We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.

'The power gained, we will never surrender' Russian ruling elite versus the succession and economic crisis

Author(s): Jadwiga Rogoża / Language(s): English,Polish

Even though the economic crisis proved harmful to the Russian economy and people's living standards, it has nonetheless failed to make the elite revise its policy. Despite some problems, the government has managed to sustain economic and political stability, thanks to the reserves it amassed in the times of prosperity, and to the propaganda campaign that protected it, above all Vladimir Putin. The crisis failed to force the elite to implement deeper structural and political reforms. Moreover, it has actually reinforced existing tendencies, such as state control over the economy and its oil-oriented character, the elite's economic expansion at the expense of private businesses, and the preservation of political power. Thus, the crisis has so far failed to dismantle Putinism, indeed quite the reverse - it has in fact contributed to its becoming 'set in stone'.

More...

The invisible hand... of the Kremlin. Capitalism 'a la russe'

Author(s): Iwona Wiśniewska / Language(s): English,Polish

This study describes the two main economic processes observed in Russia during President Vladimir Putin's second term; renationalisation, and the concentration of economic assets.As a result of these processes, the share of state-owned property has increased and the position of the state in the economy has strengthened. According to the authorities, the wide-range renationalisation of the assets and the construction of superholdings based on the state enterprises are intended to boost Russia's potential and stimulate the development of the whole economy. However, in practice the current ruling elite are using these superholdings to strengthen Russia's position on the international arena and to promote their vested interests.

More...

Chechnya: Between a Caucasian Jihad and 'hidden' separatism

Author(s): Maciej Falkowski / Language(s): English

1. Even though Chechnya remains the most unstable republic in the Russian North Caucasus, the open armed conflict known as the Second Chechen War, which broke out in the autumn of 1999, is gradually dying down. The fighting has become less intensive every year, and the militants, worn out by years of warfare, are unable to take the initiative and seriously challenge the federal troops stationed in Chechnya. However, even if the militants have lost strength, this does not mean that the conflict is over. The region's history and the increasingly tense situation in the other Caucasian republics bordering Chechnya suggest that instability will probably continue for many more years.2. Several years ago, the conflict in Chechnya could have been characterised as a war between Chechen separatists and the government of the Russian Federation. However, the nature of the conflict has changed significantly over the last four or five years. At present, it is not only a Russian-Chechen conflict, but also an internal clash between the separatist militants and those Chechens who are co-operating with Moscow. The conflict also has an increasingly apparent social background. Finally, the militants' ideology has also changed: today they are fighting not so much for national liberation as for the Islamic cause.3. Even though the intensity of fighting in Chechnya has abated in recent years, the conflict has spilt over to the other Caucasus republics such as Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria. As a result, this is presently not so much a Chechen conflict as a regional clash between the authorities and the Caucasian (including Chechen) Islamists. The latter seek to 'liberate' the entire North Caucasus and establish sharia law in the region. 354. The Chechen militants are weaker now, and the conflict has changed from a struggle for national liberation into a fight for the Islamic cause; but this does not mean that Russia has ultimately solved the problem of Chechen separatism. Today, it manifests itself not through armed struggle, but through demands for ever-wider autonomy within the Russian Federation ('hidden' separatism). Such demands have been raised by the formally pro-Russian government of Chechnya, led by Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. The objective is to acquire real, rather than formal, independence from Moscow, especially in the economic sphere. An analysis of the current situation in the republic leads to the conclusion that this objective has already largely been achieved; today Chechnya in many areas remains outside the Russian legal system and enjoys extensive internal autonomy. 5. A renewed outbreak of the armed conflict in Chechnya seems unlikely in the immediate future, the main reason for this being that the Chechen people are tired of the long war. In the longer term, however, it appears inevitable that the Chechens will rise against Moscow again, fighting either for national liberation or for Islam. In the former case, the movement will be probably led by the current, formally pro-Russian government. However, it is also possible that by that time, the Caucasian Islamists will have gained enough strength to become the driving force behind a new, massive uprising against Russia, whose objective will be to create an Islamic state in the North Caucasus.

More...

0.00 €

Drž’te Pekića!

