• Protection from unjustified restraint Detainee shall be given the explained decision of detention at the time of being
placed in detention or at the latest 24 hours from being put in detention.
• Right to appeal judicial decisions Detainee shall have the right of appeal against the decision of detention, upon which
the court shall decide within 48 hours.
The duration of detention shall be reduced to the shortest possible period of time.
Detention by the decision of first-instance court may last up to three months from
the day of detention, and by the decision of a higher court, the detention may be
extended for additional three months.
If no indictment is raised by that time, the detainee shall be released.
• Privileges for juveniles in criminal process Detention of minors may not exceed 60 days.

• Prohibition of cruel treatment Article 31: Respect for person

The respect of human personality and dignity in the criminal or other procedure, in
case of deprivation or limitation of liberty and during the execution of imprisonment
sentence shall be guaranteed.
Any form of violence, inhuman or degrading behavior against a person deprived of
liberty or whose liberty has been limited, and any extortion of confession and
statement shall be prohibited and punishable.

• Right to fair trial

• Judicial independence
Article 32: Fair and public trial
• Right to public trial
• Right to speedy trial
Everyone shall have the right to fair and public trial within reasonable time before an
independent and impartial court established by the law.

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• Protection from ex post facto laws

• Principle of no punishment without law
Article 33: Principle of legality
No one may be punished for an act that, prior to being committed, was not stipulated
by the law as punishable, nor may be pronounced a punishment which was not
envisaged for that act.

• Protection from ex post facto laws Article 34: More lenient law
Criminal and other punishable acts are stipulated and the punishments for them are
pronounced in accordance with the law in force at the time when the act was
committed, unless the new law is more favorable for the perpetrator.

• Presumption of innocence in trials Article 35: Presumption of innocence

Every one shall be deemed innocent until the guilt thereof has been established by
an enforceable court decision.
The accused shall not be obliged to prove the innocence thereof.
The court shall interpret the doubt regarding the guilt to the benefit of the accused.

• Prohibition of double jeopardy Article 36: Ne bis in idem

No one may be trialed or convicted twice for one and the same punishable act.

• Right to counsel
• Trial in native language of accused
Article 37: Right to defense
Every one shall be guaranteed the right to defense, and especially: to be informed in
the language he/she understands about the charges against thereof; to have
sufficient time to prepare defense and to be defended personally or through a
defense attorney of his/her own choosing.

• Protection from false imprisonment Article 38: Compensation of damage for illegal action
Person deprived of liberty in an illegal or ungrounded manner or convicted without
grounds shall have the right to the compensation of damage from the state.

• Freedom of movement
• Restrictions on entry or exit
Article 39: Movement and residence
The right to freedom of movement and residence shall be guaranteed, as well as the
right to leave Montenegro.
Freedom of movement, residence and leaving Montenegro may be restricted if
required so for conducting the criminal procedure, prevention of contagious
diseases spreading or for the security of Montenegro.
Movement and residence of foreigner citizens shall be regulated by the law.

• Right to privacy Article 40: Right to privacy

Everybody shall have the right to respect for his/her private and family life.

• Right to privacy Article 41: Inviolability of home

Home shall be inviolable.

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No one shall enter the dwelling place or other premises against the will of the
possessor thereof and search them without a court warrant.
• Regulation of evidence collection The search of premises shall be conducted in the presence of two witnesses.
• Regulation of evidence collection A person in official capacity may enter other people's dwelling place or other
premises without the court warrant and conduct the search without the presence of
witnesses if so necessary for the prevention of execution of a criminal offence,
immediate apprehension of a perpetrator or to save people and property.

• Right to privacy
• Telecommunications
Article 42: Confidentiality of correspondence
Confidentiality of letters, telephone conversations and other means of
communication shall be inviolable.
The principle of inviolability of confidentiality of letters, telephone calls and other
means of communication shall be deviated from only on the basis of a court decision,
if so required for the purposes of conducting criminal proceedings or for the security
of Montenegro.

Article 43: Personal data

The protection of personal data shall be guaranteed.
It is prohibited to use personal data for purposes other than those for which they
were collected.
Everyone shall have the right to be informed about the personal data collected about
him or her and the right to court protection in case of abuse.

• Protection of stateless persons Article 44: Right to asylum

A foreign national reasonably fearing from persecution on the grounds of his/her
race, language, religion or association with a nation or a group or due to own political
beliefs may request asylum in Montenegro.
A foreign national shall not be expelled from Montenegro to where due to his race,
religion, language or association with a nation he/she is threatened with death
sentence, torture, inhuman degradation, persecution or serious violation of rights
guaranteed by this Constitution.
A foreign national may be expelled from Montenegro solely on the basis of a court
decision and in a procedure provided for by the law.

3. POLITICAL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES

Article 45: Electoral right

• Minimum age of head of state The right to elect and stand for elections shall be granted to every citizen of
• Minimum age for first chamber
• Eligibility for first chamber Montenegro of 18 years of age and above with at least a two-year residence in
• Restrictions on voting
Montenegro.
The electoral right shall be exercised in elections.
• Claim of universal suffrage The electoral right shall be general and equal.
• Secret ballot Elections shall be free and direct, by secret ballot.

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• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of religion
Article 46: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
• Freedom of opinion/thought/conscience
Everyone shall be guaranteed the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion, as well as the right to change the religion or belief and the freedom to,
individually or collectively with others, publicly or privately, express the religion or
belief by prayer, preaches, customs or rites.
No one shall be obliged to declare own religious and other beliefs.
Freedom to express religious beliefs may be restricted only if so required in order to
protect life and health of the people, public peace and order, as well as other rights
guaranteed by the Constitution.

• Freedom of expression Article 47: Freedom of expression

Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression by speech, writing, picture or
in some other manner.
• Right to protect one's reputation The right to freedom of expression may be limited only by the right of others to
dignity, reputation and honor and if it threatens public morality or the security of
Montenegro.

• Right to conscientious objection Article 48: Objection of conscience

Everyone shall have the right to objection of conscience.
No one shall be obliged, contrary to own religion or conviction, to fulfill a military or
other duty involving the use of arms.

• Freedom of press Article 49: Freedom of press

Freedom of press and other forms of public information shall be guaranteed.
The right to establish newspapers and other public information media, without
approval, by registration with the competent authority, shall be guaranteed.
• Right to protect one's reputation The right to a response and the right to a correction of any untrue, incomplete or
incorrectly conveyed information that violates a person's right or interest and the
right to compensation of damage caused by the publication of untruthful data or
information shall be guaranteed.

• Freedom of press Article 50: Prohibition of censorship

There shall be no censorship in Montenegro.
The competent court may prevent dissemination of information and ideas via the
public media if required so to: prevent invitation to forcible destruction of the order
defined by the Constitution; preservation of territorial integrity of Montenegro;
prevention of propagating war or incitement to violence or performance of criminal
offences; prevention of propagating racial, national and religious hatred or
discrimination.

• Right to information Article 51: Access to information

Everyone shall have the right to access information held by the state authorities and
organizations exercising public authority.

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The right to access to information may be limited if this is in the interest of: the
protection of life; public health; morality and privacy; carrying of criminal
proceedings; security and defense of Montenegro; foreign, monetary and economic
policy.

• Freedom of assembly Article 52: Freedom of assembly

The freedom of peaceful assembly, without approval, with prior notification of the
competent authority shall be guaranteed.
The freedom of assembly may be temporarily restricted by the decision of the
competent authority in order to prevent disorder or execution of a criminal offence,
threat to health, morality or security of people and property, in accordance with the
law.

