The Draft Law on Local Self-Government represents significant progress in strengthening cooperation between central and local authorities. This cooperation is being institutionalised through the establishment of the Council for Local Self-Government as a new working body of the Government, as well as through greater involvement of ministries in local government affairs. However, given the context in which this law is being adopted, the Association of Municipalities of Montenegro has submitted 45 amendments to members of the national Parliament. These amendments are intended to support municipalities in meeting the requirements and recommendations of the Council of Europe for candidate countries. The amendments were unanimously adopted by the Governing Board of the Association, composed of all municipal presidents and mayors, and are primarily aimed at ensuring compliance with the Constitution of Montenegro and the European Charter of Local Self-Government.
The provisions addressed by the proposed amendments are also the focus of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, which in 2024 identified Montenegro as the most centralised country in Europe and issued clear recommendations on aligning the status and rights of municipalities with European standards and policies. Following the adoption of the Council of Europe’s report, a significant step towards decentralisation was taken through the restoration of municipal competencies in spatial planning and construction permitting, which had been removed from local governments in 2017. This reform also created conditions for increasing local revenues and accelerating local development. In the same context, the Congress conducted a post-monitoring mission in Montenegro and prepared a Roadmap, which was submitted to the Government of Montenegro in the first week of June 2026. The document sets out the Council of Europe’s positions in a clearer and more concrete manner and serves as the basis for the amendments proposed by the Association of Municipalities.
Throughout the two-year drafting process of the Draft Law, the Association of Municipalities repeatedly expressed its views in line with the unified positions of all municipalities and provided detailed justifications for its proposals, particularly regarding their consistency with the Constitution of Montenegro and the European Charter of Local Self-Government. As only a limited number of these proposals were accepted, the Association expects the Government and members of Parliament to give due consideration to the submitted amendments.
Ne blokirati dobijanje statusa grada zbog dugova opština
The Association of Municipalities is seeking the deletion of the provision that prevents a municipality from obtaining city status due to tax liabilities or other debts owed to the state. Such a condition is contrary to both the Constitution of Montenegro and the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which guarantee citizens the right to local self-government, of which city status represents one of its forms. Furthermore, it is a fact that the majority of municipalities have outstanding tax debts to the state, largely as a result of decades of transferring or delegating central government responsibilities to local authorities without providing the corresponding financial resources from the state budget, despite an explicit legal obligation to do so.
The Association also calls for the removal of the requirement that a municipality, in order to obtain city status, must possess the administrative capacity to perform functions that may be transferred or delegated to it in the future. This condition depends on an uncertain future circumstance and is therefore contrary to the constitutional principles of legal certainty and the rule of law. The criteria for obtaining city status must be clear, objective, and capable of being verified through an established procedure. In this case, however, the proposed requirement does not meet those standards.
The provision envisaging the possibility of establishing urban municipalities should also be deleted, as their legal status, competencies, governing bodies, method of election, financing arrangements, and other essential elements have not been regulated. This creates a legal gap that results in legal uncertainty and is therefore inconsistent with constitutional principles.
The Association also warns that the provision stipulating that the election of community council bodies (mjesne zajednice) should be regulated entirely by municipal statutes is unenforceable, as certain aspects of the electoral procedure cannot be regulated by statute alone and must instead be prescribed by law.
Neustavno je opštine primoravati da finansiraju izvorne nadležnosti države
The Association is seeking the deletion of the provision that obliges municipalities to finance a substantial part of the social and child protection system, as these responsibilities fall within the state's original competencies. Such a requirement would violate municipalities’ constitutional rights to budgetary autonomy and self-government, as well as the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which guarantees local authorities the right to adequate financial resources that they may freely dispose of within the scope of their powers. Moreover, this measure would further aggravate the challenges municipalities face in carrying out their core functions, given the longstanding practice of systematically transferring responsibilities without providing the corresponding financial resources.
With regard to the provision allowing for the dismissal of a mayor if transferred or delegated state responsibilities are not performed, the Association proposes an amendment requiring that the mayor be given the opportunity to present reasons for the non-performance of such duties before any dismissal procedure is initiated. This would help ensure that the process of transferring and delegating responsibilities is carried out in accordance with the Constitution and the law, including the provision of the mandatory financial resources necessary for their implementation.
