Podgorica, (MINA) – The Ministry of Justice will propsoe the amendments to the Draft Law on the National Security Agency (ANB), taking into account suggestions raised by the MPs and the non-governmental sector, Minister Bojan Bozovic has announced.

Speaking at the session of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, he said that the Ministry of Justice had its own concerns regarding certain law provisions and would consider proposals regarding surveillance measures and the authorities of the ANB director.

“I think that with these interventions we have taken into account all the suggestions that you have provided, we ourselves had certain dilemmas, and our intention was not as it might have seemed. That is why we believe it is best to work together on drafting a new regulation”, said Bozovic.

Executive director of Human Rights Action Tea Gorjanc Prelevic and Social Democrat MP Nikola Zirojevic expressed belief that proposing amendments will resolve some of the main issues with the Draft, but reiterated that it should have been withdrawn from the parliamentary procedure.

“There are other issues as well, I would not like to support amendments today that may be written overnight. I welcome the willingness to consider these main objections”, said Gorjanc Prelevic.

Zirojevic welcomed the Ministry’s decision to act by proposing amendment, but pointed out that the Committee cannot substitute a public discussion.

“I still believe that these two or three days is a very short time and that there are, apart from these, some other concerns”, said Zirojevic, adding that he supports the call to withdraw the Draft from the procedure and resume discussion on it in September.

During the session, Bozovic said that this decision created a new legal framework that is in line with modern security challenges.

He recalled that the existing Law on ANB has been in force for 20 years and that improvements were necessary.

ANB representative Sanja Raicevic said that the proposed changes do not expand the authorities of the ANB director, but instead align the legislation with the NATO standards and modern security threats.

She said that they had been working on that law for five years and that its change was necessary.

According to Raicevic, when it comes to the application of secret surveillance measures, the changes were minor regarding the competences that remain only with the director of ANB, adding that, for most measures, existing and new, the competence is still with the president of the Supreme Court or the Council.