• Freedom of association Article 53: Freedom of association

• Right to join trade unions The freedom of political, trade union and other association and action, without
• Right to form political parties
approval, by the registration with the competent authority, shall be guaranteed.
No one shall be forced to become a member of an association.
The state supports political and other associations, when there is a public interest to
do so.

• Restrictions on political parties Article 54: Prohibition of organizing

• Prohibited political parties Political organizing in public bodies shall be prohibited.
• Central bank A judge of the Constitutional Court, a judge, a state prosecutor and his deputy, an
• Restrictions on the armed forces
• Ombudsman Ombudsman, a member of the Council of the Central Bank, a member of the Senate
• Restrictions on rights of groups
of the State Audit Institution, a professional member of the Army, Police and other
security services shall not be a member of any political organization.
• Prohibited political parties Political organizing and actions of foreign nationals and political organizations with
the seat outside of Montenegro shall be prohibited.

• Prohibited political parties

• Restrictions on political parties
Article 55: Prohibition of operation and establishment
The operation of political and other organizations directed towards forceful
destruction of the constitutional order, infringement of the territorial integrity of
Montenegro, violation of guaranteed freedoms and rights or instigating national,
racial, and religious and other hatred and intolerance shall be prohibited.
The establishment of secret subversive organizations and irregular armies shall be
prohibited.

• International organizations Article 56: Right to address international organisation

Everyone shall have the right of recourse to international institutions for the
protection of own rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.

• Right of petition Article 57: Right of recourse

Everyone shall have the right of recourse, individually or collectively with others, to
the state authority or the organisation exercising public powers and receive a
response.

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No one shall be held responsible, or suffer other harmful consequences due to the
views expressed in the recourse, unless having committed a crime in doing so.

4. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS AND

LIBERTIES

Article 58: Property

• Right to own property Property rights shall be guaranteed.
• Protection from expropriation No one shall be deprived of or restricted in property rights, unless when so required
by the public interest, with rightful compensation.
• Ownership of natural resources Natural wealth and goods in general use shall be owned by the state.

• Right to establish a business Article 59: Entrepreneurship

Freedom of entrepreneurship shall be guaranteed.
• Protection of environment Freedom of entrepreneurship may be limited only if so necessary in order to protect
the health of the people, environment, natural resources, cultural heritage or
security and defense of Montenegro.

• Right to transfer property Article 60: Right to succession

The right to succession shall be guaranteed.

Article 61: Rights of foreign nationals

A foreign national may be the holder of property rights in accordance with the law.

• Right to choose occupation

• Right to work
Article 62: Right to work
• Right to safe work environment
Everyone shall have the right to work, to free choice of occupation and employment,
to fair and human working conditions and to protection during unemployment.

• Prohibition of slavery Article 63: Prohibition of forced labor

Forced labor shall be prohibited.
The following shall not be considered forced labor: labor customary during the
serving of sentence, deprivation of liberty; performance of duties of military nature
or duties required instead of military service; work demanded in case of crisis or
accident that threatens human lives or property.

Article 64: Rights of the employed

• Right to equal pay for work The employed shall have the right to adequate salary.
• Right to reasonable standard of living
• Right to rest and leisure The employed shall have the right to limited working hours and paid vacation.
• Right to safe work environment The employed shall have the right to protection at work.
• Limits on employment of children Youth, women and the disabled shall enjoy special protection at work.

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Article 65: Social council

Social position of the employed shall be adjusted in the Social council.
Social council shall consist of the representatives of the trade union, the employers
and the Government.

• Right to strike Article 66: Strike

The employed shall have the right to strike.
• Restrictions on the armed forces The right to strike may be limited to the employed in the Army, police, state bodies
and public service with the aim to protect public interest, in accordance with the law.

• Right to reasonable standard of living Article 67: Social insurance

Social insurance of the employed shall be mandatory.
• State support for the unemployed The state shall provide material security to the person that is unable to work and has
no funds for life.

• State support for the disabled Article 68: Protection of the persons with disability
Special protection of the persons with disability shall be guaranteed.

• Right to health care Article 69: Health protection

Everyone shall have the right to health protection.
• Rights of children A child, a pregnant woman, an elderly person and a person with disability shall have
• State support for the elderly
• State support for the disabled the right to health protection from public revenues, if they do not exercise this right
• State support for children
on some other grounds.

• Protection of consumers Article 70: Consumer protection

The state shall protect the consumer.
Actions that harm the health, security and privacy of consumers shall be prohibited.

• Right to marry Article 71: Marriage

Marriage may be entered into only on the basis of a free consent of a woman and a
man.
• Provision for matrimonial equality Marriage shall be based on equality of spouses.

• Right to found a family Article 72: Family

Family shall enjoy special protection.
• Rights of children Parents shall be obliged to take care of their children, to bring them up and educate
them.
Children shall take care of their own parents in need of assistance.
Children born out of wedlock shall have the same rights and responsibilities as
children born in marriage.

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• State support for children Article 73: Protection of mother and child
Mother and child shall enjoy special protection.
The state shall create the conditions that encourage childbirth.

• Rights of children
• Limits on employment of children
Article 74: Rights of a child
• State support for children
A child shall enjoy rights and freedoms appropriate to his age and maturity.
A child shall be guaranteed special protection from psychological, physical, economic
and any other exploitation or abuse.

Article 75: Education

• Compulsory education The right to education under same conditions shall be guaranteed.
• Free education Elementary education shall be obligatory and free of charge.
• Right to academic freedom The autonomy of universities, higher education and scientific institutions shall be
• Reference to science
guaranteed.

• Reference to art
• Provisions for intellectual property
Article 76: Freedom of creation
• Reference to science
The freedom of scientific, cultural and artistic creation shall be guaranteed.
The freedom to publish works of science and arts, scientific discoveries and technical
inventions shall be guaranteed, and their authors shall be guaranteed the moral and
property rights.

• Reference to art
• Right to culture
Article 77: Science, culture and arts
• Reference to science
• Right to enjoy the benefits of science
The state shall encourage and support the development of education, science,
culture, arts, sport, physical and technical culture.
The state shall protect the scientific, cultural, artistic and historic values.

• Right to culture Article 78: Protection of natural and cultural heritage

Everyone shall be obliged to preserve natural and cultural heritage of general
interest.
The state shall protect the national and cultural heritage.

5. SPECIAL - MINORITY RIGHTS

• Integration of ethnic communities

• Right to self determination
Article 79: Protection of identity
Persons belonging to minority nations and other minority national communities shall
be guaranteed the rights and liberties, which they can exercise individually or
collectively with others, as follows:
 
1. the right to exercise, protect, develop and publicly express national, ethnic,
cultural and religious particularities;

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2. the right to choose, use and publicly post national symbols and to celebrate
national holidays;
 
• Protection of language use 3. the right to use their own language and alphabet in private, public and
official use;
 
• Protection of language use 4. the right to education in their own language and alphabet in public
institutions and the right to have included in the curricula the history and
culture of the persons belonging to minority nations and other minority
national communities;
 
• Protection of language use 5. the right, in the areas with significant share in the total population, to have
the local self-government authorities, state and court authorities carry out
the proceedings in the language of minority nations and other minority
national communities;
 
• Right to culture 6. the right to establish educational, cultural and religious associations, with
the material support of the state;
 
• Protection of language use 7. the right to write and use their own name and surname also in their own
language and alphabet in the official documents;
 
• Protection of language use 8. the right, in the areas with significant share in total population, to have
traditional local terms, names of streets and settlements, as well as
topographic signs written in the language of minority nations and other
minority national communities;
 
• First chamber representation quotas 9. the right to authentic representation in the Parliament of the Republic of
Montenegro and in the assemblies of the local self-government units in
which they represent a significant share in the population, according to the
principle of affirmative action;
 
10. the right to proportionate representation in public services, state
authorities and local self-government bodies;
 
• Protection of language use 11. the right to information in their own language;
 
12. the right to establish and maintain contacts with the citizens and
associations outside of Montenegro, with whom they have common
national and ethnic background, cultural and historic heritage, as well as
religious beliefs;
 
13. the right to establish councils for the protection and improvement of
special rights.

