EUROPAM

European Public Accountability Mechanisms

Montenegro

Country score (EU Average*)
  • 69(72) Political Financing
  • 94(57) Financial Disclosure
  • 75(49) Conflict of Interest
  • 49(59) Freedom of Information
  • 77(63) Public Procurement
  • 88(66) Anti Money Laundering
  • 87(71) Asset Recovery

Country Facts

IncomeUpper middle
GNI per capita (2011 PPP $)16100.00
Population, total622218.00
Urban population (% of total)66.80
Internet users (per 100 people)69.90
Life expectancy at birth (years)76.70
Mean years of schooling (years)11.1
Global Competitiveness Index4.0
Sources: World Bank, UNDP, WEF.

Political Financing

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Bans and limits on private income58
Public funding25
Regulations on spending100
Reporting, oversight and sanctions92

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Bans and limits on private income

Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to political parties? Yes. Political parties may not receive contributions from other states, foreign companies, foreign legal entities, or natural persons without voting rights in Montenegro. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 33(1))
Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to candidates? No. The foreign-source ban is stated for political entities; the law contains a separate financing regime for presidential candidates but no clear general foreign-donor ban for candidates. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 29-30, 33(1))
Is there a ban on corporate donations to political parties? No. Corporate donations are not generally prohibited; the law bans only specific categories of companies and legal persons. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 33(1), (5)-(7))
Is there a ban on corporate donations to candidates? No. The law does not set a clear general ban on corporate donations to candidates. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 29-30, 33)
Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to political parties? Yes. Entities that performed activities of public interest or concluded public-procurement contracts with competent authorities may not contribute during the statutory look-back, contract, and cooling-off periods. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 33(5))
Is there a ban on donations from corporations of partial government ownership to political parties? Yes. Legal entities and companies whose founder or majority or partial owner is the state or municipality are prohibited donors. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 33(1))
Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to candidates? No. The government-contractor ban is framed for contributions to political subjects, not as a clear general rule for candidates. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 33(5))
Is there a ban on donations from corporations of partial government ownership to candidates? No. The state-ownership donor ban is stated for contributions to political entities, not as a clear general rule for candidates. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 33(1))
Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to political parties? Yes. Trade unions are listed among prohibited donors. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 33(1))
Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to candidates? No. The trade-union ban is stated for political entities, and the law does not provide a clear general ban for candidates. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 29-30, 33(1))
Is there a ban on anonymous donations to political parties? Yes. Anonymous donors are expressly prohibited. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 33(1))
Is there a ban on anonymous donations to candidates? No. The anonymous-donor ban is stated for political entities, and the law does not provide a clear general ban for candidates. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 29-30, 33(1))
Is there a ban on state resources being given to or received by political parties or candidates (excluding regulated public funding)? Yes. The law expressly prohibits using state premises, public funds, public machinery, official vehicles, and other public resources for campaign purposes outside the regulated framework. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 36-44, 47)
Is there a ban on any other form of donation? Yes. The law also bans donations from religious communities, NGOs, gambling operators, tobacco-sector persons, convicted corruption or organized-crime offenders, intermediaries, and certain debtors, among others. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 33(1)-(2), (6)-(7), 34)
Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party over a time period (not election specific)? Yes. Donors are subject to annual contribution caps, and regular-work financing from private sources is also capped. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 15(1)-(4))
Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party in relation to an election? Yes. For parliamentary and local election campaigns, a natural person may donate up to EUR 2,500 per campaign and a legal person up to EUR 5,000. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 23)
Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a candidate? No. An election-specific donation cap exists only for candidates for the President of Montenegro, not for candidates generally. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 29(1)-(2))

Public funding 

Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of votes in previous election No. Eligibility for regular public funding is not based on a vote-share threshold in the previous election. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 10(1))
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Representation in elected body Yes. Regular public funding is limited to a political entity that has won at least one MP seat or councillor seat. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 10(1))
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Participation in election No. Participation alone is insufficient because the political entity must also win at least one MP seat or councillor seat. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 10(1))
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Number of candidates No. The law does not make eligibility for regular public funding depend on the number of candidates. (Absent from legal framework)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of seats in previous election No. Eligibility is tied to winning at least one seat, not to meeting a seat-share threshold in the previous election. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 10(1))
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of votes in next election No. The law does not condition regular public funding on vote share in a subsequent election. (Absent from legal framework)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Registration as a political party No. Regular public funding is available to political entities, including parties, coalitions, and groups of voters, so the law does not require registration specifically as a political party. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 2, 10(1), 13(6))
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of seats in next election No. The law does not use a seat-share threshold in a subsequent election as an eligibility condition for regular public funding. (Absent from legal framework)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Number of members No. The law does not make eligibility for regular public funding depend on membership size. (Absent from legal framework)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Other Yes. The legal criterion is that the political entity must participate in the election and win at least one MP seat or councillor seat. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 10(1))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Proportional to votes received No. Regular public funding is not allocated in proportion to votes received. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 13(4))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Equal Yes. Twenty per cent of the funds is distributed in equal amounts among political entities that win seats. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 13(4))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Proportional to seats received Yes. Sixty per cent of the funds is distributed in proportion to the total number of MP and councillor seats held at the time of distribution. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 13(4))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Flat rate by votes received No. The law does not provide a flat-rate allocation by votes received for regular public funding. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 13(4))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Share of expenses reimbursed No. Regular public funding is not calculated as reimbursement of expenses. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 13(4))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Proportional to candidates fielded No. The law does not allocate regular public funding in proportion to the number of candidates fielded. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 13(4))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Number of members No. The law does not allocate regular public funding by number of members. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 13(4))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Other Yes. An additional twenty per cent is distributed in equal amounts in proportion to the number of elected representatives of the less represented gender. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 13(4))
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Campaign spending Yes. Budgetary assets may be used to finance election campaign costs, and the law allocates public funds for election campaigns in election years. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 9(1)(2), 20(1))
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Ongoing party activities Yes. Budgetary assets may be used to finance regular operations of political entities, and the law defines regular-operation costs. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 9(1)(1), 12)
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Intra-party institution Yes. The law earmarks separate budget funds for the regular activities of women’s organisations within political parties. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 14)
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Other No. The law earmarks funds for women’s organisations within political parties, but it does not establish another explicit earmarked category under this heading. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 14)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Equal Yes. The law requires that this free access be provided equally and in equal duration to submitters of candidate lists. (Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament, Arts. 53, 53a)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Number of candidates No. The allocation of free media access is not based on the number of candidates. (Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament, Arts. 53, 53a)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Share of seats No. The allocation of free media access is not tied to the share of seats held. (Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament, Arts. 53, 53a)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Share of votes in preceding election No. The allocation of free media access is not tied to vote share in the preceding election. (Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament, Arts. 53, 53a)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Other No. Free media access is allocated equally to submitters of verified candidate lists; the law does not prescribe another allocation formula under this heading. (Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament, Arts. 53, 53a)
Are there provisions for free or subsidized access to media for candidates? Yes. The public broadcaster must organise debates including candidates from verified candidate lists. (Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament, Art. 56)
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Premises for campaign meetings Yes. State and local administration bodies must provide their premises available for conducting the election campaign under equal conditions. (Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament, Art. 114)
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Space for campaign materials Yes. Candidates and list submitters may publicly display placards, posters and other campaign materials at locations designated by the competent municipal body. (Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament, Art. 60)
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Tax relief No. Absent from legal framework
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Free or subsidised transport No. Absent from legal framework
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Free or subsidised postage cost No. Absent from legal framework
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Other Yes. Beyond premises, the law requires state and local administration bodies to provide instruments, equipment and other available facilities for the campaign on equal conditions. (Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament, Art. 114)
Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? No. Gender-related public funding is linked to women’s organisations within parties and to elected representatives of the less represented gender, not to candidates. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 13(4), 14)
Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? Yes. Separate budget funds are allocated for women’s organisations within political parties. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 14)

