Montenegro has sent a clear message to its political class: holding power should not mean being protected from the law.
The country’s Parliament has unanimously approved a proposal to amend the Constitution and remove immunity for the president and members of the government in cases involving criminal offences against official duty, including corruption-related crimes. All 66 MPs present voted in favour.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić welcomed the decision as an important step toward a system in which political power cannot be used as a shield against criminal responsibility.
“As of today, members of the Government of Montenegro are equal to all citizens in terms of responsibility for corruption crimes,” Spajić said.
His message was simple:
If you do your job honestly, you have nothing to fear.
“Political office can no longer be protection from criminal liability,” Spajić said, arguing that no one, regardless of their position, should be above the law.
The reform is aimed at strengthening accountability at the highest levels of government and preventing public office from becoming a legal safe zone for corruption.
The initiative had already been adopted by the government in April and sent to Parliament as part of broader anti-corruption reforms. It also responds to recommendations from GRECO, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, and is linked to Montenegro’s commitments under the EU accession process, particularly Chapter 23 on the judiciary and fundamental rights.
The political message behind the reform is difficult to misunderstand.
Power is not immunity. Office is not protection. And political status is not a licence to escape accountability.
Montenegro is seeking to move closer to the European Union, and reforms strengthening the rule of law and fighting corruption are central to that process.
Deputy Prime Minister Momo Koprivica has also stressed that the reform is designed specifically to remove protections for members of the executive branch when it comes to criminal offences against official duty — not to create a mechanism for politically motivated prosecution over ordinary political decisions.
The principle is straightforward:
Those who exercise public power must also be fully accountable for how they exercise it.
And Spajić has put it even more bluntly:
If you work honestly and responsibly, why would you need to hide behind your position?
That is the standard Montenegro is now putting into its constitutional reform agenda.
No one above the law. No political shield for corruption. No special protection for those who hold power.