• Right to culture Article 80: Prohibition of assimilation

Forceful assimilation of the persons belonging to minority nations and other
minority national communities shall be prohibited.

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The state shall protect the persons belonging to minority nations and other minority
national communities from all forms of forceful assimilation.

6. PROTECTOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES

Article 81
• Human rights commission The protector of human rights and liberties of Montenegro shall be independent and
autonomous authority that takes measures to protect human rights and liberties.
• International law The protector of human rights and liberties shall exercise duties on the basis of the
• Ombudsman
Constitution, the law and the confirmed international agreements, observing also
the principles of justice and fairness.
The protector of human rights and liberties shall be appointed for the period of six
years and can be dismissed in cases envisaged by the law.

PART 3: ORGANIZATION OF POWERS

1. PARLIAMENT OF MONTENEGRO

Article 82: Responsibility

The Parliament shall:
 
1. Adopt the Constitution;
 
2. Adopt laws;
 
3. Adopt other regulations and general acts (decisions, conclusions,
resolutions, declarations and recommendations);
 
• Emergency provisions 4. Proclaim the state of war and the state of emergency;
• Power to declare/approve war
 
• Budget bills 5. Adopt the budget and the final statement of the budget;
 
6. Adopt the National security strategy and Defense strategy;
 
7. Adopt the Development plan and Spatial plan of Montenegro;
 
8. Decide on the use of units of the Army of Montenegro in the international
forces;
 
9. Regulate the state administration system;
 
10. Perform supervision of the army and security services;
 
• Referenda 11. Call for the national referendum;

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• Cabinet removal 12. Elect and dismiss from duty the Prime Minister and members of the
• Cabinet selection
• Head of government removal Government
• Head of government selection
 
• Constitutional court removal 13. Elect and dismiss from duty the President of the Supreme Court, the
• Constitutional court selection
• Supreme court selection President and the judges of the Constitutional Court;
• Supreme/ordinary court judge removal
 
14. Appoint and dismiss from duty: the Supreme State Prosecutor and State
• Attorney general
• Central bank Prosecutors, the Protector of human rights and liberties (Ombudsman), the
• Ombudsman
Governor of the Central Bank and members of the Council of the Central
Bank of Montenegro, the President and members of the Senate of the State
Audit Institution, and other officials stipulated by the law;
 
15. Decide on immunity rights;
 
16. Grant amnesty;
 
• International law 17. Confirm international agreements;
• Treaty ratification
 
18. Call for public loans and decide on credits of Montenegro;
 
19. Decide on the use of state property above the value stipulated by the law;
 
20. Perform other duties stipulated by the Constitution or the law.

• Secret ballot
• Structure of legislative chamber(s)
Article 83: Composition of the Parliament
• Size of first chamber
• First chamber selection
The Parliament shall consist of the Members of the Parliament elected directly on
the basis of the general and equal electoral right and by secret ballot.
The Parliament shall have 81 Members.

• Powers of cabinet
• Emergency provisions
Article 84: Mandate of the Parliament
• Head of government term length
• Head of state powers
• Term length for first chamber The mandate of the Parliament shall last for four years.
The mandate of the parliament may cease prior to the expiry of the period for which
it was elected by dissolving it or reducing the mandate of the Parliament.
If the mandate of the Parliament expires during the state of war or the state of
emergency, the mandate shall be extended for the period of up to 90 days upon
termination of the circumstances that have caused such state.
At the proposal of the President of Montenegro, the Government or minimum 25
MP's, the Parliament may reduce the duration of its mandate.

Article 85: Rights and responsibilities of the Members of

the Parliament
Member of the Parliament shall decide and vote according to his/her own conviction.
Member of the Parliament shall have the right to perform the duty of an MP as an
occupation.

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• Immunity of legislators Article 86: Immunity

Member of the Parliament shall enjoy immunity.
Member of the Parliament shall not be called to criminal or other account or
detained because of the expressed opinion or vote in the performance of his/her
duty as a Member of the Parliament.
No penal action shall be taken against and no detention shall be assigned to a
Member of the Parliament, without the consent of the Parliament, unless the
Member has been caught performing a criminal offense for which there is a
prescribed sentence of over five years of imprisonment.
• Head of government immunity The President of Montenegro, the Prime Minister and members of the Government,
• Head of state immunity
the President of the Supreme Court, the President and the judges of the
Constitutional Court, and the Supreme State Prosecutor shall enjoy the same
immunity as the Member of the Parliament.

Article 87: Cessation of mandate of the Member of the

Parliament
Mandate of a Member of the Parliament shall cease prior to the expiry of the period
for which he/she was elected:
 
1. By resignation;
 
• Removal of individual legislators 2. If he/she was convicted by an enforceable decision of the court to an
imprisonment sentence of minimum six months;
 
• Removal of individual legislators 3. If he/she was deprived of the ability to work by an enforceable decision;
 
4. Due to cessation of Montenegrin citizenship;

Article 88: Constitution of the Parliament

The first session of the newly elected composition of the Parliament shall be called
for by the Speaker of the previous composition of the Parliament and it shall be held
within 15 days from the date of publication of the final results of the elections.

• Leader of first chamber Article 89: Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament
The Parliament shall have a Speaker and one or more Deputy Speakers, elected from
its own composition for the period of four years.
Speaker of the Parliament shall represent the Parliament, call for the sessions of the
Parliament and chair them, take care of the enforcement of the Rules of Procedure
of the Parliament, call for elections for the President of Montenegro and perform
other affairs stipulated by the Constitution, the law and the Rules of Procedure of
the Parliament.
The Deputy Speaker shall substitute the Speaker of the Parliament in the
performance of affairs when the Speaker is prevented to do so or when the Speaker
entrusts the Deputy Speaker the duty to substitute him.

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• Length of legislative sessions Article 90: Sessions of the Parliament

• Extraordinary legislative sessions The Parliament shall work in regular and extraordinary sessions.
Regular sessions shall be held twice a year.
The first regular session shall start on the first working day in March and shall last
until the end of July, and the second one shall start on the first working day in
October and shall last until the end of December.
• Extraordinary legislative sessions Extraordinary session shall be called for at the request of the President of
Montenegro, the Government or minimum one third of the total number of
Members of the Parliament.