Regulations on spending 

Is there a ban on vote buying? Yes. Vote buying is criminalised through the offence of accepting a gift or other benefit in return for voting or not voting for a specific individual. (Criminal Code of Montenegro, Art. 186(2))
Are there bans on state resources being used in favour or against a political party or candidate? Yes. The law bans use of state and local public premises and entities for campaign activities unless equal conditions are provided, prohibits state advertising that favours political entities during campaigns, and restricts state spending during the campaign period. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 36-38; Criminal Code of Montenegro, Art. 193a)
Are there limits on the amount a political party can spend? Yes. A political entity whose electoral list is verified may not spend from the campaign account above the maximum amount allowed by law, and private-source campaign funding is also capped. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 18(2)-(3), 23(2))
Are there limits on the amount a candidate can spend? Yes. A presidential candidate may not spend more than the total amount allowed under the law, which is tied to the public-funding amount and the permitted private-source ceiling. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 29(2), 30(5))

Reporting, oversight and sanctions 

Do political parties have to report regularly on their finances? Yes. Political parties must submit their statement of accounts and consolidated financial statement each year for the previous year. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 48(2))
Do political parties have to report on their finances in relation to election campaigns? Yes. Political entities must submit campaign-finance reports on the origin, amount and structure of public and private funds raised and spent for the election campaign, with supporting documentation. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 50(1)-(3))
Do candidates have to report on their campaign finances? Yes. Candidates for the President of Montenegro are included in the law's definition of political entities, so the campaign-finance reporting rules apply to them; they must also file an income and property report. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 2, 50(1)-(3), 52(1))
Is information in reports from political parties and/​or candidates to be made public? Yes. The Agency must publish annual financial statements and supporting documents, campaign-finance reports, candidate income-and-property reports, donor-contribution reports, and interim campaign-expense reports on its website. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 48(5), 51, 52(2), 53(3), 54(3))
Must reports from political parties and/​or candidates reveal the identity of donors? Yes. The law expressly requires reports on contributions of legal and natural persons during the election campaign, and the provision is framed as disclosure of names of natural persons and legal entities. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 53)
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Electoral Management Board No. The reporting provisions assign reports to the Agency, the State Audit Institution, and the tax-register body, not to election commissions. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 48(2), 50(1), 52(1), 53(1), 54(1))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Auditing agency Yes. Annual party accounts and supporting financial documents must be submitted to the State Audit Institution. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 48(2)-(3))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Ministry No. The Ministry prescribes accounting rules and the reporting form, but the law does not designate a ministry as the recipient of these reports. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 48(1), (4))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Special institution Yes. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption is the designated recipient of annual party statements, campaign-finance reports, donor reports, interim reports, and candidate income-and-property reports. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 48(2)-(3), 50(1), 52(1), 53(1), 54(1))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Court No. Courts are not designated as recipients of financial reports. The court appears only as the body before which a misdemeanour procedure may be initiated after Agency action. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 48(2), 50(1), 52(1), 53(1), 54(1), 60(2))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Other Yes. Annual party statements must also be submitted to the administrative body in charge of keeping the single register of taxpayers, which falls outside the listed categories. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 48(2))
Is it specified that a particular institution(s) is responsible for examining financial reports and/​or investigating violations?
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Court No. The court is not designated to examine reports or investigate violations. It appears only for misdemeanour proceedings and judicial review of Agency decisions. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 64(2), 65)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Ministry No. The Ministry and local administrative body transfer or suspend budget funds and prescribe the form of annual reports, but the law does not assign them examination or investigative functions. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 13(9)-(12), 52(5), 65)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Auditing agency Yes. The State Audit Institution audits annual consolidated financial statements of political entities, including mandatory audit over a four-year cycle for parliamentary-status entities. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 59)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Electoral Management Body No. Election commissions are not designated to examine financial reports or investigate violations. Their role is limited to notifying mandate results for fund transfers. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 21(1))
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Institution for this purpose Yes. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption is the designated body for supervision, control of reports, control of restrictions and prohibitions, and initiation of proceedings. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 11, 59-62)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Other No. The law does not clearly assign report-examination or violation-investigation functions to another institution outside the Agency and the State Audit Institution. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 59)
Other institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Court Yes. The competent court has a formal role because the Agency files requests for misdemeanour proceedings before it, and Agency decisions are subject to administrative dispute. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 64(2), 65)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Ministry Yes. The Ministry or local administrative body has a formal role in prescribing annual-report forms, transferring and suspending public funds, and publishing treasury data during campaigns. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 13(9)-(12), 41, 52(5), 65)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Auditing agency Yes. The State Audit Institution formally participates in oversight by auditing annual consolidated financial statements and issuing opinions and recommendations. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 59)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: EMB No. The election management bodies are not given a general oversight mandate over political finance. Their finance-related role is limited to notifying won mandates for fund distribution. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 21(1))
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Institution for this purpose Yes. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption is the dedicated institution with the main supervision and enforcement mandate under the law. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 11, 59-62)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Other Yes. Other bodies also have formal roles: the tax-register authority receives annual reports, and social-welfare and local bodies must collect and transmit campaign-period social-benefit data. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 40(5)-(7), 52(2))
Sanctions for political finance infractions
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Fines Yes. The penal provisions prescribe fines for misdemeanours committed by legal entities, responsible persons, political entities, candidates and others. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Arts. 67-74)
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of public funding Yes. The Agency may impose complete or partial loss of the right to budget funds for election-campaign financing and loss of regular-work funding when reporting obligations are not met. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 64(3)-(17))
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Penal/Criminal Yes. Certain political-finance-related conduct is criminalised, including unauthorized use of state property for election purposes, coercion in campaign financing, and accepting funds from prohibited sources. (Criminal Code of Montenegro, Arts. 193a-193v)
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Forfeiture Yes. Funds collected in violation of the law are confiscated in misdemeanour proceedings, and prohibited-source contributions accepted by a responsible person are forfeited under the Criminal Code. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 66; Criminal Code of Montenegro, Art. 193v)
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Deregistration of party No. Absent from legal framework
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of elected office No. Absent from legal framework
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Suspension of political party No. The law provides for suspension of transfer of budget funds, not suspension of the political party itself. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 64(5), (13))
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of nomination of candidate No. Absent from legal framework
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of political rights No. Absent from legal framework
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Other Yes. The law also provides warning measures and suspension of transfer of budget funds in addition to the listed sanction types. (Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, Art. 64(1), (5), (13))

