Centre for Civic Education (CCE) has sent an initiative to the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Montenegro, Prof. Dr. Boris Vukićević, requesting the suspension of the Faculty’s decision to appoint Ivan Jeknić as a demonstrator, due to inconsistencies with applicable internal regulations and the law.
CCE has previously, on several occasions, publicly highlighted about irregularities in this procedure and called on the Rector of the University of Montenegro to intervene, given the seriousness of the violations and their negative impact on academic integrity.
Based on documentation obtained through requests for free access to information, CCE identified a series of unlawful actions in the procedure for engaging demonstrators at the Faculty of Political Science for the 2025/2026 academic year.
Specifically, the Internal Call for the Engagement of engaging demonstrators, No. 01-1575/1 of 22 October 2025, was issued contrary to the Decision of the Rector of the University of Montenegro, which represents the only valid legal basis for this type of engagement. The call contained unclear and incorrect requirements, including an unjustified reference to Article 75 of the Law on Higher Education, which applies exclusively to the appointment of teaching associates. In contrast, the Rector’s Decision explicitly stipulates that a demonstrator cannot have the status of a teaching associate, thereby excluding any possibility of the analogous application of the cited legal provision. CCE warns that, through this process, the integrity of the Faculty of Political Science has been compromised in favour of particular interests.
Furthermore, the Candidate Selection Committee, composed of Prof. Dr Milan Marković (recently also elected as a member of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts), Prof. Dr Nataša Ružić, and Assist. Prof. Dr Ena Grbović, acted without a legal basis by applying criteria prescribed for the appointment of teaching associates, despite the fact that demonstrators are engaged without establishing an employment relationship. This introduced new, stricter, and non-prescribed criteria that were envisaged neither by the Internal Call nor by the Rector’s Decision, thereby violating the principles of equal treatment of candidates and procedural transparency.
It is particularly concerning that the student character of the demonstrator position was ignored, as individuals holding doctoral degrees who are not students were considered eligible, suggesting possible favoritism toward a predetermined candidate.
CCE also points to the contradictory explanations provided by the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science, who formally denies the applicability of higher education legislation claiming that the Labor Law, the Law of Obligations, and relevant internal acts, primarily the Rector’s Decision, apply to the engagement of demonstrators. However, in practice, the application of criteria from the Higher Education Law, despite their formal and substantive inapplicability.
CCE warns that such practice represents a dangerous precedent, as it relativises binding rules and opens space for arbitrary and interest-driven appointments at the University of Montenegro. This undermines the autonomy of the University and erodes trust in the legality of academic procedures.
Due to substantial procedural and substantive violations, the Decision of the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Montenegro on the appointment of a demonstrator, No. 01-1575/4 of 31 October 2025, cannot produce legal effect, and its further implementation would additionally jeopardise legality, legal certainty, and the academic integrity of the Faculty of Political Science.
CCE therefore demands that Dean Vukićević urgently suspend the procedure, annul the conducted internal call, and publish a new one fully aligned with the Rector’s Decision of the University of Montenegro and applicable internal regulations. Any different course of action entails individual responsibility of the Faculty’s management.
CCE expects that the bodies of the University of Montenegro, within their respective competences, will also undertake the necessary measures to safeguard legality and academic integrity at this higher education institution.
Snežana Kaluđerović, Senior Legal Adviser