Country report, gender equality : how are EU rules transposed into national law? : Montenegro 2017

Montenegro is a constitutional parliamentary democracy, with a multi-party system. The constitution declares Montenegro to be an independent and sovereign state, with a republican form of government, as well as being a civil, democratic, ecological and social justice-based state, which adheres to the rule of law. Until the 1990s, Montenegro was a federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Thereafter, it was one of the two republics of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) until 2003, when the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was established as a result of the redefinition of the relationship between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro. Finally, Montenegro regained its independence after a referendum held on 21 May 2006 and the Parliament of Montenegro declared Montenegro to be an independent and sovereign state on 3 June 2006. Its independence was recognised by the UN on 28 June 2006. Following independence the official name became Montenegro (rather than the Republic of Montenegro, which is what it used to be called while it was a federal republic). Ratified international legal instruments form an integral part of the Montenegrin internal legal system and they have supremacy over national legislation in the case of a difference in regulating relations, according to Article 9 of the Constitution. Montenegro has ratified all relevant international legal instruments concerning anti-discrimination and gender equality, which have become applicable in the state. Montenegro is a candidate country for membership of the EU and is in the process of harmonising its legal system with European standards. The court system is regulated by the Constitution and the Law on the Courts. According to the Law on the Courts, the court is a state organ with judicial competence.