Transparency
1. After MANS ceased government’s efforts to change legislation to limit access to information, we jointly developed improved law proposal, and contributed to strengthened mechanisms for law enforcement, including appeal and penalty provisions as well as proactive publication of information by all institutions.
2. We developed good practices within institutions to publish information upon requests, due to extensive and successful use of legal mechanisms for obtaining information. Institutions published almost 50% of information upon over 12.000 requests submitted by MANS. Over 3.000 appeals submitted to supervisory institutions resulted with over 80% of favorable decisions. We initiated more than 2.000 court cases, 68% of them were resolved, out of which 81% of court rulings were in favor of transparency.
3. Public institutions and courts are more efficiently maintaining legal procedures upon requests for information, due to our continuous use of all legal mechanisms. Following more effective court proceedings and MANS advocacy, percentage of requests that were not answered by the authorities showed a considerable decline – in the first four months of 2011 it was 14%, whereas in the next period that percentage dropped down to 9%.
4. Numerous documents that were previously declared as confidential by the authorities were made available to the public, due to our strategic litigation followed by advocacy campaign – and they raised large public debate. Final judicial verdicts on corruption and organized crime are declared public by the Supreme Court that increased transparency and accountability of their work. Documents revealing possible illicit enrichment of some members of the Government – reported to relevant institutions; The government published contracts on construction of energy interconnection cable between Italy and Montenegro.
5. The government is proactively publishing more spatial plans and information on issued construction permits. Ministry for Spatial Planning and seven local governments more proactively publish spatial plans and information on issued construction and operation permits due to previously created pressure using FOI legislation;
Public Participation
1. More information that could help citizens to reveal corruption is publicly available via our web site, including information on illegal construction and law enforcement, public procurements and changes in wealth of the highest public officials. Information on planned objects, illegal construction and actions of inspections available at our web page, covering 23 locations with severe law violations in seven municipalities . Over 150 public contracts and supporting documents on awarding and implementation of contracts for public works is available at our web site. Analyses of changes in wealth of MPs and Members of the Government in last seven years are publicly available.
2. The Parliament is more transparent and more open for participation of NGOs due to our permanent monitoring, submission of concrete initiatives and advocacy. Information on level of Parliament’s and each MP’s activities, as well as on their expenditures is regularly provided to public throughout 2011, while more information is proactively published by the Parliament. Nine out of 12 committees of the Parliament established practices to invite NGO representatives to participate in discussions on the basis of initiatives submitted by MANS. Voting lists of the Parliament of Montenegro for the last two and a half years are finally made public.
3. More citizens are actively participating in development of spatial plans and the government improved several documents due to our public campaign and mobilization of civil society and citizens. We mobilized over 5000 citizens in seven municipalities to participate at public hearings, and following our expert analysis of more than 40 draft spatial plans and participation at local parliaments’ sessions, 11 local plans were improved.
Anti-corruption Policies and Oversight Mechanisms
1. We successfully advocated for changes of government’s anti-corruption policies and significantly improved their quality in cooperation with the government. The Government adopted new Action Plan for Fight Against Corruption and Organized Crime (IAP) following our advocacy and on the bases of over 200 MANS recommendations;
2. We have improved transparency of implementation of anti-corruption reforms and results of judiciary in fighting corruption. Following our initiative, since 2011 all sessions of the National Commission for Fight against Corruption and Organized Crime (NC) are public. Factual information on results of implementation of planned reforms are available to public in our bi-lingual shadow reports on implementation of over 450 activities by more than 80 institutions. Remarks from these reports were underlined in the European Commission’s Montenegro Progress Report for 2011. We developed the first ever analyses of final judicial verdicts for corruption, exposing numerous shortcomings.
3. New anti-corruption oversight mechanisms are established and existing are strengthened due to our advocacy. The Parliament established the National Chapter of Parliamentarians against Corruption following our advocacy campaign. Following our initiative, the National Commission for Fight against Corruption and Organized Crime (NC) is acting upon concrete cases of corruption and organized crime. Upon submission of eight MANS initiatives, the NC requested further activities of the Prosecution and obliged them to report to the NC on the achievement in four cases.
4. New, improved laws regulating conflict of interest and financing political parties are adopted, following our advocacy and active participation in their development. Following MANS media campaign, the Parliament improved Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interests in relation to definition of the public officials, prohibition of multiple functions for the MPs, jurisdictions of the Commission to verify reports on incomes and properties of the public officials and procedures for the Commission’s members appointment. MANS contributed to improvement of the Law on Political Party Financing, by decreasing opportunity for illegal funding of political parties, stricter control of the public funds and assets abuse and by improving mechanisms for monitoring of the law enforcement.
5. We have organized the largest anti-corruption events in the country, gathering high level representatives of all stakeholders, expressing their political support to fight against corruption. Over 100 high level participants of the Fifth Annual Anti-Corruption Conference, organized by MANS, including Prime Minister, Deputy President of the Parliament, Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime, President of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, members of the Parliament, Government and Judiciary and numerous ambassadors and international community representatives expressed the political support for fight against corruption and organized crime;
Free Legal Aid and Investigation of Cases
1. Hundreds of citizens reported corruption cases to MANS and used our free legal aid to address institutions. In 2011 citizens reported 20 times more cases to us than to the whole Police Directorate. We received over 900 cases out of which over 550 were possible corruption and we provided almost 80% of them with free legal aid. Following citizens’ reports, we submitted over 140 cases to prosecution, but also over 1,200 initiatives to other institutions.
2. Use of National Parliament’s oversight mechanisms in concrete cases initiated by MANS produced results, and set examples of good practice. MANS submitted initiative on behalf of 150 citizens which resulted in adoption of concrete recommendations by the Parliament’s committees. Parliament’s decision on the increase of MPs salaries by two average salaries in Montenegro was nullified and salaries of Parliament’s administration were increased following our and Trade Union’s advocacy campaign.
3. MANS revealed number of grand corruption cases, police and prosecution arrested first public officials upon our appeals and prosecution opened investigations in several cases. Special prosecutor for organized crime and corruption launched four investigations related to corruption in public procurements and illegal construction upon cases submitted by MANS. Revealed number of possible grand corruption cases. Developed special software for monitoring public procurements with data on over 9.500 tenders used for investigations
4. The government nullified privatization tender and significantly changed spatial plan for construction of large objects seriously harming the environment, when we reported irregularities and conducted advocacy. The government was forced to nullify the tender on long-term lease of the 3.5 millions of square meters of land at Valdanos Bay, after MANS identified and reported irregularities in awarding procedure. The Government lowered capacities of hydro power dams on Moraca River due to strong public campaign we conducted in partnership with other NGOs and 14.000 of citizens mobilized to sign a petition;