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Financial Disclosure

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Disclosure items96
Filing frequency100
Sanctions100
Monitoring and Oversight100
Public access to declarations75

Alternative Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Head of State94
Ministers94
Members of Parliament94
Civil servants94

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Head of State

Disclosure items

Spouses and children included in disclosure Yes. Includes spouse and household members (including children living in the same household). (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Income and Assets
Real estate Yes. All immovable property must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Movable assets Yes. Valuable movable assets must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Cash Yes. Bank accounts and cash holdings must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Loans and Debts Yes. Liabilities and debts must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Income from outside employment/assets Yes. All sources of income must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official Yes. Gifts must be reported and are strictly regulated. (Art. 16 and 17, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Ownership and shares must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. Participation in any legal entity must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Holding government contracts Yes. Prohibited under conflict of interest rules. (Art. 7 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. Such roles are restricted and must be declared. (Art. 7 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Post-employment Yes. Cooling-off period applies after leaving office. (Art. 15, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. Incompatibility regime prohibits overlapping functions. (Art. 7, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. Strict conflict of interest prohibition. (Art. 8, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector No. Nepotism addressed via conflict of interest provisions but not always explicit disclosure. (Art. 8 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Filing frequency

Filing required upon taking office Yes. Declaration required at entry into office. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Filing required upon leaving office Yes. Final declaration required. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Filing required annually Yes. Annual reporting obligation. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest Yes. Changes must be reported within a defined period (typically 30 days). (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Sanctions

Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative fines apply. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Includes fines and possible dismissal. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative and criminal liability possible. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Monitoring and Oversight

Depository body explicitly identified Yes. Agency for Prevention of Corruption (ASK) (Art. 91, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Enforcement body explicitly identified Yes. ASK has enforcement powers (Art. 91, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission Yes. ASK verifies submission compliance (Art. 25, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy Yes. ASK conducts asset verification procedures. (Art. 25, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Public access to declarations

Public availability Yes. Declarations are publicly available online. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Timing of information release specified Yes. Publication follows submission deadlines. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Location(s) of access specified Yes. Published on ASK official website. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Cost of access specified No. Absnec of legal framework

Ministers

Disclosure items

Spouses and children included in disclosure Yes. Includes spouse and household members (including children living in the same household). (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Income and Assets
Real estate Yes. All immovable property must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Movable assets Yes. Valuable movable assets must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Cash Yes. Bank accounts and cash holdings must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Loans and Debts Yes. Liabilities and debts must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Income from outside employment/assets Yes. All sources of income must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official Yes. Gifts must be reported and are strictly regulated. (Art. 16 and 17, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Ownership and shares must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. Participation in any legal entity must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Holding government contracts Yes. Prohibited under conflict of interest rules. (Art. 7 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. Such roles are restricted and must be declared. (Art. 7 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Post-employment Yes. Cooling-off period applies after leaving office. (Art. 15, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. Incompatibility regime prohibits overlapping functions. (Art. 7, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. Strict conflict of interest prohibition. (Art. 8, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector No. Nepotism addressed via conflict of interest provisions but not always explicit disclosure. (Art. 8 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Filing frequency

Filing required upon taking office Yes. Declaration required at entry into office. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Filing required upon leaving office Yes. Final declaration required. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Filing required annually Yes. Annual reporting obligation. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest Yes. Changes must be reported within a defined period (typically 30 days). (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Sanctions

Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative fines apply. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Includes fines and possible dismissal. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative and criminal liability possible. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Monitoring and Oversight

Depository body explicitly identified Yes. Agency for Prevention of Corruption (ASK) (Art. 91, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Enforcement body explicitly identified Yes. ASK has enforcement powers (Art. 91, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission Yes. ASK verifies submission compliance (Art. 25, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy Yes. ASK conducts asset verification procedures. (Art. 25, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Public access to declarations

Public availability Yes. Declarations are publicly available online. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Timing of information release specified Yes. Publication follows submission deadlines. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Location(s) of access specified Yes. Published on ASK official website. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Cost of access specified No. Absnec of legal framework

Members of Parliament

Disclosure items

Spouses and children included in disclosure Yes. Includes spouse and household members (including children living in the same household). (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Income and Assets
Real estate Yes. All immovable property must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Movable assets Yes. Valuable movable assets must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Cash Yes. Bank accounts and cash holdings must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Loans and Debts Yes. Liabilities and debts must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Income from outside employment/assets Yes. All sources of income must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official Yes. Gifts must be reported and are strictly regulated. (Art. 16 and 17, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Ownership and shares must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. Participation in any legal entity must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Holding government contracts Yes. Prohibited under conflict of interest rules. (Art. 7 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. Such roles are restricted and must be declared. (Art. 7 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Post-employment Yes. Cooling-off period applies after leaving office. (Art. 15, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. Incompatibility regime prohibits overlapping functions. (Art. 7, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. Strict conflict of interest prohibition. (Art. 8, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector No. Nepotism addressed via conflict of interest provisions but not always explicit disclosure. (Art. 8 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Filing frequency

