- The imposed financing of social services could leave municipalities unable to fund their basic statutory responsibilities, such as water supply, sanitation, environmental protection, and other essential services.
The Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, on behalf of the applicants—14 municipal presidents/mayors—has submitted a proposal to the Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Social and Child Protection, adopted this year. The challenge concerns the provisions that transfer part of the state's original responsibilities in this area to municipalities without providing corresponding funding from the state budget to cover the obligations arising from those responsibilities.
These include community-based support services and counselling services, for which municipalities have been required to assume full financial responsibility, as well as day-care services, for which the contested provisions provide state co-financing of 60 to 90 percent of the total cost, but only in the case of less developed municipalities.
The proposal emphasizes that the contested provisions of the Law are contrary to the provisions of the systemic laws governing local self-government and the financing of local self-government, which explicitly require that financial resources from the state budget be provided whenever responsibilities are transferred to local authorities. This conflict with existing legislation results in violations of the constitutional principles of the unity of the legal system, legal certainty, and the rule of law, as well as infringements of the rights to local self-government and budgetary autonomy. Furthermore, the proposal argues that the contested provisions are also inconsistent with the European Charter of Local Self-Government.
The proposal also points to procedural violations of the Constitution in the adoption of the Law, arguing that neither the association of municipalities nor individual municipalities were given a meaningful opportunity to provide their opinions within the 15-day period prescribed by the Law on Local Self-Government. This, it argues, also violated the convention-based right of local authorities to be consulted. Furthermore, the proposal states that, during the drafting process, no assessment was made of municipalities’ capacity to carry out these highly complex and costly responsibilities transferred from the state, despite such an assessment being a legal requirement.
The provision of financial resources to municipalities for delegated responsibilities is a particular focus of the Monitoring Report of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Montenegro, published in March 2024, as well as of the Roadmap Recommendations addressed to the Government of Montenegro at the end of May this year regarding the post-monitoring situation of local democracy in Montenegro.
Request for priority consideration
The Union of Municipalities is requesting that the Constitutional Court treat this proposal as a priority matter, given that it concerns issues of particular importance for the protection of citizens’ rights and freedoms. It also argues that the continued application of the contested provisions would cause substantial and irreparable damage to local budgets through the unconstitutional financing of delegated responsibilities, with the resulting costs estimated at tens of millions of euros. At the same time, it would hinder—and in some cases even prevent—the financing of municipalities’ own responsibilities, particularly those related to fundamental human rights, such as water supply, sanitation, environmental protection, and other essential public services.
In adopting the Law, insufficient consideration was given to the fact that most municipalities lack the capacity to provide the contested integrated services—not only in terms of funding, but also with regard to facilities and qualified personnel. This, in turn, jeopardizes the ability of vulnerable groups to access these services. At the same time, the Centres for Social Work, which are both legally responsible and institutionally equipped to provide such services, form part of the organizational structure of the competent ministry, whose budget for 2026 exceeds €285 million—an increase of €35 million compared with the 2025 budget.
It is also important to note that, if these delegated responsibilities are not carried out—despite the fact that many municipalities are de facto unable to perform them—the Government has the authority to dismiss a municipal president/mayor, thereby potentially triggering a crisis in local governance.
“The contested provisions are not an isolated case within Montenegro’s legal system, but rather part of a long-standing legislative practice of imposing additional financial obligations on municipalities or reducing their revenues without simultaneously providing alternative sources of funding. This is a trend that must be brought to an end. A decision by the Constitutional Court on this proposal would be of exceptional importance for the protection of the right to local self-government in Montenegro, as well as for safeguarding municipalities’ autonomy and budgetary independence. Furthermore, such a decision would demonstrate the alignment of Montenegrin legislation with the European Charter of Local Self-Government and would therefore directly contribute to accelerating Montenegro’s European integration process,” the proposal submitted to the Constitutional Court states.
The proposal for the constitutional review was submitted by 14 members of the Governing Board of the Union of Municipalities, including the Mayor of the Capital City, prof. dr. Saša Mujović, the President of the Municipality of Žabljak Radoš Žugić, President of the Municipality of Bar Dušan Raičević, the President of the Municipality of Rožaje Rahman Husović, the President of the Municipality of Pljevlja, dr. Dario Vraneš, the President of the Municipality of Plav, Nihad Canović, the President of the Municipality of Ulcinj Genci Nimanbegu, the President of the Municipality of Zeta Mihailo Asanović, the President of the Municipality of Petnjica Samir Agović, the President of the Municipality of Mojkovac Vesko Delić, the President of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje Petar Smolović, the President of the Municipality of Kotor Vladimir Jokić, the President of the Municipality of Danilovgrad Aleksandar Grgurović , and the President of the Municipality of Plužine Slobodan Delić.
