Centre for Civic Education (CCE) welcomes the verdict of Higher court from Bijelo Polje based on which that court annulled the Decision of Managing Board (MB) of University of Montenegro (UoM) regarding the dismissal of former dean of Faculty of Law, professor Drago Radulović, PhD.
As a reminder, CCE stated in October 2012, that the decision of MB of UoM, on the dismissal of professor Drago Radulović, PhD, was made in an unlawful and non-statutory manner.
Unfortunately, this harmful decision of MB of UoM, headed by Duško Bjelica, is not the only one which will not be able to withstand serious checks of competent bodies.
For instance, MB illegally withdrew the money from certain faculty units on the account of UOM, which had the highest inflow of resources based on scholarships, in the amount of 45%, instead of the allowed 20% as prescribed by the Statute. This was noticed during past several years, and the highest intensity was during the academic 2012/2013 and 2013/2014.
Furthermore, in the case U-II no. 68/12, Constitutional court passed a decision based on which it initiated the procedure for the assessment of constitutionality and legality of Rulebook on the procedure for the determination of provisional measures for the management and securing the functioning of University of Montenegro (Bulletin of UoM, no. 291/12), passed by the MB of UoM. According to that Rulebook, MB introduced compulsory administration at the Law Faculty in 2012, which legal consequences and actions will be rendered most likely as legally void after the decision of Constitutional court.
Also, during the period from 2012 until the end of 2014, the contract of significant number of teaching associates was terminated at the UoM. The reason was the wrong application of material law in their dismissal, because they received the termination of contracts according to provisions of Statute of UoM, instead in line with the Labour Law. Illegality occurred when the Statute of UoM “became” the legal act of higher legal power then the Labour Law, because in that period the Law on higher education was not prescribing the provisions in the election of academic appointments, but the Statute of UoM.
CCE believes that ones from the MB who created those illegal decisions, and who voted for them, should be held accountable and expresses the hope that the new rector of UoM will launch those procedures internally and persevere in it as in the case of double and unallowed working relations of employees at the UoM.
Mira Popović, programme associate