Legal Opinions and Comments

The Joint opinion raises key issues and provides indications of areas of concern. The ensuing recommendations are based on relevant international human rights and rule of law standards and OSCE commitments, Council of Europe standards, as well as good practices from other OSCE participating States and Council of Europe member states. Where appropriate, they also refer to the relevant recommendations made in previous ODIHR and Venice Commission opinions and reports

This Opinion on the impact of the ratification of the Istanbul Convention for Montenegro was prepared in response to the above request. The OSCE/ODIHR conducted this assessment within its mandate as established by the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, which states that “[t]he ODIHR, in co-operation with other international organizations and relevant national bodies and institutions, will assist OSCE participating States in complying with international instruments for the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights, and in reviewing legislation to ensure appropriate legal guarantees for the promotion of gender equality in accordance with OSCE and other commitments”.

This Opinion analyzes the provisions of the draft Amendments against the background of their compatibility with relevant international standards and OSCE commitments.