Author(s): Zlatko Minić / Language(s): Serbian

Aleksandar Vučić razotkrio je globalnu kriminalnu mrežu koja je pustila pipke u stotine zemalja, aktivna je u regionu, a naročito u Srbiji. U gostovanju (od 35:45) na RTS-a (ili primerenije njegovom maniru, dok mu je u studiju gostovala Olivera Jovićević), na primedbu voditeljke da je Transparentnost Srbija tražila da se objave podaci o nabavci medicinske opreme, Vučić je mehanički povikao ono što viče već osam godina – „Drž’te lopova!“ Naime, odgovorio je: „Pa to polaze od sebe, znaju kako bi oni krali pare na narodnoj muci“.

More...

0.00 €

100 evra za šoping u Milanu

Author(s): Slobodan Prvanović / Language(s): Serbian

I ranije smo bili svedoci podmićivanja glasača, ali ovako nešto, ipak, još nismo videli. Davali su sirotinji brašno, ulje i šećer, davali su najuticajnijima u selu traktore, nudili su zapošljavanje bliže i dalje familije… Ko zna kome i ko zna šta su davali kako bi kupili glasove. Bilo je i otvorenih plaćanja „glasačkih usluga“ – jedna crvena i sendvič za dekorisanje trgova ili solidna plata za botove. Ali, nikada nismo bili svedoci ovakve banalizacije podmićivanja glasača i prinudnog izjednačavanja baš svih građana u toj banalizaciji. Do sada je ono bilo makar prividno na dobrovoljnoj osnovi. Međutim, ova mera nas praktično sve primorava na primanje takve velikodušnosti – davanja novca svih građana svim građanima.

More...

0.00 €

Srbija – zemlja bez čuda

Author(s): Dejan Ilić / Language(s): Serbian

U Savamali mogli su rušiti ili sami policajci ili kriminalci pod zaštitom policije. Šta bi za režim bilo bolje: da je policija umesto da štiti pregazila zakon ili da su kriminalci kršili zakon, kao što inače rade, dok ih je štitila policija? Pitanje nije retoričko, iako se čini da su obe mogućnosti podjednako loše po režim. Nisu: bolje bi za režim bilo da je u Savamali kuće rušila policija. Sve i ako bi to značilo da su baš policajci iz čista mira vezali nesrećnog noćnog čuvara i oduzeli mu telefon. Jer, da su rušili policajci, sve bi još ostalo unutar sistema, iako bi se sistem tako izvrnuo naglavce.

More...

0.00 €

Pet godina

Author(s): Rodoljub Šabić / Language(s): Serbian

Poziv za jučerašnje gostovanje na TV-u podsetio me je na blog koji sam napisao pre pet godina 25. maja 2016. Taj blog je izazvao nervozne reakcije nekih ljudi na vlasti, ali nisam tada ni pomišljao da će biti potrebe i smisla da blog ponovim. Nažalost ima ih. Taj stari blog je glasio: „Prošlo je tačno mesec dana od događaja koji je kao retko koji u poslednje vreme zatalasao našu javnost, a o čijim akterima je nažalost izostala bilo kakva ozbiljna, relevantna informacija. Isto kao i o aktivnostima nadležnih, čiji bi rezultat trebalo da bude rasvetljavanje ovog mračnog događaja.

More...

0.00 €

National Security & Defence, № 005 (2000 - 05)

Author(s): Andriy Bychenko,Ihor Koliushko,Viktor Tymoshchuk,Mykola Melnyk,Viktor Olshevskiy,Oleksandr Morozov / Language(s): English

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN UKRAINE: WILL IT BE POSSIBLE TO BREAK THE CLOSED CIRCLE? // 1. REASONS THAT CONDITION THE NEED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN UKRAINE // 2. THE RESULTS OF IMPLEMENTING ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN UKRAINE: 1997-2000 // 3. CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS // ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN UKRAINE: AN EXPERT VIEW // ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM: SOCIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE POPULATION // ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN UKRAINE: STATE AND PROSPECTS // THE AUTHORITIES AND CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE: WHO WILL TAKE THE UPPER HAND? // ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM: DEFENCE ASPECTS // THE AUTHORITIES AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ANALYTICAL STRUCTURES

More...

0.00 €

Hungary Turns its Back on Europe 2.