Article 91: Decision-making

• Quorum for legislative sessions The Parliament shall decide by majority vote of the present Members of the
Parliament in the session attended by over one half of the total number of Members,
unless otherwise regulated by the Constitution.
• Cabinet removal With the majority vote of the total number of Members the Parliament shall adopt
• Cabinet selection
• Requirements for birthright citizenship the laws that regulate: manner of exercise of liberties and rights of the citizens,
• Constitutional court removal
• Constitutional court selection Montenegrin citizenship, electoral system, referendum, material responsibilities of
• Emergency provisions
• Head of government removal the citizens, state symbols and use of state symbols, defense and security, the army,
• Head of government selection establishment, merger and abolition of municipalities; proclaim the state of war and
• Head of state removal
• Supreme/ordinary court judge removal state of emergency; adopt the spatial plan; adopt the Rules of Procedure of the
• Ombudsman
• Referenda Parliament; decide on calling for the state referendum; decide on the reduction of
• Power to declare/approve war the mandate; decide on the removal of the President of the Republic from office;
elect and dismiss the Prime Minister and members of the Government and decide on
the trust in the Government; elect and dismiss the President of the Supreme court,
presidents and judges of the Constitutional court; appoint and dismiss the Protector
of human rights and liberties.
• Supermajority required for legislation The Parliament shall decide by a two-third majority of the total number of the
Members of Parliament on the laws regulating the electoral system and property
rights of foreign nationals.
• Supermajority required for legislation The Parliament shall decide by a two-third majority of the total number of the
Members of Parliament in the first round of voting and by majority of the total
number of the Members of Parliament in the second round of voting on the laws
regulating the manner of exercising obtained minority rights and the use of Army
units in the international forces.

• Dismissal of the legislature Article 92: Dissolution of Parliament

The Parliament shall be dissolved if it fails to elect the Government within 90 days
from the date when the President of Montenegro proposed for the first time the
candidate for the position of the Prime Minister.
If the Parliament does not perform its duties established by the law for a longer
period of time, the Government may dissolve the Parliament upon hearing the
opinion of the Speaker of the Parliament and the presidents of the caucuses in the
Parliament.
• Head of state powers The Parliament shall be dissolved by the Ordinance of the President of Montenegro.
• Emergency provisions The Parliament shall not be dissolved during the state of war or state of emergency,
if the ballot procedure of no confidence in the Government has been initiated, and in
the first three months from its constitution and the three months prior to the expiry
of its mandate.

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The President of Montenegro shall call for the elections the first day after the
dissolution of the Parliament.

• Initiation of general legislation Article 93: Proposing laws and other acts
The right to propose laws and other acts shall be granted to the Government and the
Member of the Parliament.
• Legislative initiatives by citizens The right to propose laws shall also be granted to six thousand voters, through the
Member of the Parliament they authorized.
• Referenda The proposal to call for the national referendum may be submitted by: at least 25
Members of the Parliament, the President of Montenegro, the Government or at
least 10% of the citizens with the right to vote.

• Approval of general legislation

• Veto override procedure
Article 94: Proclamation of laws
The President of Montenegro shall proclaim the law within seven days from the day
of adoption of the law, that is, within three days if the law has been adopted under a
speedy procedure or send the law back to the Parliament for new decision-making
process.
The President of Montenegro shall proclaim the re-adopted law.

2. PRESIDENT OF MONTENEGRO

• Name/structure of executive(s)
• Head of state powers
Article 95: Responsibility
The President of Montenegro:
 
• Foreign affairs representative 1. Represents Montenegro in the country and abroad;
 
• Designation of commander in chief 2. Commands over the Army on the basis of the decisions of the Defense and
Security Council;
 
3. Proclaims laws by Ordinance;
 
4. Calls for the elections for the Parliament;
 
• Constitutional court selection 5. Proposes to the Parliament: candidate for the Prime Minister, after
• Head of government selection
• Ombudsman consultations with the representatives of the political parties represented
in the Parliament; President and judges of the Constitutional Court;
Protector of human rights and liberties;
 
• Powers of cabinet 6. Appoints and revokes ambassadors and heads of other diplomatic missions
• Foreign affairs representative
of Montenegro abroad, at the proposal of the Government and after
obtaining the opinion of the Parliamentary Committee responsible for
international relations;
 
• Foreign affairs representative 7. Accepts letters of accreditation and revocation of the foreign diplomats;
 
8. Awards medals and honors of Montenegro;

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• Power to pardon 9. Grants amnesty;
 
10. Performs other tasks stipulated by the Constitution or the law.

• Head of state selection Article 96: Election

• Secret ballot The President of Montenegro shall be elected on the basis of a general and equal
electoral right, through direct and secret ballot.
• Eligibility for head of state A Montenegrin citizen residing in Montenegro for minimum 10 years in the past 15
years may be elected for the President of Montenegro.
The Speaker of the Parliament shall call for the elections for the President of
Montenegro.

Article 97: Mandate

• Head of state term length The President of Montenegro shall be elected for the period of five years.
• Head of state term limits The same person may be elected the President of Montenegro maximum two times.
The President of Montenegro shall assume the duty on the date of taking an oath
before the Members of the Parliament.
• Emergency provisions If the mandate of the President expires during the state of war or the state of
emergency, the mandate shall be extended for maximum 90 days after the end of
circumstances that have caused that state.
• Eligibility for head of state The President of Montenegro shall not perform any other public duty.

• Head of state removal Article 98: Cessation of mandate

The mandate of the President of Montenegro shall end with the expiry of time for
which he/she was elected, by resignation, if he/she is permanently unable to perform
the duty of the President and by impeachment.
The President shall be held responsible for the violation of the Constitution.
The procedure to determine whether the President of Montenegro has violated the
Constitution shall be initiated by the Parliament, at the proposal of minimum 25
Members of the Parliament.
The Parliament shall submit the proposal to initiate the procedure to the President
of Montenegro for plead.
• Constitutional court powers The Constitutional Court shall decide on existence or non-existence of violation of
the Constitution and shall publish the decision and submit it to the Parliament and
the President of Montenegro without delay.
The Parliament may impeach the President of Montenegro when the Constitutional
Court finds that he/she has violated the Constitution.

• Head of state replacement Article 99: Discharge of duties in case of impediment or

cessation of mandate
In case of cessation of mandate of the President of Montenegro, until the election of
the new President, as well as in the case of temporary impediment of the President
to discharge his/her duties, the Speaker of the Parliament shall discharge this duty.

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• Establishment of cabinet/ministers 3. GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO

• Powers of cabinet
• Head of government powers
Article 100: Responsibility
The Government shall:
 
1. Manage internal and foreign policy of Montenegro;
 
2. Enforce laws, other regulations and general acts;
 
3. Adopt decrees, decisions and other acts for the enforcement of laws;
 
• International law 4. Sign international agreements;
• Treaty ratification
 
5. Propose the Development plan and Spatial plan of Montenegro;
 
• Budget bills 6. Propose the Budget and the Final Statement of the Budget;
 
7. Propose the National Security Strategy and Defense Strategy;
 
8. Decide on the recognition of states and establishment of diplomatic and
consular relations with other states;
 
9. Nominate ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions of Montenegro
abroad;
 
10. Perform other tasks stipulated by the Constitution or the law.

• Powers of cabinet
• Emergency provisions
Article 101: Decrees with legal power
• Head of government decree power
During the state of war or the state of emergency, the Government may adopt
decrees with legal power, if the Parliament is not able to meet.
The Government shall submit the decrees with legal power to the Parliament for
confirmation as soon as the Parliament is able to meet.

• Name/structure of executive(s) Article 102: Composition of the Government

The Government shall consist of the Prime Minister, one or more Deputy Prime
Ministers and the ministers.
The Prime Minister represents the Government and manages its work.

