Improvement of accountability and transparency of public institutions in focus of OSCE seminar

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in co-operation with the United States Embassy in Podgorica organized a three-day seminar from 22-24 April 2015 in Budva on the importance of public information and outreach in the Judicial, Prosecutorial, and Police institutions.

The aim of the workshop is, apart from improvement of communication strategy and vision, building technical public communication skills and outreach by the judiciary and police, in order to increase accountability, transparency and openness of the institutions, therefore to assist in building up of a public trust in the institutions.

Effective, systematic, and open communication by Judicial, Prosecutorial and Police institutions are critical to any democratic society. Public trust is of great importance to any country, and the only way to achieve that is to improve the accountability and transparency of the public institutions.

“You all recognize the duty and responsibility you have to help enable the public to be kept fully informed about the work you do so that they can effectively exercise their basic human rights and fundamental freedoms,” said Deputy Head of OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Dan Redford. “Let us all never forget that as public officials are paid by the public, they must be accountable to the public too.”

In moving forward towards reaching these important goals, the judiciary and law enforcement institutions need to provide timely and relevant information to the public and media, Redford added.

U.S. Ambassador in Montenegro Margaret Ann Uyehara stressed that more effective communication and increased transparency would help reinforce rule of law reform by raising awareness about how these reforms benefit the average Montenegrin.  “We continue to stand ready to assist Montenegro in its path towards Euro-Atlantic integration.”

Supreme State Prosecutor Ivica Stankovic acknowledged the importance of the event and said that the balance between the public's right to know on the one hand and the assumption of innocence and protection of private and family life on the other side is crucial in the work of public institutions and media in accordance with Articles 10, 6 and 8 of the European Court of Human Rights.

The seminar is the second activity within the long-term project by the Mission on communications and outreach, which will continue into 2015. The Mission will also engage in activities with the Montenegrin public service broadcaster RTCG, highlighting its importance as an independent and reliable platform for public discussion on issues such as Rule of Law and Law Enforcement.