Author(s): / Language(s): English

With this volume, we continue our "Hungary turns its back on Europe" report, which was finalised in autumn 2019 and published in January 2020, "prepared by independent Hungarian intellectuals who wish to inform the Hungarian and international public as well as European institutions about the severe harm that the Orbán regime governing Hungary since 2010 has caused in the fields of education, science, culture, and the media." The reason for carrying on with our work is that, in the mean􀀐me, the situation in Hungary has exacerbated: the authoritarian features of the Orbán regime have been further strengthened, dismantling of the rule of law has continued, and the government's "cultural warfare" has moved up a gear and is increasingly destructive in the domain of culture. It is our common experience that Hungary, using European Union funds, has built an openly anti‐European, 21st century autocracy, which has taken the state captive, dismantled the checks and balances essential to the rule of law, turned democratic institutions into an empty shell, invaded the media and made corruption systemic.

More...

0.00 €

Háttal Európának 2.

Author(s): Oktatói Hálózat / Language(s): Hungarian

With this volume, we continue our "Hungary turns its back on Europe" report, which was finalised in autumn 2019 and published in January 2020, "prepared by independent Hungarian intellectuals who wish to inform the Hungarian and international public as well as European institutions about the severe harm that the Orbán regime governing Hungary since 2010 has caused in the fields of education, science, culture, and the media." The reason for carrying on with our work is that, in the meantime, the situation in Hungary has exacerbated: the authoritarian features of the Orbán regime have been further strengthened, dismantling of the rule of law has continued, and the government's "cultural warfare" has moved up a gear and is increasingly destructive in the domain of culture. It is our common experience that Hungary, using European Union funds, has built an openly anti‐European, 21st century autocracy, which has taken the state captive, dismantled the checks and balances essential to the rule of law, turned democratic institutions into an empty shell, invaded the media and made corruption systemic.

More...

0.00 €

UNDP - HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2010 – ALBANIA. Capacity Development and Integration with the European Union

Author(s): Richard Flaman,Remzi Lani,Paul Stubbs,Mansour Farsad / Language(s): English

The report takes a comprehensive look at the country’s capacity developmentprocesses, at the set of successful policy choices and specific capacityinvestments, with a focus on the role of investments in knowledge, humanresource development, public governance and public accountability for thecountry to be better prepared to face the increasing challenges of EU accession.NHDR Albania 2010 provides also an updated map of human development inthe country. The report makes use of data from Living Standards MeasurementSurvey 2008 to calculate the new human development indicators—HumanDevelopment Index (HDI), Human Poverty Index (HPI), Gender-relatedDevelopment Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM).

More...

0.00 €

Procurement in Montenegrin municipalities

Author(s): Jovana Marović,Stevo Muk / Language(s): English

A year-long research on the risks of corruption in public procurement procedures in Montenegrin municipalities was conducted within the project Corruption at the Local Level- Zero Tolerance. Among other things, the project entails monitoring of local action plans for fight against corruption in 14 municipalities, as well as development of a study of practical policies in six areas of high risk for corruption. The analysis Procurement in Montenegrin municipalities represents both a continuation of the research activities of the Institute Alternative in the field of public procurement during which several practical policy proposals have been made in the light of improving the legal and institutional framework and overcoming the problems in practice, as well as a guide for a more effective monitoring of public procurement by the Parliament of Montenegro.

More...

0.00 €

URBAN PLANNING IN MONTENEGRO: CONSTRUCTION AND PAYOFFS?

Author(s): Boris Marić,Mirko Bošković,Borislav Vukičević / Language(s): English

The analysis “Urban planning in Montenegro: construction and payoffs” has been prepared in the framework of the project Corruption at the local level- zero tolerance!, in order to reveal one of the cornerstones of corruption at the local level- urban planning and to encourage decision makers to take concrete actions so as to protect the public interest. Therefore, this analysis presents a set of causes and effects due to which this area is still normatively unfinished, deficient in human resources and represents a high risk for the occurrence of corruption, and at the same times gives illustrative examples of individual cases and practices of local self-governments which have led and still lead to budgetary imbalances, inadequate management of urban construction land, as well as unsystematic dynamics of adoption and harmonization of planning documents which are under the jurisdiction of the local self-governments.

More...