• Head of government selection Article 103: Election

The President of Montenegro proposes the mandator within 30 days from the day of
constitution of the Parliament.
• Cabinet selection The candidate for the position of the Prime Minister presents to the Parliament
his/her program and proposes composition of the Government.

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The Parliament shall decide simultaneously on the program of the mandator and the
proposal for the composition of the Government.

• Eligibility for cabinet

• Head of government's role in the
Article 104: Incompatibility of duties
legislature
• Outside professions of legislators
The Prime Minister and the member of the Government shall not discharge duties of
a Member of the Parliament or other public duties or professionally perform some
other activity.

• Cabinet removal Article 105: Resignation and impeachment

The Government and the member of the Government may resign from duty.
Resignation of the Prime Minister shall be considered the resignation of the
Government.
The Prime Minister may propose to the Parliament to impeach a member of the
Government.

• Head of government removal Article 106: Issue of confidence

The Government may raise the issue of confidence in it before the Parliament.

• Cabinet removal
• Head of government removal
Article 107: Issue of no confidence
The Parliament may vote no confidence in the Government.
The proposal for no confidence ballot regarding the Government may be submitted
by minimum 27 Members of the Parliament.
• Limits on removing head of government If the Government gained confidence, the signatories of the proposal shall not
submit a new proposal for no confidence ballot prior to the expiry of the 90 days
deadline.

• Legislative oversight of the executive Article 108: Interpellation

The interpellation to examine certain issues regarding the work of the Government
may be submitted by minimum 27 Members of the Parliament.
The interpellation shall be submitted in written form and shall be justified.
The Government shall submit an answer within thirty days from the date of receipt
of interpellation.

• Counter corruption commission

• Legislative oversight of the executive
Article 109: Parliamentary investigation
The Parliament may, at the proposal of minimum 27 Members of the Parliament,
establish a Fact-finding Commission in order to collect information and facts about
the events related to the work of the state authorities.

• Budget bills
• Head of government removal
Article 110: Cessation of mandate
• Head of government replacement
• Head of government term length
The Government mandate shall cease: with the expiry of the Parliament mandate, by
resignation, when it loses confidence and if it fails to propose the Budget by March
31 of the budgetary year.
The Government whose mandate has ceased shall continue with its work until the
election of the new composition of the Government.

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The Government whose mandate has ceased shall not dissolve the Parliament.

Article 111: Civil service

The duties of the civil service shall be discharged by the ministries and other
administrative authorities.

Article 112: Delegation and entrusting of duties

Individual duties of the civil service may be delegated to the local self-government or
other legal person by the law.
Individual duties of the civil service may be entrusted to the local self-government or
some other legal entity by the regulation of the Government.

• Municipal government 4. LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

Article 113: Manner of decision-making

In the local self-government the decisions shall be made directly and through the
freely elected representatives.
The right to local self-government shall include the right of citizens and local
self-government bodies to regulate and manage certain public and other affairs, in
their own responsibility and in the interest of the local population.

Article 114: Form of local self-government

The basic form of the local self-government shall be the municipality.
It shall also be possible to establish other forms of local self-government.

Article 115: Municipality

The municipality shall have the status of a legal entity.
Municipality shall adopt the Statute and General Acts.
Authorities of the municipality shall be the Assembly and the President.

Article 116: Property-related powers and financing

The Municipality shall exercise certain property related powers over the state
owned assets in accordance with the law.
The Municipality shall have property.
The Municipality shall be financed from its own resources and the assets of the state.
The Municipality shall have a budget.

Article 117: Autonomy

The Municipality shall be autonomous in the performance of its duties.

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• Powers of cabinet The Government may dismiss the municipal Assembly, that is, discharge the
President of the municipality from duty, only if the municipal assembly, that is, the
President of the municipality, fails to perform the duties thereof for a period longer
than six months.

5. THE COURT

Article 118: Principles of the judiciary

• Judicial independence The court is autonomous and independent.
• Constitutional interpretation The court shall rule on the basis of the Constitution, laws and confirmed and
• International law
published international agreements.
Establishment of court marshal and extraordinary courts shall be prohibited.

Article 119: Panel of judges

The court shall rule in panel, except when the law stipulates that an individual judge
shall rule.
Lay-judges shall also participate in the trial in cases stipulated by the law.

• Right to public trial Article 120: Publicity of trial

The hearing before the court shall be public and judgments shall be pronounced
publicly.
• Privileges for juveniles in criminal process Exceptionally, the court may exclude the public from the hearing or one part of the
hearing for the reasons necessary in a democratic society, only to the extent
necessary: in the interest of morality; public order; when minors are trialed; in order
to protect private life of the parties; in marital disputes; in the proceedings related to
guardianship and adoption; in order to protect military, business or official secret;
and for the protection of security and defense of Montenegro.

Article 121: Standing duty

• Supreme court term length The judicial duty shall be permanent.
• Ordinary court term length
• Mandatory retirement age for judges The duty of a judge shall cease at his/her own request, when he/she fulfills the
requirements for age pension and if the judge has been sentenced to an
unconditional imprisonment sentence.
• Supreme/ordinary court judge removal The judge shall be released from duty if he/she has been convicted for an act that
makes him unworthy for the position of a judge; performs the judicial duty in an
unprofessional or negligent manner or loses permanently the ability to perform the
judicial duty.
• Establishment of judicial council The judge shall not be transferred or sent to another court against his/her will,
• Supreme/ordinary court judge removal
except by the decision of the Judicial Council in case of reorganization of courts.

• Establishment of judicial council Article 122: Functional immunity

The judge and the lay judge shall enjoy functional immunity.
The judge and the lay judge shall not be held responsible for the expressed opinion or
vote at the time of adoption of the decision of the court, unless this represents a
criminal offense.

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In the proceedings initiated because of the criminal offense made in the performance
of judicial duty, the judge shall not be detained without the approval of the Judicial
Council.

Article 123: Incompatibility of duties

The judge shall not discharge duties of a Member of the Parliament or other public
duties or professionally perform some other activity.

Article 124: Supreme Court

• Structure of the courts The Supreme Court shall be the highest court in Montenegro.
The Supreme Court shall secure unified enforcement of laws by the courts.
• Supreme court selection The President of the Supreme Court shall be elected and dismissed from duty by the
• Supreme/ordinary court judge removal

Parliament at the joint proposal of the President of Montenegro, the Speaker of the
Parliament and the Prime Minister.
If the proposal for the election of the President of the Supreme Court fails to be
submitted within 30 days, the President of the Supreme Court shall be elected at the
proposal of the responsible working body of the Parliament.

• Supreme court selection

• Establishment of judicial council
Article 125: Election of judges
• Supreme/ordinary court judge removal
• Ordinary court selection
A Judge and a president of the court shall be elected and dismissed from duty by the
Judicial Council.
The President of the court shall be elected for the period of five years.
The President of the court shall not be a member of the Judicial Council.

• Establishment of judicial council Article 126: Judicial Council

The Judicial Council shall be autonomous and independent authority that secures
autonomy and independence of the courts and the judges.

• Establishment of judicial council Article 127: Composition of the Judicial Council

The Judicial Council shall have the president and nine members.
The President of the Judicial Council shall be the President of the Supreme Court.
Members of the Judicial Council shall be as follows:
 
1. four judges elected and dismissed from duty by the Conference of Judges;
 
2. two Members of the Parliament elected and dismissed from duty by the
Parliament from amongst the parliamentary majority and the opposition;
 
3. two renowned lawyers elected and dismissed from duty by the President of
Montenegro;
 
4. the Minister of Justice.
The President of Montenegro shall proclaim the composition of the Judicial Council.
The mandate of the Judicial Council shall be four years.

