Podgorica, (MINA) – The Ministry of Justice has established a working group tasked with drafting the Bill on the Special Court, which will handle criminal proceedings related to organized crime and high-level corruption, said Minister Bojan Bozovic, expressing belief that this institution can be established in a short period of time.

Bozovic said this during a special Parliament session, responding to a question from Socialist People’s Party MP Bogdan Bozovic, who asked how far the process of establishing the Special Court has progressed and when it is expected to become operational.

Bozovic said that Montenegro must build as strong, thorough and professional institutions as possible.

“Although we are not the initiators of the idea to establish a Special Court, we believe that now is the right moment to intensify work on this issue, as we finally have a conceptual design for a new judicial district, as well as the clearly indicated support from international partners to invest funds and help us build such institutions”, said Bozovic.

He added that the Ministry of Justice has formed a working group to draft the Bill on the Special Court.

Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) MP Sonja Popovic asked Bozovic what he did as a Minister of Justice regarding the increasingly growing political pressures on the judiciary through announcements about vetting and arrests of judges, since they come from the ranks of the parliamentary majority.

He replied that he does not consider the vetting process as pressure on the judiciary, adding that anyone who has worked honorably, honestly and professionally has nothing to fear of.

Bosniak Party MP Jasmin Corovic asked Bozovic about his plans to prevent the creation and incitement of an “atmosphere of lynch”, motivated by religious and national intolerance and xenophobia.

Bozovic answered that the unpleasant scenes witnessed recently on Montenegrin streets reflect deep societal problems, which everyone must address together.

He said that, in consultation with Prime Minister Milojko Spajic and Deputy Prime Minister Ervin Ibrahimovic, he had initiated a visit to Ankara on Monday, sending a letter to the Minister of Justice of Turkey.

“The goal is to send a clear message that Montenegro will not tolerate what we saw on the streets and that we will provide an institutional response”, said Bozovic.