0.00 €

Through participation against corruption! – Anti-corruption mechanisms at the local level

Author(s): Dina Bajramspahić,Jovana Marović,Milica Milonjić / Language(s): English

Corruption in local self-government is in direct correlation with the weaknesses of administration, from organizational to technical, managerial and human resources. Municipalities have a monopoly position in relation to providing of certain services, which represents a suitable frame for acts of corruption. Opportunities for corruption at the local level are broad, since almost all of the employees – from the ones occupying the lowest positions to the highest level of authority have direct contact with the beneficiaries. The most common forms of corruption in local self-governments are connected to exemption from paying of utility bills and taxes, financing of projects, works or services which should not be supported, or the provided support is much higher than is actually needed. Acts of corruption could also be linked to non-transparent recruitment in local self-government bodies or public institutions founded by the municipality; selling or leasing municipal land, procurement of goods or services conducted contrary to established rules or public procurement procedures, etc.

More...

0.00 €

Influence of political corruption on the decision making process at the local level

Author(s): Nikola Djonović / Language(s): English

The project Corruption at the local level- zero tolerance aims at strengthening the role of civil society organizations, local self-government and competent state bodies in development of policies, monitoring and implementation of campaigns for reduction of corruption in local communities of Montenegro. In line with the principle of balance representation of the northern, central and southern parts of the country, the project encompasses 14 Montenegrin municipalities: Bar, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolašin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Nikšić, Pljevlja, Plužine, Podgorica, Rožaje and Tivat. The intention of the authors of the analysis „Influence of political corruption on the decision-making process at the local level” is to examine one of the six identified areas2 - political corruption, through the role of political parties, i.e. its representatives and local self-government bodies. Existing legislative and institutional framework governing this area, media archives and examples from practice have been taken into account during collection of information. Local self-governments are facing a number of risks for emergence of corruption, whereas political corruption produces the most severe systematic consequences for the community. Aside from the fact that it has an adverse effect on the political system, making it dysfunctional, political corruption incites emergence of illegal corruptive (in)actions in many other fields, such as employment, public procurement procedures, concluding of public-private partnerships, in the field of spatial development and work of the local assemblies. Special problem for establishment of a more effective fight against corruption is indolence of the Supreme State Prosecution (SSP) in the cases where there is a reasonable doubt of elements of political corruption, i.e. that the actions of some councillors and party officials are in the zone of criminal liability. The fact that competent institutions, with emphasis on SSP failed to prosecute actions that had led to changing of the electoral will and inexistence of continuous fight against political corruption represent a serious constraint for democratization of Montenegrin society.

More...

0.00 €

I have the right to know! - Report on transparency of local selfgovernments on example of capital city Podgorica, Kotor and Pljevlja

Author(s): Mira Popović / Language(s): English

The right of citizens of Montenegro to information of public importance is guaranteed by legal framework. However, in practice, local self-governments still do not show sufficient level of responsibility and transparency in work. This results in often unnecessary complication of citizens’ lives during their efforts to solve numerous current and existential issues, but also hinders overall reform processes and calls into question their legitimacy. Local self-governments still have numerous deficiencies in the part of access to information of importance for citizens, which brings them into a bureaucratized labyrinth, that takes away important time and other resources from parties and bodies of public administration. Considering benefit and awareness of citizens, both those who were or will be parties in proceedings before bodies of state administration or local self-government, it is necessary that work of local self-governments is rendered more transparent which includes also far faster and better availability of data and documents prescribed by laws on municipalities’ webpages. Reform processes in Montenegro, unfortunately, do not progress in a desired pace, hence, even in this area, we identify numerous deficiencies in fulfilment of obligations of local self-governments, especially in the part of transparency of work that is at the same time also one of efficient manners of prevention but also fight of corruption. Numerous reports of international actors and civic sector in Montenegro indicate that even the system established by the Law on Free Access to Information is insufficiently defined in part of monitoring and enacting supervision over respect of the same, and passivity of local self-governments to implement this Law, especially to proactively post information on their work on official Internet pages is also aggravating. Report on transparency of local self-governments, with the focus on municipalities of Kotor, Pljevlja and Podgorica, was created within the framework of project ‘I have the right to know – responsible municipalities in the service of citizens’ that is financed from funds of the European Union and Kingdom of Netherlands through regional project WeBER.

More...

0.00 €

Are municipalities in Montenegro fighting against corruption and how?