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• Establishment of judicial council Article 128: Responsibility of the Judicial Council

The Judicial Council shall:
 
• Supreme court selection 1. elect and dismiss from duty a judge, a president of a court and a lay judge;
• Supreme/ordinary court judge removal
• Ordinary court selection
 
2. establish the cessation of the judicial duty;
 
3. determine number of judges and lay judges in a court;
 
4. deliberate on the activity report of the court, applications and complaints
regarding the work of court and take a standpoint with regard to them;
 
5. decide on the immunity of a judge;
 
6. propose to the Government the amount of funds for the work of courts;
 
7. perform other duties stipulated by the law.
The Judicial Council shall decide by majority vote of all the members.
The Minster of Justice shall not vote in disciplinary proceedings against judges.

6. ARMY OF MONTENEGRO

Article 129: Principles

• International law The Army shall defend independence, sovereignty and state territory of
Montenegro, in accordance with the principles of international law regarding the use
of force.
The Army shall be subject to democratic and civil control.
The members of the Army may be part of the international forces.

7. DEFENSE AND SECURITY COUNCIL

• Designation of commander in chief Article 130: Responsibility

The Defense and Security Council shall:
 
1. Make decisions on commanding over the Army;
 
2. Analyze and assess the security situation in Montenegro and decide to take
adequate measures;
 
• Selection of active-duty commanders 3. Appoint, promote and discharge from duty the Army officers;
 
• Emergency provisions 4. Propose to the Parliament proclamation of the state of war and state of
• Power to declare/approve war
emergency;

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5. Propose the use of Army in international forces;
 
6. Perform other duties stipulated by the Constitution and the law.

• Head of state powers Article 131: Composition

The Defense and Security Council of Montenegro shall consist of the President of
Montenegro, the Speaker of the Parliament and the Prime Minister.
The President of Montenegro shall act as the President of the Defense ad Security
Council.

• Power to declare/approve war Article 132: Proclamation of the state of war

The state of war shall be proclaimed when there is direct danger of war for
Montenegro, when Montenegro is attacked or war is declared against it.
If the Parliament is not able to meet, the Defense and Security Council shall adopt
the decision to proclaim the state of war and submit it to the Parliament for
confirmation as soon as the Parliament is able to meet.

• Emergency provisions Article 133: Proclamation of the state of emergency

The state of emergency may be proclaimed in the territory or part of the territory of
Montenegro in case of the following:
 
1. Big natural disasters;
 
2. Technical-technological and environmental disasters and epidemics;
 
3. Greater disruption of public peace and order;
 
4. Violation or attempt to abolish the constitutional order.
If the Parliament is not able to meet, the Defense and Security Council shall adopt
the decision to proclaim the state of emergency and submit it to the Parliament for
confirmation as soon as it is able to meet.
The state of emergency shall last until the circumstances that have caused it have
ceased to exist.

8. STATE PROSECUTION

• Attorney general Article 134: Status and responsibility

The State Prosecution shall be a unique and independent state authority that
performs the affairs of prosecution of the perpetrators of criminal offenses and
other punishable acts who are prosecuted ex officio.

• Attorney general Article 135: Appointment and mandate

The affairs of the State Prosecution shall be preformed by the State Prosecutor.

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The State Prosecutor shall have one or more deputies.

The Supreme State Prosecutor and state prosecutors shall be appointed and
dismissed from duty by the Parliament.
The Supreme State Prosecutor and state prosecutors shall be appointed for the
period of five years.

Article 136: Prosecutorial Council

The Prosecutorial Council shall ensure the independence of state prosecutorial
service and state prosecutors.
The Prosecutorial Council shall be elected and dismissed by the Parliament.
The election, mandate, competencies, organisation and methods of work of the
Prosecutorial Council shall be regulated by law.

Article 137: Functional immunity

State Prosecutor and Deputy State Prosecutor shall enjoy functional immunity and
shall not be held responsible for the expressed opinion or decision made in the
performance of the duties thereof, unless this represents a criminal offense.

• Attorney general
• Outside professions of legislators
Article 138: Incompatibility of duties
State Prosecutor and Deputy State Prosecutor shall not discharge duties of a
Member of the Parliament or other public duties or professionally perform some
other activity.

PART 4: ECONOMIC SYSTEM

• Right to establish a business

• Right to competitive marketplace
Article 139: Principles
Economic system shall be based on a free and open market, freedom of
entrepreneurship and competition, independence of the economic entities and their
responsibility for the obligations accepted in the legal undertakings, protection and
equality of all forms of property.

Article 140: Economic area and equality

The territory of Montenegro shall represent a unique (unified) economic area.
The State shall encourage even economic development of all its areas.
• Right to competitive marketplace It shall be prohibited to obstruct and limit free competition and to encourage
unequal, monopolistic or dominant position in the market.

Article 141: State property

Assets in state property shall belong to the state of Montenegro.

• Duty to pay taxes Article 142: Tax obligation

The state shall be financed from taxes, duties and other revenues.

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Every one shall pay taxes and other duties.

Taxes and other duties can be introduced only by law.

• Central bank Article 143: Central Bank of Montenegro

The Central Bank of Montenegro shall be an independent organization, responsible
for monetary and financial stability and banking system operations.
The Central Bank Council shall govern the Central Bank of Montenegro.
The Central Bank Governor shall manage the Central Bank of Montenegro.

Article 144: National Audit Institution

The National Audit Institution of Montenegro shall be an independent and supreme
authority of the national audit.
The National Audit Institution shall audit the legality of and success in the
management of state assets and liabilities, budgets and all the financial affairs of the
entities whose sources of finance are public or created through the use of state
property.
The National Audit Institution shall submit an annual report to the Parliament.
The Senate shall manage the National Audit Institution.

PART 5: CONSTITUTIONALITY AND

LEGALITY

• International law
• Legal status of treaties
Article 145: Conformity of legal regulations
The law shall be in conformity with the Constitution and confirmed international
agreements, and other regulations shall be in conformity with the Constitution and
the law.

Article 146: Publication and coming into effect of the

regulations
The law and other regulation shall be published prior to coming into effect, and shall
come into effect no sooner than the eighth day from the day of publication thereof.
Exceptionally, when the reasons for such action exist and have been established in
the adoption procedure, law and other regulation may come into effect no sooner
than the date of publication thereof.

• Protection from ex post facto laws Article 147: Prohibition of ex posto facto effect
(retroactive effect)
Law and other regulation shall not have retroactive effect.
Exceptionally, if required so by the public interest established in the process of law
adoption, individual provisions of the law may have retroactive effect.

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Provision of the Criminal code may have retroactive effect only if it is more lenient
for the perpetrator of a criminal offense.

Article 148: Legality of individual acts

Individual legal act shall be in conformity with the law.
Final individual legal acts shall enjoy court protection.