Filing required upon taking office Yes. Declaration required at entry into office. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Filing required upon leaving office Yes. Final declaration required. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Filing required annually Yes. Annual reporting obligation. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest Yes. Changes must be reported within a defined period (typically 30 days). (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Sanctions

Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative fines apply. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Includes fines and possible dismissal. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative and criminal liability possible. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Monitoring and Oversight

Depository body explicitly identified Yes. Agency for Prevention of Corruption (ASK) (Art. 91, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Enforcement body explicitly identified Yes. ASK has enforcement powers (Art. 91, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission Yes. ASK verifies submission compliance (Art. 25, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy Yes. ASK conducts asset verification procedures. (Art. 25, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Public access to declarations

Public availability Yes. Declarations are publicly available online. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Timing of information release specified Yes. Publication follows submission deadlines. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Location(s) of access specified Yes. Published on ASK official website. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Cost of access specified No. Absnec of legal framework

Civil servants

Disclosure items

Spouses and children included in disclosure Yes. Includes spouse and household members (including children living in the same household). (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Income and Assets
Real estate Yes. All immovable property must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Movable assets Yes. Valuable movable assets must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Cash Yes. Bank accounts and cash holdings must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Loans and Debts Yes. Liabilities and debts must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Income from outside employment/assets Yes. All sources of income must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official Yes. Gifts must be reported and are strictly regulated. (Art. 16 and 17, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Ownership and shares must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. Participation in any legal entity must be declared. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Holding government contracts Yes. Prohibited under conflict of interest rules. (Art. 7 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. Such roles are restricted and must be declared. (Art. 7 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Post-employment Yes. Cooling-off period applies after leaving office. (Art. 15, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. Incompatibility regime prohibits overlapping functions. (Art. 7, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. Strict conflict of interest prohibition. (Art. 8, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector No. Nepotism addressed via conflict of interest provisions but not always explicit disclosure. (Art. 8 and 9, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Filing frequency

Filing required upon taking office Yes. Declaration required at entry into office. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Filing required upon leaving office Yes. Final declaration required. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Filing required annually Yes. Annual reporting obligation. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest Yes. Changes must be reported within a defined period (typically 30 days). (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Sanctions

Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative fines apply. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Includes fines and possible dismissal. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative and criminal liability possible. (Art. 47 and 48, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Monitoring and Oversight

Depository body explicitly identified Yes. Agency for Prevention of Corruption (ASK) (Art. 91, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Enforcement body explicitly identified Yes. ASK has enforcement powers (Art. 91, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission Yes. ASK verifies submission compliance (Art. 25, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy Yes. ASK conducts asset verification procedures. (Art. 25, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))

Public access to declarations

Public availability Yes. Declarations are publicly available online. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Timing of information release specified Yes. Publication follows submission deadlines. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Location(s) of access specified Yes. Published on ASK official website. (Art. 23, Law on Prevention of Corruption (2014, as amended))
Cost of access specified No. Absnec of legal framework

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Conflict of Interest

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Restrictions57
Sanctions67
Monitoring and Oversight100

Alternative Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Head of State76
Ministers79
Members of Parliament79
Civil servants66

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Head of State

Restrictions

General restriction on conflict of interest Yes. The President is a public official under the 2024 anti-corruption law and must not subordinate the public interest to a private interest or create a conflict of interest. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 3, 9)
Accepting gifts Yes. The President may not accept gifts connected with public office, except protocol and occasional gifts within the statutory limits. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 18-22)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings No. The law does not ban owning a private firm or holding shares as such. It requires transfer of management rights and resignation from company management bodies (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 12, 13)
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) No. No ban on the President owning shares in a state-owned enterprise. The law bans management and supervisory roles in state-owned entities, not ownership as such. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 14)
Holding government contracts No. The law prohibits certain service contracts and contracts creating a private interest, but it does not impose a blanket ban on all government contracts. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 16)
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. The President may not be chair, authorized representative, management-board member, supervisory-board member, executive director, or management member of a private company (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 12, 13)
Post-employment Yes. A one-year cooling-off rule applies after leaving office, and there is also a two-year restriction on using non-public information gained in office for benefit or harm (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 17)
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. The Constitution says the President may not perform any other public duty. (Constitution of Montenegro, Art. 97)
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. If the President participates in discussion or decision-making in a matter where he or a related person has a private interest, he must refrain, declare the interest, and cannot take part until the Agency gives its opinion. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 10)
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector No. Absent from legal framework

Sanctions

Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Fines are expressly provided for violations of the conflict-of-interest restrictions, gifts rules, contract restrictions, and related duties. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 109, 111)
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Administrative consequences are expressly provided. A final Agency decision is treated as negligent exercise of public office and can trigger proceedings for dismissal, suspension, or a disciplinary measure. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 41-45)
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior No. The anti-corruption law does not itself establish a specific criminal sanction for these violations. It provides misdemeanor fines and referral to the prosecutor if there is suspicion of a criminal offence. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 40, 109-111)

Monitoring and Oversight

Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking) Yes. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption is the independent body responsible for conflict-of-interest prevention, restrictions on public office, and verification of asset reports. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 6, 82, 83)
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings) Yes. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption issues binding opinions and decisions, determines violations, publishes decisions, and can trigger removal, suspension, disciplinary, misdemeanor, or prosecutorial follow-up. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 9, 41-45, 82, 97)