Author(s): Ana Nenezić / Language(s): English

Report Are municipalities in Montenegro fighting against corruption and how? gives an overview of results of local self-governments in the application of mechanisms of prevention and fight against corruption at the local level in Montenegro during 2017 and the first half of 2018. In this regard, the report contains new information in relation to application of defined measures and activities through several strategic documents, to which results of application we have given a first review in the previous report Think Locally – Act Locally which has covered the period until 2016. The observed reporting period has been marked by inertness of municipal administrations in relation to undertaken obligations defined by national documents, as well as the lack of initiative for their own designed activities. Activities of the central level of government in establishing of institutionally-normative anti-corruption framework did not influence encouragingly the local level of government in the part of implementation of adequate anti-corruption policies and mechanisms at the local level. Data that local self-governments in Montenegro, in the last two years (2016 and 2017) do not have reported corruption cases is not surprising, considering that the majority has still not passed local action plans for fight against corruption for 2017-2018, that they have not prepared and passed internal instructions for keeping records of reports of corruption inside the institution and conduct upon reports, to which they were obliged according to adopted integrity plans. Also, according to direct experiences of researchers from the field, local self-governments do not have either established systems and clear procedures for reporting corruption by citizens, which altogether points out to system not being functional. Obligations undertaken within the accession negotiations with the European Union, dominantly through the Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) are not being fulfilled, and reporting about them is being done imprecisely, which is causing additional concern. The report of the European Commission for 2018 states: ‘The action plan of Montenegro for Chapter 23 outlines comprehensive reforms to prevent and combat corruption. It is complemented by an ‘operational document’ adopted in 2016 which sets out additional measures to prevent corruption in certain areas particularly vulnerable to corruption, such as public procurement, privatisation, urban planning, education, healthcare, local government and police. The impact of these measures, however, remains limited and Montenegro should develop more effective sector-specific plans for the prevention of corruption.’ Previous recommendations of the European Commission were similar, but obviously with no affect since the local action plans for fight against corruption were not adopted in the majority of Montenegrin municipalities, while integrity plans are being approached to strictly formalistically. Underived system of jurisdiction still remains a problem and it is hard to monitor realisation of anti-corruption documents at the local level due to un-availability of reports on realisation. Precondition of successful fight against corruption is a functional anti-corruption legislative and institutional framework, as well as continuous, consistent and contentfull implementation of strategic documents. Therefore, lack of results should be sought precisely in the inefficiency of the set system, but also in the selected formalistic approach to this issue by the authorised institutions at the national and at the local level. Results of local self-governments in the direction of prevention and fight against corruption, in the observed reporting period are almost non-existent and precisely reflect this impermissible relation. The report covers the period from January 2017 to September 2018 and includes 23 local self-governments in Montenegro. The focus is on two key mechanisms and the effects of their implementation - the local action plan for fight against corruption at the local level and the integrity plan. An overview of the (un)realised measures for the stated period is given, through analysis of the available reports submitted by authorised institutions at the national and local level, as well as through research conducted by utilising the provisions of the Law on Free Access to Information. In addition, the system was tested using the ‘mystery shopper’ method, and results have confirmed the findings obtained by analysing key anti-corruption documents

More...

0.00 €

A luftojnë komunat në mal të zi kundër korrupsionit dhe si?