PART 6: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF

MONTENEGRO
• Establishment of constitutional court

• Constitutional court powers

Article 149: Responsibility
The Constitutional Court shall decide on the following:
 
• International law 1. Conformity of laws with the Constitution and confirmed and published
• Legal status of treaties
international agreements;
 
• Constitutional interpretation 2. Conformity of other regulations and general acts with the Constitution and
the law;
 
3. Constitutional appeal due to the violation of human rights and liberties
granted by the Constitution, after all other efficient legal remedies have
been exhausted;
 
4. Whether the President of Montenegro has violated the Constitution,
 
5. The conflict of responsibilities between courts and other state authorities,
between state authorities and local self-government authorities, and
between the authorities of the local self-government units;
 
• Regulation of political parties 6. Prohibition of work of a political party or a non-governmental organization;
 
7. Electoral disputes and disputes related to the referendum, which are not
the responsibility of other courts;
 
8. Conformity with the Constitution of the measures and actions of state
authorities taken during the state of war or the state of emergency;
 
9. Performs other tasks stipulated by the Constitution.
If the regulation ceased to be valid during the procedure for the assessment of
constitutionality and legality, and the consequences of its enforcement have not
been recovered, the Constitutional Court shall establish whether that regulation was
in conformity with the Constitution, that is, with the law during its period of validity.
The Constitutional Court shall monitor the enforcement of constitutionality and
legality and shall inform the Parliament about the noted cases of unconstitutionality
and illegality.

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• Constitutional interpretation
• Constitutionality of legislation
Article 150: Initiation of the procedure to assess
constitutionality and legality
Any person may file an initiative to start the procedure for the assessment of
constitutionality and legality.
The procedure before the Constitutional Court for the assessment of
constitutionality and legality may be initiated by the court, other state authority,
local self-government authority and five Members of the Parliament.
The Constitutional Court itself may also initiate the procedure for the assessment of
constitutionality and legality.
During the procedure, the Constitutional Court may order to stop the enforcement
of an individual act or actions that have been taken on the basis of the law, other
regulation or general act, the constitutionality, i.e. legality of which is being assessed,
if the enforcement thereof could cause irreparable damage.

• Constitutional interpretation
• Constitutionality of legislation
Article 151: Decision of the Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court shall decide by majority vote of all judges.
The decision of the Constitutional Court shall be published.
The decision of the Constitutional Court shall be generally binding and enforceable.
When necessary, the Government shall secure the enforcement of the decision of
the Constitutional Court.

• Constitutional interpretation
• International law
Article 152: Cessation of validity of a regulation
• Legal status of treaties
• Constitutionality of legislation
When the Constitutional Court establishes that the law is not in conformity with the
Constitution and confirmed and published international agreements, that is, that
other regulation is not in conformity with the Constitution and the law, that law and
other regulation shall cease to be valid on the date of publication of the decision of
the Constitutional Court.
The law or other regulation, i.e. their individual provisions that were found
inconsistent with the Constitution or the law by the decision of the Constitutional
Court, shall not be applied to the relations that have occurred prior to the
publication of the Constitutional Court decision, if they have not been solved by an
absolute ruling by that date.

• Eligibility for const court judges Article 153: Composition and election
The Constitutional Court shall have seven judges.
• Constitutional court term length The Constitutional Court judge shall be elected for the period of nine years.
The President of the Constitutional Court shall be elected for amongst the judges for
the period of three years.
The person enjoying reputation of a renowned legal exert, with minimum 15 years of
experience in this profession may be elected to the position of the Constitutional
Court judge.
The President and the judge of the Constitutional Court shall not discharge duties of
a Member of the Parliament or other public duties or professionally perform some
other activity.

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• Supreme/ordinary court judge removal Article 154: Cessation of duty

• Mandatory retirement age for judges The duty of the President and the judge of the Constitutional Court shall cease prior
to the expiry of the period for which he/she was elected, at his/her own request,
when he/she fulfills the requirements for age pension or if he/she was sentenced to
an unconditional imprisonment sentence.
The President and the judge of the Constitutional Court shall be released from duty
if he/she has been found guilty of an offense that makes him/her unworthy of the
duty, if he/she permanently loses the ability to perform the duty or if he/she
expresses publicly his/her political convictions.
The Constitutional Court shall establish the emergence of reasons for cessation of
duty or release from duty, in its session and shall inform the Parliament of that case.
The Constitutional Court may decide that the President or the judge of the
Constitutional Court that penal action has been initiated against shall not perform
the duty for the period of duration of that action.

PART 7: CHANGE OF THE CONSTITUTION

• Constitution amendment procedure

Article 155: Proposal for the change of the constitution

The proposal to change the Constitution may be submitted by the President of
Montenegro, the Government or minimum 25 Members of the Parliament.
With the Proposal to change the Constitution it may be proposed to change or
amend individual provisions of the Constitution or to adopt the new Constitution.
The Proposal to change individual provisions of the Constitution shall contain the
indication of the provisions for which change is demanded and the justification.
The Proposal to change the Constitution shall be adopted in the Parliament if two
thirds of the total number of Members of the Parliament vote in favor of it.
If the proposal to change the Constitution has not been adopted, the same proposal
shall not be repeated prior to the expiry of one year from the day when the proposal
was rejected.

Article 156: Act on the change of the Constitution

Change of the individual provisions of the Constitution shall be made through
amendments.
Draft act on the change of the Constitution shall be prepared by the responsible
working body of the Parliament.
Draft act on the change of the Constitution shall be adopted in the Parliament if two
thirds of all the Members of the Parliaments vote in favor of it.
The Parliament shall submit the adopted Draft act on the change of the Constitution
for public hearing, which shall not last less than one month.
After the end of the public hearing, the responsible working body of the Parliament
shall define the Proposal of the act on the change of the Constitution.
The act on the change of the Constitution shall be adopted in the Parliament if two
thirds of all the Members of the Parliament vote in favor of it.

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• Emergency provisions Change of the Constitution shall not take place during the state of war and the state
of emergency.

Article 157: Confirmation in the referendum

Change of Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, 15, 45 and 157 shall be final if minimum three
fifths of all the voters support the change in the national referendum.

PART 8: TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL

PROVISION
• Transitional provisions

Article 158: Constitutional law for the enforcement of the

Constitution
The Constitutional Law shall be adopted for the enforcement of the Constitution.
The Constitutional Law for the enforcement of the Constitution shall be adopted by
the Parliament with a majority vote of all the Members of the Parliament.
The Constitutional Law shall be proclaimed and come into effect concurrently with
the Constitution.

APPENDIX: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW FOR

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF
MONTENEGRO

Article 1
Constitution of Montenegro (hereinafter: Constitution) shall enter into force on the
day of its promulgation by the Constitutional Parliament of the Republic of
Montenegro, unless this Law provides differently with regard to the implementation
of certain regulations in the Constitution.

Article 2
Authorities in Montenegro and other state bodies, organizations and departments
and bodies of the local self-government shall continue to work until the end of the
period for which they have been elected, within the rights and duties stipulated by
the Constitution, unless this Law provides differently.

Article 3
The State Prosecutor shall continue to work as the State Prosecution until the Law
that shall stipulate the position, organisation and work of the State Prosecution, is
adopted.

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Article 4
The Defence and Security Council shall be constituted within 10 days as of the day
when this Law enters into force.

• International law Article 5

Provisions of international agreements on human rights and freedoms, to which
Montenegro acceded before 3 June 2006, shall be applied to legal relations that
have arisen after the signature.

Article 6
Laws and other regulations shall remain into force until they have been harmonised
with the Constitution within the periods of time stipulated by this Law.