Ministers

Restrictions

General restriction on conflict of interest Yes. Ministers are public officials under the 2024 anti-corruption law and must not subordinate the public interest to a private interest or create a conflict of interest (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 3, 9)
Accepting gifts Yes. Ministers may not accept gifts connected with public office, except protocol and occasional gifts within the statutory limits (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 18-22)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings No. The law does not ban owning a private firm or holding shares as such. It requires transfer of management rights and resignation from company management bodies (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 12, 13)
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) No. The law bans management and supervisory roles in state-owned entities, not ownership as such. (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 14)
Holding government contracts Yes. The law prohibits service contracts and contracts creating a private interest (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 16)
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. A minister may not be chair, authorized representative, management-board member, supervisory-board member, executive director, or management member of a private company (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 12, 13)
Post-employment Yes. A one-year cooling-off rule applies after leaving office, and there is also a two-year restriction on using non-public information gained in office for benefit or harm (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 17, 25, 111)
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. The Constitution says the Prime Minister and members of the Government may not serve as MPs, hold other public duties, or professionally perform another activity (Constitution of Montenegro, Art. 104)
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. If a minister participates in discussion or decision-making in a matter where he or a related person has a private interest, he must refrain, declare the interest, and cannot take part until the Agency process is completed (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 10)
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector No. Absent from legal framework

Sanctions

Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Fines are expressly provided for violations of the conflict-of-interest restrictions, gifts rules, contract restrictions, and related duties (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 109, 111)
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Administrative consequences are expressly provided. A final Agency decision is treated as negligent exercise of public office and can trigger proceedings for dismissal, suspension, or a disciplinary measure (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 41-45)
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior No. The anti-corruption law does not itself establish a specific criminal sanction for these violations. It provides misdemeanor fines and administrative consequences instead (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 41-45, 109, 111)

Monitoring and Oversight

Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking) Yes. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption is the independent body responsible for conflict-of-interest prevention, restrictions on public office, and verification of asset reports (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 6, 82, 83)
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings) Yes. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption issues binding opinions and decisions, determines violations, publishes decisions, and can trigger removal, suspension, disciplinary, or misdemeanor follow-up (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 9, 41-45, 82, 97)

Members of Parliament

Restrictions

General restriction on conflict of interest Yes. Members of Parliament are public officials under the 2024 anti-corruption law and must not subordinate the public interest to a private interest or create a conflict of interest (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 3, 9)
Accepting gifts Yes. Members of Parliament may not accept gifts connected with public office, except protocol and occasional gifts within the statutory limits (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 18-22)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings No. The law does not ban owning a private firm or holding shares as such. It requires transfer of management rights and resignation from company management bodies (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 12, 13)
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) No. No ban on Members of Parliament owning shares in a state-owned enterprise. The law bans management and supervisory roles in state-owned entities, not ownership as such (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 14)
Holding government contracts Yes. The law prohibits service contracts and contracts creating a private interest (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 16)
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. A Member of Parliament may not be chair, authorized representative, management-board member, supervisory-board member, executive director, or management member of a private company (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 12, 13)
Post-employment Yes. Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 12, 1 (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 17, 25, 111)
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. The Constitution provides that a deputy may not perform another public function or professionally perform another activity (Constitution of Montenegro, Art. 86)
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. If a Member of Parliament participates in discussion or decision-making in a matter where he or a related person has a private interest, he must refrain, declare the interest, and cannot take part until the Agency process is completed (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Art. 10)
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector No. Absent from legal framework

Sanctions

Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Fines are expressly provided for violations of the conflict-of-interest restrictions, gifts rules, contract restrictions, and related duties (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 109, 111)
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Administrative consequences are expressly provided. A final Agency decision is treated as negligent exercise of public office and can trigger proceedings for dismissal, suspension, or a disciplinary measure (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 41-45)
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior No. The anti-corruption law does not itself establish a specific criminal sanction for these violations. It provides misdemeanor fines and administrative consequences instead (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 41-45, 109, 111)

Monitoring and Oversight

Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking) Yes. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption is the independent body responsible for conflict-of-interest prevention, restrictions on public office, and verification of asset reports (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 6, 82, 83)
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings) Yes. The Agency for Prevention of Corruption issues binding opinions and decisions, determines violations, publishes decisions, and can trigger removal, suspension, disciplinary, or misdemeanor follow-up (Law on Prevention of Corruption, Arts. 9, 41-45, 82, 97)

Civil servants

Restrictions

General restriction on conflict of interest Yes. Civil servants and state employees are expressly required to avoid situations where private interest affects or may affect impartial and objective performance of duties, and they must report potential conflicts in writing. (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Arts. 75, 76)
Accepting gifts Yes. Civil servants and state employees may not receive money, securities, or precious metals, and may receive only small appropriate gifts within the statutory value caps. (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Art. 78)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings No. No ban on all ownership of private firms or all shareholding. The law requires disclosure of shares and other financial interests in business organizations within the authority’s competence, but that is not a full ownership prohibition (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Art. 76)
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) No. No prohibition on owning shares in state-owned enterprises. The law regulates conflicts and allows membership in management or supervisory bodies of some state- or municipality-owned entities, so there is no full shareholding ban (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Arts. 76, 80)
Holding government contracts No. No rule that prohibits civil servants and state employees from holding government contracts. The law requires disclosure of certain contractual or business relations linked to the authority’s competence (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Art. 76)
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm No. Civil servants and state employees may not be chairperson or member of the management or supervisory body of a business organization, but outside work for a natural or legal person can be allowed with prior approval (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Arts. 79, 80)
Post-employment No. The law contains conflict-of-interest and confidentiality duties while in service, and confidentiality continues after termination, but there is no outright interdiction post-employment (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Arts. 71, 75, 76)
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position No. Absent from legal framework
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. Civil servants and state employees must report potential conflicts in writing, and the head of the state authority must exempt them from working on the relevant tasks where the conflict exists (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Art. 76)
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector No. Absent from legal framework

Sanctions

Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Fines are expressly provided as disciplinary measures for both minor and severe violations of official duty, including some violations linked to gifts, outside employment, and restrictions on membership in company bodies (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Arts. 95, 96)
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Administrative and disciplinary sanctions are expressly provided. The law allows written admonishment, fines, reassignment to a lower job position or title, and termination of employment (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Arts. 96-101)
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior No. The civil-service law does not itself create a specific criminal sanction for breach of these conflict-of-interest and ethics restrictions. It refers to disciplinary liability, even though some conduct may separately amount to a criminal offence under other laws (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Arts. 95-103)

Monitoring and Oversight

Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking) Yes. The immediate manager and the head of the state authority receive written conflict disclosures and decide on exempting the civil servant or state employee from the affected tasks (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Art. 76)
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings) Yes. Minor disciplinary cases are handled by an authorized officer and the head of the state authority, while severe cases are handled by the Disciplinary Commission, which imposes sanctions (Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, Arts. 97-105)