Author(s): Ana Nenezić / Language(s): Albanian

Raporti A luftojnë komunat në mal të zi kundër korrupsionit dhe si? jep përmbledhjen e rezultateve të vetëqeverisjeve vendore në zbatimin e mekanizmave për parandalimin dhe luftën kundër korrupsionit në nivel lokal në Mal të Zi gjatë vitit 2017 dhe në gjysmën e parë të vitit 2018. Në këtë kontekst, raporti përbenë informata të reja për zbatimin e masave dhe aktiviteteve të përcaktuara me një sërë dokumentesh strategjike. Përmbledhjen e parë të zbatimit të tyre e kemi bërë në raportin paraprak, Mendo lokalisht – vepro lokalisht, i cili mbuloi periudhën deri në vitin 2016. Periudhën e analizuar raportuese e karakterizoi plogështia e administratave vendore ndaj obligimeve të marra përsipër dhe të definuar me dokumentet kombëtare, si dhe mungesa e iniciativës për aktivitetet e menduara vet. Aktivitetet e nivelit qendror për vendosjen e kornizës institucionale dhe normative antikorruptive nuk nxitën nivelin vendor të pushtetit në pjesën e zbatimit të politikave dhe mekanizmave adekuate antikorruptive në nivel lokal. Prandaj nuk befason fakti që vetëqeverisjet vendore në Mal të Zi, në dy vitet e fundit (2016 dhe 2017) nuk kanë raste të denoncimit të korrupsionit, duke marr parasysh se shumica e tyra akoma nuk i miratoi planet lokale të veprimit për luftë kundër korrupsionit për vitin 2017 - 2018, që nuk kanë përgatitur udhëzimet e brendshme për evidentimin e denoncimit të korrupsionit brenda institucioneve dhe veprimit në bazë të denoncimeve, e që ishin të obliguar ta bëjnë sipas planeve të integritetit. Po ashtu, sipas eksperiencave të drejtpërdrejta të hulumtuesve në terren, vetëqeverisjet vendore nuk i kanë të përcaktuar sistemet dhe procedurat e qarta për denoncimin e korrupsionit nga ana e qytetarëve/eve, që tregon se sistemi nuk është funksional. Obligimet e marra përsipër në kuadër të negociatave anëtarësuese në Bashkimin Evropian, sidomos përmes kapitullit 23 (Gjyqësori dhe të drejtat themelore), nuk plotësohen, ndërsa për to vazhdon raportimi i jo precizë, që shkakton brengosje shtesë. Në raportin e Komisionit Evropian për vitin 2018 shkruan: “Plani i Veprimit i Malit të Zi për kapitullin 23 përfshinë elementet bazë të reformave gjithëpërfshirëse në fushën e parandalimit të korrupsionit dhe luftës kundër korrupsionit. Atë e plotëson “Dokumenti operativ”, i miratuar në vitin 2016, në të cilin përcaktohen masat shtesë për parandalimin e korrupsionit në fusha të caktuara, të cilët janë në veçanti të ndjeshëm ndaj korrupsionit, siç janë prokurimet publike, privatizimet, planifikimi hapësinor, arsimi, mbrojtja shëndetësore, vetëqeverisja vendore dhe policia. Mirëpo, ndikimi i këtyre masave vazhdon të jetë i kufizuar dhe Mali i Zi duhet të zhvillojë plane më të efektshme për parandalimin e korrupsionit të cilët do të jenë të lidhur konkretisht me sektorët individual”. Të ngjashëm ishin edhe rekomandimet e mëparshme të Komisionit Evropian, por siç duket pa ndikim sepse planet lokale të veprimit për luftë kundër korrupsionit nuk janë miratuar në shumicën e komunave malazeze, gjersa qasja ndaj planeve të integritetit është tërësisht formaliste. Mungesa e përcaktimit të sistemit të kompetencave mbetet problem dhe është shumë vështirë të përcillet realizimi i dokumenteve antikorruptive në nivel lokal për shkak të mungesës së raportit për realizim. Parakusht i luftës së suksesshme kundër korrupsionit është korniza legjislative dhe institucionale funksionale antikorruptive, si dhe zbatimi i vazhdueshëm, konsistent dhe i cilësor i dokumenteve strategjike. Prandaj, arsyen e mungesës së rezultateve duhet kërkuar pikërisht në jo-efikasitetin e sistemit të vendosur, por edhe në qasjen e zgjedhur formaliste ndaj kësaj çështje nga ana e institucioneve kompetente në nivel kombëtar dhe lokal. Rezultatet e vetëqeverisjeve lokale në parandalimin dhe luftën kundër korrupsionit, në periudhën e analizuar raportuese, pothuajse nuk ekzistojnë dhe pikërisht pasqyrojnë këtë qasje të papranueshme. Raporti mbulon periudhën prej janarit të vitit 2017 deri në shtator të vitit 2018 dhe përfshinë 23 vetëqeverisje lokale në Mal të Zi. Fokusi u vendos në dy mekanizma kyç dhe efektet e zbatimit të tyre – planin lokal të veprimit për luftë kundër korrupsionit në nivel lokal dhe planin e integritetit. U dha pasqyrimi i masave të (pa)realizuara për periudhën e përmendur, përmes analizës së raporteve ekzistuese të dorëzuara nga ana e institucioneve kompetente në nivel kombëtar dhe lokal, por edhe përmes hulumtimit duke shfrytëzuar dispozitat e Ligjit për qasje të lirë në informata. Përveç kësaj, sistemi u testua edhe me zbatimin e metodës “blerësi sekret” (ang. Mystery shopper), ndërsa rezultatet kanë vërtetuar gjetjet e fituara me analizën e dokumenteve kyçe antikorrupitive.