Article 7
The following laws shall be adopted within two months as of the day when this Law
entered into force:
 
• Requirements for birthright citizenship 1. Law on Montenegrin citizenship;
 
2. Law on travel documents of Montenegrin citizens;
 
3. Law on residence and abiding place of the citizens;
 
4. Law on identification card;
 
5. Law on Social Council.
The following laws shall be adopted within six months as of the day when this Law
entered into force:
. Law on Judicial Council and
 
2. Law on Territorial Organization of Montenegro.

Article 8
The following shall be harmonised with the Constitution within three months as of
the day when this Law entered into force:
 
1. Law on Election of MPs and deputies;
 
• Head of state selection 2. Law on the Election of the President of Montenegro;
 
3. Law on Electoral Rolls;
 
4. Law on Courts;

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• Attorney general 5. Law on State Prosecutor;
 
6. Law on State Administration;
 
7. Law on Property of the Republic of Montenegro;
 
• Protection from expropriation 8. Law on Expropriation;
 
9. Law on Minorities Rights and Freedoms.

Article 9
Other laws and regulations shall be harmonised with the Constitution within two
years as of the day when this Law entered into force, and regulations for the
implementation of these laws within time periods stipulated in these laws.

Article 10
Assemblies of local self-government units shall harmonise their regulations with the
Constitution within one year as of the day when this Law entered into force at the
latest.

Article 11
Regulations of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro shall be applied
accordingly, providing they are not contrary to legal order and interests of
Montenegro, until adequate regulations of Montenegro are adopted.

Article 12
• Requirements for birthright citizenship Every citizen of Montenegro who had a citizenship of some other State apart from
the Montenegrin citizenship, on the day of 3 June 2006, shall have the right to keep
the Montenegrin citizenship.
Citizen of Montenegro who obtained some other citizenship after 3 June 2006, shall
have the right to keep the Montenegrin citizenship until a bilateral agreement is
made with the State whose citizenship he obtained, but not longer than one year as
of the day when the Constitution of Montenegro was adopted.

Article 13
As of the day of the promulgation of the Constitution and this Law, the
Constitutional Parliament of Montenegro shall continue to work as the Parliament
of Montenegro, and the Constitutional Committee shall cease to work.

Article 14
Elections for the Members of the Parliament of Montenegro shall be held at the
latest by the end of 2009.

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Article 15
As of the day when this Law enters into force the name of the official gazette of the
Republic of Montenegro shall change into "the Official Gazette of Montenegro".

Article 16
This Law shall enter into force on the day of its promulgation.

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Topic index

Approval of general legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Attorney general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 33, 34, 41

Binding effect of const rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Budget bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 27, 28

Cabinet removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24, 28

Cabinet selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24, 27
Central bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 22, 35
Claim of universal suffrage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Compulsory education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Constitution amendment procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Constitutional court powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 36
Constitutional court removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24
Constitutional court selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24, 25
Constitutional court term length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Constitutional interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 30, 36, 37
Constitutionality of legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Counter corruption commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Customary international law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Designation of commander in chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25, 32

Dismissal of the legislature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Duty to obey the constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Duty to pay taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Eligibility for cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Eligibility for const court judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Eligibility for first chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Eligibility for head of state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Emergency provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27, 32, 33, 39
Equality regardless of creed or belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Equality regardless of financial status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Equality regardless of gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 11
Equality regardless of language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Equality regardless of nationality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Equality regardless of political party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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Equality regardless of race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Equality regardless of religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Establishment of cabinet/ministers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Establishment of constitutional court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Establishment of judicial council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30, 31, 32
Extradition procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Extraordinary legislative sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

First chamber representation quotas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

First chamber selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Foreign affairs representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Free education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Freedom of assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Freedom of association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Freedom of expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Freedom of movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Freedom of opinion/thought/conscience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 15
Freedom of press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Freedom of religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 15

General guarantee of equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10

Head of government decree power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Head of government immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Head of government powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Head of government removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24, 28
Head of government replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Head of government selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24, 25, 27
Head of government term length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 28
Head of government's role in the legislature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Head of state immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Head of state powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24, 25, 33
Head of state removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24, 26
Head of state replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Head of state selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 40
Head of state term length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Head of state term limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Human dignity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Human rights commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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Immunity of legislators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Initiation of general legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Integration of ethnic communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 19
International law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9, 10, 21, 22, 27, 30, 32, 35, 36, 37, 40
International organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 16

Judicial independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 30

Leader of first chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Legal status of treaties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 35, 36, 37
Legislative initiatives by citizens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Legislative oversight of the executive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Length of legislative sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Limits on employment of children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 19
Limits on removing head of government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Mandatory retirement age for judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30, 38

Minimum age for first chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Minimum age of head of state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Motives for writing constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Municipal government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Name/structure of executive(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25, 27

National anthem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8
National capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
National flag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 8

Official or national languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Official religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Ombudsman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 21, 22, 24, 25
Ordinary court selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31, 32
Ordinary court term length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Outside professions of legislators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28, 34
Ownership of natural resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Power to declare/approve war . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 24, 32, 33

Power to deport citizens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Power to pardon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Powers of cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 25, 27, 30

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Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Presumption of innocence in trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 13
Principle of no punishment without law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 13
Privileges for juveniles in criminal process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 30
Prohibited political parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Prohibition of capital punishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Prohibition of cruel treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Prohibition of double jeopardy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 13
Prohibition of slavery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 17
Prohibition of torture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Protection from ex post facto laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 35
Protection from expropriation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 41
Protection from false imprisonment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 13
Protection from self-incrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Protection from unjustified restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 12
Protection of consumers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Protection of environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 10, 17
Protection of language use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 20
Protection of stateless persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Provision for matrimonial equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Provisions for intellectual property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Quorum for legislative sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Reference to art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Reference to science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Referenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 24, 25
Regional group(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9
Regulation of evidence collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Regulation of political parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Removal of individual legislators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Requirements for birthright citizenship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24, 40, 41
Restrictions on entry or exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Restrictions on political parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Restrictions on rights of groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Restrictions on the armed forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 18
Restrictions on voting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Right of petition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Right to academic freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Right to appeal judicial decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 12
Right to choose occupation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Right to competitive marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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Right to conscientious objection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Right to counsel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 11, 12, 13
Right to culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 20
Right to enjoy the benefits of science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Right to equal pay for work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Right to establish a business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 34
Right to fair trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Right to form political parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Right to found a family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Right to health care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Right to information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Right to join trade unions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Right to life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Right to marry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 18
Right to own property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Right to pre-trial release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Right to privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 13, 14
Right to protect one's reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Right to public trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 12, 30
Right to reasonable standard of living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 18
Right to rest and leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Right to safe work environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Right to self determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Right to speedy trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Right to strike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Right to transfer property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Right to work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Rights of children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 19

Secret ballot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 22, 26

Selection of active-duty commanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Separation of church and state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Size of first chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Source of constitutional authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
State support for children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 19
State support for the disabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
State support for the elderly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
State support for the unemployed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Structure of legislative chamber(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 22
Structure of the courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Supermajority required for legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Supreme court selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 31, 32
Supreme court term length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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Supreme/ordinary court judge removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 24, 30, 31, 32, 38

Telecommunications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Term length for first chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Transitional provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Treaty ratification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 27
Trial in native language of accused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 13
Type of government envisioned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Veto override procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

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