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Freedom of Information

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Scope and Coverage89
Information access and release88
Exceptions and Overrides67
Sanctions for non-compliance0
Monitoring and Oversight0

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Scope and Coverage

Scope of disclosure

Existence of legal right to access Yes. Access to the information filed with government agencies shall be free, whereas it shall be exercised in the manner prescribed by this Law. Any national or foreign legal and natural entity shall be entitled to access the information filed with government agencies. Access to the information shall be guaranteed upon the principles and the standards contained in international documents dealing with the issues of human rights and freedoms. (Article 1 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
"Information" or "Documents" is defined Yes. 2) information shall be any document in written, printed, video, audio, electronic or other form, including also a copy or a part thereof, regardless of its contents and source (or author) or the time of its composing or the system of its classifying; (Article 4 2) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Proactive disclosure is specified No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)

Coverage of public and private sectors

Executive branch Yes. 3) government agency shall be any: state authority (legislative, executive or judicial); local self-government authority; local government authority; public institution; public company or other business entity that has been granted to perform public powers, which is founded by the State or a local self-government authority or which is funded from public revenues and with which the information are filed; (Article 4 3) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Legislative branch Yes. 3) government agency shall be any: state authority (legislative, executive or judicial); local self-government authority; local government authority; public institution; public company or other business entity that has been granted to perform public powers, which is founded by the State or a local self-government authority or which is funded from public revenues and with which the information are filed; (Article 4 3) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Judicial branch Yes. 3) government agency shall be any: state authority (legislative, executive or judicial); local self-government authority; local government authority; public institution; public company or other business entity that has been granted to perform public powers, which is founded by the State or a local self-government authority or which is funded from public revenues and with which the information are filed; (Article 4 3) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Other public bodies Yes. 3) government agency shall be any: state authority (legislative, executive or judicial); local self-government authority; local government authority; public institution; public company or other business entity that has been granted to perform public powers, which is founded by the State or a local self-government authority or which is funded from public revenues and with which the information are filed; (Article 4 3) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Private sector Yes. 3) government agency shall be any: state authority (legislative, executive or judicial); local self-government authority; local government authority; public institution; public company or other business entity that has been granted to perform public powers, which is founded by the State or a local self-government authority or which is funded from public revenues and with which the information are filed; (Article 4 3) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )

Access to specific documents (subject to reactive and/or proactive disclosure)

Draft legal instruments Yes. 2) information shall be any document in written, printed, video, audio, electronic or other form, including also a copy or a part thereof, regardless of its contents and source (or author) or the time of its composing or the system of its classifying; (Article 4 2) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Enacted legal instruments Yes. 2) information shall be any document in written, printed, video, audio, electronic or other form, including also a copy or a part thereof, regardless of its contents and source (or author) or the time of its composing or the system of its classifying; (Article 4 2) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Annual budgets Yes. 2) information shall be any document in written, printed, video, audio, electronic or other form, including also a copy or a part thereof, regardless of its contents and source (or author) or the time of its composing or the system of its classifying; (Article 4 2) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Annual chart of accounts (actual expenditures) Yes. 2) information shall be any document in written, printed, video, audio, electronic or other form, including also a copy or a part thereof, regardless of its contents and source (or author) or the time of its composing or the system of its classifying; (Article 4 2) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Annual reports of public entities and programs Yes. 2) information shall be any document in written, printed, video, audio, electronic or other form, including also a copy or a part thereof, regardless of its contents and source (or author) or the time of its composing or the system of its classifying; (Article 4 2) of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )

Information access and release

Procedural access

Universal access (agencies, citizens and non-citizens) Yes. The procedure for access to the information shall be initiated upon the request of any person that requires such access. (Article 11 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Type of request is specified (written, electronic, oral) Yes. Any request for access to information shall be submitted to a relevant government agency in writing, whereas directly or by mail or by e-mail. (Article 11 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Assistance to requesters must be provided by law (includes barriers due to language differences, illiteracy, complexity of requests, etc.) No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Cost of access is specified (free, request fees, photocopying costs, other administrative costs) Yes. Any applicant shall bear the costs of the procedure for exercising the right of access to the information, in harmony with the separate regulation. The costs of such procedure shall be in connection only to actual costs incurred by a government agency with respect to transcribing, photocopying, translating and delivering any required information. In case when a disabled person is actual applicant, any government agency shall bear the related procedure costs. (Article 19 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )

Deadlines for release of information

20-day response deadline Yes. Any government agency shall be in obligation, upon any request for the information, to promptly make a resolution and to deliver it to any applicant, whereas not later than eight days as of the day of the request for information being submitted. Except for paragraph 1 of this Article and in cases when it is required for the purposes of protecting lives or freedoms of persons, any government agency shall be in obligation to promptly make and to deliver a resolution to any applicant, whereas not later than 48 hours upon such request has been submitted. If the range of the required information is big or if the searching for such information requires an extensive documentation inspection that would unreasonably disrupt regular operations of any government agency relevant therefore, the deadline for making and delivering a resolution, referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, may be prolonged by 15 days at most. (Article 16 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Agency granted right to extend response time Yes. Any government agency shall be in obligation, upon any request for the information, to promptly make a resolution and to deliver it to any applicant, whereas not later than eight days as of the day of the request for information being submitted. Except for paragraph 1 of this Article and in cases when it is required for the purposes of protecting lives or freedoms of persons, any government agency shall be in obligation to promptly make and to deliver a resolution to any applicant, whereas not later than 48 hours upon such request has been submitted. If the range of the required information is big or if the searching for such information requires an extensive documentation inspection that would unreasonably disrupt regular operations of any government agency relevant therefore, the deadline for making and delivering a resolution, referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, may be prolonged by 15 days at most. (Article 16 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Maximum total response time of no more than 40 days Yes. Any government agency shall be in obligation, upon any request for the information, to promptly make a resolution and to deliver it to any applicant, whereas not later than eight days as of the day of the request for information being submitted. Except for paragraph 1 of this Article and in cases when it is required for the purposes of protecting lives or freedoms of persons, any government agency shall be in obligation to promptly make and to deliver a resolution to any applicant, whereas not later than 48 hours upon such request has been submitted. If the range of the required information is big or if the searching for such information requires an extensive documentation inspection that would unreasonably disrupt regular operations of any government agency relevant therefore, the deadline for making and delivering a resolution, referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, may be prolonged by 15 days at most. (Article 16 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )

Exceptions and Overrides

Exemptions to disclosure

Existence of secrecy/states secrets law Yes. Law on Classified Information (Zakon o tajnim podacima / Zakon o klasifikovanim informacijama) Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 14/08, as amended by Nos. 76/09 and 41/10 (Law on Classified Information (Zakon o tajnim podacima / Zakon o klasifikovanim informacijama) Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 14/08, as amended by Nos. 76/09 and 41/10)
Existence of personal privacy/data law Yes. Law on Personal Data Protection (Zakon o zaštiti podataka o ličnosti) Official Gazette of Montenegro Nos. 79/2008, 70/2009, 44/2012, 22/2017, 77/2024 (Law on Personal Data Protection (Zakon o zaštiti podataka o ličnosti) Official Gazette of Montenegro Nos. 79/2008, 70/2009, 44/2012, 22/2017, 77/2024)
Specific exemptions to disclosure Yes. Access to information shall be restricted if their disclosure would significantly endanger: 1) national security and defense or international relations, primarily through disclosing the information: a. from security intelligence agencies and intelligence agencies for national security; b. from military intelligence services; c. of armed forces activities; d. about buildings, installations and systems that are intended exclusively for the State defense purposes; e. of importance for international tribunals or investigation bodies or other international authorities or organizations’ work; 2) public security, through disclosing the information relating to: a. the public unsafe and state of emergency; b. the safety of individuals, the people and material properties; 3) commercial and other private or public economic benefits, through disclosing the information: a. relating to financial, monetary or commercial operations of the State with other states, international organizations or other legal or natural entities; b. that are business secrets; c. contained in a separate law on the confidentiality of data; 4) economic, monetary and foreign exchange policy of the State, through disclosing the information: a. of national economy, financial policy initiatives, operational plans and other economic policy documents; b. relating to the capital and financial markets; 5) prevention and investigation of and proceedings upon criminal matters, through disclosing the information: a. contained in reports submitted to the authorities relevant for identifying and prosecution of criminal offenders, which reports include data concerning planning or commissioning such offences and the persons that have committed them; b. of witness protection programs; c. of juvenile criminal offenders; d. in relation to investigation procedures; e. relating to the fight against organized crime, related operational plans and to special forces for combating organized crime; f. relating to anti-money laundering and anti-financial terrorism activities; 6) privacy and other personal rights of individuals, except for the purposes of court or administrative procedures, through disclosing the information: a. concerning private lives of parties and witnesses in the procedures, as well as of victims and parties injured by criminal offences, and through disclosing the information of adjudicated persons; b. contained in personal and medical files of individuals, findings obtained from psychiatric and psychology examinations and personal disposition tests; c. relating to the establishment of parental rights, adoption of children and alike; d. regarding individual employment, income, pension, relief and other social welfare benefits; e. giving phone numbers, temporary or permanent residences of individuals and their families, if such individuals require a relevant authority to keep the information secret because they reasonably believe their and their families’ safety is at risk; 7) the procedure of considering and passing certain official documents, through disclosing the information: a. containing attitudes in connection with negotiations that are conducted by government agencies; b. that are in the course of their processing, or the information that are not in any official document form, except for laws or other general documents. The interests referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be considered significantly endangered if disclosing such information would cause them damages considerably bigger than the public interest in publishing such information is. (Article 9 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Public Interest test: Specified exemptions to disclosure may be overridden in cases where disclosure of information benefits the public interest.

Appeals

Appeals allowed within public entities Yes. A complaint may be presented against any document of a first instance government agency deciding upon any request for the information, before the authority performing supervision of such first instance agency’s work. If such authority does not exist, an administrative dispute may be instituted against such document (Article 20 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Independent, non-judicial appeals mechanism, e.g., information commissioner. Does not include Ombudsman unless appeals decisions are binding. No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Judicial appeals mechanism Yes. Any applicant presenting a request for access to the information or any other person interested therein shall be entitled to the court protection during any administrative dispute procedure. The procedure upon a suit instituted in relation to access to the information shall be urgent. (Article 24 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )

Sanctions for non-compliance

Administrative sanctions are specified for violations of disclosure requirements No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Fines are specified for violations of disclosure requirements A fine amounting from ten- to a hundred-time minimum wage in the Republic shall be imposed to any government agency if it: 1) does not compose or publish Guide for Access to Information (Article 5); 2) does not enable inspection of public registers or records filed with it (Article 6); 3) does not make any disabled person possible to access the information in the manner and in the form corresponding to his / her needs (Article 7); 4) does not provide any applicant access to the information or to a part thereof filed with it (Article 8); 5) act in violation of Article 9 of this Law; 6) act in violation of Article 10 of this Law; 7) act in violation of Article 25 of this Law. A fine amounting from double to ten-time minimum wage in the Republic shall be imposed to any responsible person in any government agency for violations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. (Article 27 of THE LAW ON FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION )
Criminal sanctions are specified for violations of disclosure requirements No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)

Monitoring and Oversight

Information officers must be appointed in public agencies No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Public body that is responsible for applying sanctions No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Public body that is responsible for public outreach (raising public awareness) No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Nodal agency for RTI (implementation support/compliance within public sector). Does not include Ombudsman. No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Ombudsman involvement in implementation is specified by law No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Reporting of data and/or implementation is required No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Public Procurement

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Scope91
Information availability82
Evaluation94
Open competition75
Institutional arrangements43

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Scope

Threshold - lowest PP

What is the minimum contract value above which the public procurement law is applied? (Product type GOODS) EUR 8,000. Below EUR 8,000: simple procurement (no CEJN, no competitive procedure); EUR 8,000–25,000: simple procurement above EUR 8,000 conducted via CEJN (OECD 2024 confirms CEJN use required above EUR 8,000 intermediate threshold); EUR 25,000 and above: full PPL procedures (open, restricted, negotiated, etc.) via CEJN. (PPL 2019 (as amended OG No. 003/23); OECD Public Administration Report)
What is the minimum contract value above which the public procurement law is applied? (Product type WORKS) EUR 8,000. Below EUR 8,000: simple procurement; EUR 8,000–30,000: simplified procedure via CEJN; EUR 30,000 and above: full PPL procedures via CEJN for works contracts. (PPL 2019 (as amended OG No. 003/23); OECD 2024)
What is the minimum contract value above which the public procurement law is applied? (Product type SERVICES) EUR 8,000. Below EUR 8,000: simple procurement; EUR 8,000–25,000: simplified procedure via CEJN; EUR 25,000 and above: full PPL procedures via CEJN; social and specific services follow a light-touch regime above a higher threshold aligned with Directive 2014/24/EU. (PPL 2019 (as amended OG No. 003/23); OECD 2024)