More...

0.00 €

Work of prosecutions and courts in fight against corruption at the local level - Analyses

Author(s): Bojan Božović / Language(s): English

Corruption is a social problem which has existed since ancient times and which is devouring the society from inside at various levels. It is a problem that exists in all modern societies. The perception of citizens, both laic and professional public, is that corruption in Montenegrin society exists at a worrying level, which has spread to the extent that it creates negative matrixes of relations in everyday life. The consequences of this are felt both through moral aspects in the form of ‘distorted consciousness and system of values’, as well as through legal, economic and other parameters. Although corruption exists in society from ancient times, all societies in a principle are always negating the existence of corruption and corruptive practise in general. Especially their holders of public functions and official ‘statistics’. Un-readiness of authorised institutions to deal with problem is certainly one of the most important ailments. Fight against corruption is possible exclusively at all levels. However, for this purpose it is necessary to set also an adequate legal basis in terms of adoption of quality legal acts but also through acceptance of relevant international-law sources. When it comes to Montenegro, this matter is stipulated via certain international sources but also via positive-law regulations (laws)

More...

0.00 €

How much are Montenegrin local self-governments (non)transparent? - Analysis of transparency of the work of 23 local self-governments in Montenegro

Author(s): Mira Popović / Language(s): English

The public administration system in Montenegro is undergoing reform interventions for decades with the aim of harmonizing with the best European standards and practices, which should, among other things, make public administration more accessible to citizens. An important parameter of improving public administration work is transparency, which is also the focus of this research. In assessing the level of transparency of local self-governments, two cross section points were chosen. The first is a crosscheck of manner of local self-governments’ resolving issues and their one-year performance in resolving requests for free access to information, with proceedings upon complaints that have arisen as a result of initiated and cases which have been resolved unfavourably for the party, including those relating to the administration silence, therefore, in accordance with the Law on Free Access to Information these data were requested from all local self-governments. The second cross-cutting point is an assessment to which extent the 23 local self-government’ websites in Montenegro contain information that must be accessible to citizens under the provisions of Article 12 of the Law on Free Access to Information. Transparency of work of local self-governments in Montenegro chronically represents one of the weaker points of the system. There is a high degree of tolerance to non-compliance with the provisions of the Law on Free Access to Information by authorised bodies, there are also numerous different interpretations of the same provisions of this Law by the officials who deal with the requests, and inadequate staff solutions are notable with the ever-increasing administration silence. All this causes a large number of complaints filed to the Agency for Personal Data Protection and Free Access to Information, which itself as well, due to a lack of staff, has the problem of resolving cases within a reasonable time. The latest amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information that have further restricted access to information and closed the system by giving discretionary right to managers of bodies to mark documents as business or tax secret without providing a deadline stating the reasons for restricting access to information, are consequently cumulatively strengthening a rather low degree of transparency of work of local self-governments. The Strategy of Public Administration Reform in Montenegro 2016-2020 recognizes a reduced level of transparency in processes such as conducting public procurement, budgeting and recruiting new staff. The same problems are also pointed out by the European Commission’s Report on Montenegro for 2018 and the Report on Implementation of Action Plan for implementation of Chapter 2 for period January-June 20183. Thus, the key planned activities are aimed at improving transparency in the planning process, the adoption of acts and their implementation with the respect of the principle of participation and establishment of a transparent public procurement procedure in accordance with the Law on Public Procurement. The SIGMA Monitoring Report on Montenegro also warns about the problem of nonavailability of data on employees and their earnings, which is part of a proactive publication of data. This paper provides a cross section of the observed parameters along with basic guidelines as to how to overcome some of the identified problems related to (non) transparency of local self-governments. The first part deals with the manner of resolving of local self-governments’ bodies and overview of the data obtained as per requests for free access to information sent to local self-governments, after which availability of data on websites of municipalities was processed in detail in comparison with the application of Article 12 of the Law on Free Access to Information. From this, conclusions and key recommendations for improvement of the existing system were made.

More...