Podgorica, (MINA) – The Draft law on freedom of religion or belief and legal status of the religions communities brings important positive changes to the existing, outdated legislation, it is stated in the Venice Commission’s opinion which was published on Monday.
The Venice Commission welcomes the genuine efforts of the Montenegrin authorities to replace the 1977 Law on legal position of religious communities.
“The draft law on freedom of religion brings important positive changes to the existing, outdated legislation”, the Opinion underlines.
According to the VC Opinion, the voluntary character of registration does not mean that religious communities may operate outside the legal system.
It is stated that religious communities are not situated above or outside the national legal order: “they have their place –although special one, safeguarded and protected by specific fundamental rights -within that order”.
“Concerning the important issue of the properties of religious communities, the Venice Commission understands the concern of the Montenegrin authorities with regard to bringing legal certainty and addressing the issue of alleged illegal/abusive registration in the name of religious communities in 1990s of a number of religious immovable properties which may be part of the cultural heritage of Montenegro. This is all the more so, because the state –according to Article 78 of the Constitution- has the duty to protect natural and cultural heritage of the country”, the document continues.
The Venice Commission, as cited in the document, welcomes in this respect that the solutions proposed in this draft law rely on long-standing legal principles of the Montenegrin legal order, and are not based on ad hoc rules, specific for this situation.
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