Podgorica, (MINA) - Any delay in the adoption of laws obstructs the EU negotiation process, but adopting laws without the required procedures introduces laws into the legal system that lacks implementation potential or is insufficiently communicated to professionals and the public, said chairman of the Association of Lawyers, Branislav Radulovic.

In an interview with the MINA News Agency, Radulovic said that the both the EU integration pace and the quality of legislative activity must be ensured.

The Parliament of Montenegro adopted on Monday 25 laws required to meet EU accession criteria, during two extraordinary sessions that lasted a total of less than an hour and a half.

No discussions on these laws were held, instead Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorcevic delivered a unified presentation, followed by criticism of the manner of laws adoption from hree opposition MPs.

Asked to comment on this method of adopting laws and whether it represents a violation of parliamentary procedures and a degradation of parliament, Radulovic said that the political elites have imposed an extremely problematic dilemma, related to the primary and basic purpose of the current legislative activity: whether priority should be given to the speed of law adoption or to quality and respect for procedures.

“The Association of Lawyers of Montenegro does not want to participate in what we consider a false debate, because both goals must be met at the same time – the EU integration pace and the quality of legislative activity”, Radulovic pointed out.

When asked whether European integration can be used as justification for the adoption of laws without adequate discussion and public involvement, he replied that a serious mistake is made by advocating only one of two requirements, either speed or quality.

“Any delay in adopting laws is a direct, intentional or unintentional, obstruction of a very demanding EU negotiation process, but at the same time the adoption of laws without the necessary procedure and especially when their content is poor, introduces into the legal system a “dead letter”, i.e. laws that do not have implementation capacity or are insufficiently communicated with professional, academic or business community”, said Radulovic.

EU integrations, according to him, cannot serve as an excuse for poorly drafted and insufficiently communicated legal solutions, especially those that have not passed the verification by the European Commission.

Asked about the potential consequences for the quality of laws when a large number of them are adopted in a short period of time, Radulovic said that no matter how demanding the European agenda is and how much it calls for accelerated procedure, it is necessary to remain aware of the risks of disrupting the legal order through legal solutions that, upon entering into force, produce effects, while at the same time the enacting and affected parties are insufficiently familiar with their content.