Enable employees to work for multiple municipalities within the framework of inter-municipal cooperation
This law should also enable the functions of Chief Administrator, Chief City Architect, Protector of the Municipality’s Property and Legal Interests, Head of an Administrative Authority or Service, as well as local government officials, to be performed across the territory of another municipality. Such a solution would address the serious shortage of specialised personnel faced by the majority of municipalities and create the procedural conditions necessary for conducting administrative proceedings on the territory of another municipality.
Delete the provisions that violate the constitutional right to local self-government autonomy
A number of amendments propose the deletion of provisions that infringe upon the constitutional right to local self-government autonomy and could result in significant material harm. This includes the provision allowing the Government to annul decisions adopted by municipal assemblies when a session is held with a minor delay or in the event of minor procedural irregularities, as well as the provision expanding the grounds for the dismissal of a mayor due to the failure to submit a large number of new reports, most of which are already covered by the annual report on the mayor’s work and the work of the local administration. Such provisions are also inconsistent with the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which stipulates that administrative supervision of local authorities must be exercised in a manner that ensures any intervention is proportionate to the importance of the interests being protected.
A serious violation of the Constitution is also reflected in the provision stipulating that the Government may terminate the mandate of a municipal assembly if it fails to elect a mayor within 30 days of its constitution. Under the Constitution, however, the Government may only dissolve a municipal assembly if it has been unable to function for a period exceeding six months; it does not have the authority to terminate its mandate under such circumstances.
The provision establishing a maximum amount for councillors’ remuneration also infringes upon municipalities’ constitutional rights to autonomy, budgetary authority, and self-governance. This is particularly the case because the proposed ceiling is significantly higher than the remuneration currently paid in most municipalities, where such compensation is determined in accordance with local financial capacities.
Requiring municipalities to establish a municipal assembly service, an information systems service, a European integration service, and a separate body for the protection of municipal property interests is also questionable from the perspective of compliance with the European Charter of Local Self-Government. In the majority of municipalities, the functions assigned to these mandatory services and bodies are currently performed by a single official in accordance with local needs and capacities. The Charter guarantees local authorities the right to adapt their internal administrative organisation to local circumstances and available resources. Moreover, such a requirement would impose additional and unnecessary staffing obligations on municipalities, many of which lack the financial resources to support new positions and would, in any event, be unable to obtain the necessary approval from the Ministry of Finance for additional recruitment.
The restriction of the freedom of internal administrative organisation, as well as the constitutional principles of equality and equal treatment, is also reflected in the provision granting the Capital City, the Old Royal Capital, and cities the right to appoint two special advisers, while denying the same right to municipalities, where such positions are often even more necessary due to staffing shortages. This issue is further compounded by the fact that all specific matters relating to the Capital City and the Old Royal Capital are already regulated by separate laws. Consequently, regulating these matters through the proposed legislation also undermines the constitutional principle of the unity of the legal order. A similar concern arises from the new mandatory obligation requiring mayors to adopt medium-term work programmes for the local administration. Such a requirement is impracticable, as only strategic development plans, communal infrastructure programmes, and other local strategic documents are adopted for longer-term periods. Municipal assembly decisions and their implementation cannot be planned in the same manner, as they constitute secondary legislation that depends on the adoption and content of laws.
Municipalities also cannot be required to apply regulations governing the financing of non-governmental organisation projects from the state budget, as each municipality carries out these activities in accordance with its own financial capacities and local regulations, rather than under state-level rules. Such an obligation would be inconsistent with the principles of local self-government and municipal autonomy.
Strengthen the partnership between central and local authorities in the preparation of legislation and strategic policies.
A number of amendments have been proposed with the aim of strengthening the partnership between central and local authorities in the development of legislation and strategies that affect municipalities. This approach is consistent with the recommendations contained in the Council of Europe’s monitoring reports on the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The proposed amendments also introduce financial penalties ranging from €30 to €2,000 for heads of state administration bodies who fail to provide municipalities with information within their area of competence or who do not inform municipalities of the reasons for rejecting their comments on a particular legislative or policy act. Similar sanctions are already предусмотрed for heads of local government bodies. Since cooperation is a shared obligation and responsibility of all levels of government, it should be subject to equal standards and accountability.
