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Ministry of Justice Venice Commission includes Government of Montenegr...
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Venice Commission includes Government of Montenegro's legal exposition in its opinion
Published on: Jun 25, 2019 • 12:03 AM Author: PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO
The Venice Commission published on its web site today the Opinion on the Law on Freedom of Religion, which was adopted at the Commission's plenary session on Friday, 21 June 2019, in Venice. The Government of Montenegro, as already announced, considers the opinion of the Venice Commission to be very positive, since the most expert European address unambiguously confirmed the right of Montenegro to protect the property and cultural goods belonging to all citizens and to ensure that the laws of Montenegro are equally valid for everyone, throughout the territory of our country.
The allegations of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral that the Government planned "unilateral re-registration of churches" are untrue, as well as the allegations that the Venice Commission allegedly condemned this intention of the Government because it did not support the provisions of the Law on State Property "the way the Government wanted, proposed and expected".
The truth is the opposite – the Venice Commission included in its final opinion the exposition of the statutory procedure for determining property rights that was officially submitted to the members of the Venice Commission by the Government of Montenegro several days before the plenary session.
The fact that the formulation from the Government's exposition is accepted and integrated in the Opinion of the Venice Commission can be confirmed by all the members of the Venice Commission to whom the Government's exposition has been delivered. Therefore, the Government has a lot of reasons to be satisfied with this recommendation of the Venice Commission, because the Government itself proposed the formulation of the recommendation, and the members of the Venice Commission almost unanimously accepted it.
Therefore, we want to once again reassure representatives of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and all those who are led to the wrong conclusion through aggressive campaign against the Draft Law on Freedom of Religion – there is no and there can be no talk about any intention of the Government to unilaterally re-register or seize churches – if there is any kind of property dispute regarding religious objects, it will be resolved by applying the applicable laws, as in the case of all other property disputes.
The Government is ready to accept the recommendations from the Opinion of the Venice Commission and does not mind if the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral perceives it now as desirable and acceptable. On the contrary, it is very good that the expert opinion of the body that is the highest European authority for democracy and human rights is the point of convergence of views on this important social issue.
We believe that the publication of this important document should signify the termination of a public campaign against the Law and the return to a reasoned expert dialogue in order to pass a good and fair law to the benefit of all citizens of Montenegro.
PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO
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