Threshold - by PP type

What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Entity: PUBLIC SECTOR) EUR 25,000. Classical sector contracting authorities: below EUR 8,000 – simple procurement (no CEJN); EUR 8,000–25,000 – simplified procedure via CEJN; EUR 25,000 and above – full open/restricted/negotiated procedures via CEJN. (PPL 2019 (as amended OG No. 003/23); OECD 2024)
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Entity: UTILITIES) EUR 500,000. Sectoral contracting authorities in water, energy, transport and postal services follow higher upper thresholds aligned with Directive 2014/25/EU; above these higher thresholds: full sectoral procedures with broader publication requirements via CEJN. (PPL 2019; EU.me reports (latest available))
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Entity: DEFENCE) EUR 25,000. Montenegro is one of the few Western Balkans countries to have transposed Directive 2009/81/EC on defence and security procurement within the PPL 2019 itself; the relevant defence and security procedures are conducted through CEJN. (PPL 2019 (defence/security chapter); EU Council Screening Report)

Threshold - by product type

What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Product type GOODS) EUR 8,000. Below EUR 8,000: direct award, no CEJN; EUR 8,000–25,000: simplified procedure via CEJN; EUR 25,000 and above: full PPL procedures. (PPL 2019 (as amended OG No. 003/23))
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Product type WORKS) EUR 8,000. Below EUR 8,000: direct award; EUR 8,000–30,000: simplified procedure via CEJN; EUR 30,000 and above: full PPL procedures. (PPL 2019 (as amended OG No. 003/23))
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Product type SERVICES) EUR 8,000. Same structure as goods; social and specific services follow a light-touch regime above a threshold aligned with Directive 2014/24/EU; below EUR 8,000: direct award without CEJN. (PPL 2019 (as amended OG No. 003/23))

Information availability

Publishing and record keeping

Is there a requirement that tender documents must published in full? Yes. All tender documentation (Standard Procurement Documents – SPDs) must be published on CEJN from the date of notice publication; SPDs are standardised and must be accessible free of charge; clarifications and amendments to SPDs are also published through CEJN. (PPL 2019; CEJN system)
Are any of these documents published online at a central place? Yes. CEJN e-procurement system: https://www.cejn.gov.me (operational since 1 January 2021; ~14,000 registered users of which ~4,796 active); DPPP (Directorate for Public Procurement Policy) website: https://www.ujn.gov.me; Government Open Data Portal (some datasets): https://data.gov.me; Official Gazette for legal acts. (PPL 2019; CEJN system; DPPP website)
Is it mandatory to keep all of these records? -Public notices of bidding opportunities, -Bidding documents and addenda, -Bid opening records, -Bid evaluation reports, -Formal appeals by bidders and outcomes, -Final signed contract documents and addenda and amendments, -Claims and dispute resolutions, -Final payments, -Disbursement data (as required by the country’s financial management system) Yes. Contracting authorities must maintain complete procurement files; CEJN covers all stages; however, contract implementation reports as the main record-keeping mechanism contain only minimal legally required information; the EC 2024 Report and civil society recommend strengthening record-keeping requirements, particularly for contract execution; future PPL amendments will address this. (PPL 2019; civil society reports; EC 2024 Report)
Are contracts awarded within a framework agreement published (ie mini contracts)? No. Framework agreement call-off contracts are not systematically published in a structured manner in CEJN; the system does not allow extraction of mini-contract data in bulk; civil society and the DPPP annual reports do not publish data on individual framework call-offs; this is identified as a significant data gap. (PPL 2019; civil society monitoring reports)

Sub-contracting

Is it mandatory to publish information on subcontractors (ie names) in some cases? Yes. PPL 2019 requires tenderers to declare subcontractors; subcontractor information is included in SPDs and published through CEJN as part of procurement documentation; however, there is no dedicated public register of subcontractors and no systematic machine-readable publication. (PPL 2019)
If yes, what is the threshold for publication (i.e. the % of total contract value subcontracted)? For example, if the threshold is 75%, and you have subcontracted out only 40% of your contract, no disclosure is required. Consultant will insert 75% in the short answer column. 0%. All known subcontractors must be declared regardless of the proportion subcontracted; no percentage threshold triggers or exempts the disclosure obligation. (PPL 2019)

Evaluation

Preferential treatment

Is there a ban on mentioning specific companies or brands in tender specification/call for tender? Yes. Technical specifications may not refer to a specific manufacturer, origin, process, trademark, patent, type, or place of production in a way that favours or eliminates operators; such references must include "or equivalent"; aligned with EU Directive 2014/24/EU. (PPL 2019)
Is there a preferential treatment for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs)? No. No explicit preferential treatment for SMEs exists in PPL 2019; principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination apply; the Strategy 2021–Dec. 2024 (cited only as background, not for post-2024 changes) (cited only as background, not for post-2024 changes) explicitly includes promotion of SME access as one of its objectives; the EC 2024 Report and DPPP promote lot division to facilitate SME participation. (PPL 2019, Art. 6; Strategy 2021–Dec. 2024)
Is there a preferential treatment for local/national companies? (companies from other EU MS are considered foreign companies) No. Principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination apply; the PPL 2019 explicitly states the principle of non-discrimination (foreign bidders entitled to equal treatment); aligned with EU acquis requirements for the accession process. (PPL 2019, Art. 6; EU.me reports (latest available))
Is there a specific set of rules for green/sustainable procurement? Yes. The PPL 2019 introduced new principles including environmental protection, social and labour law, energy efficiency and gender equality as evaluation criteria; contracting authorities may include environmental and social criteria in technical specifications and award criteria; the Strategy 2021–Dec. 2024 (cited only as background, not for post-2024 changes) (cited only as background, not for post-2024 changes) explicitly promotes green procurement as an objective; however, mandatory GPP is not yet implemented systematically; the EC 2024 Report recommends increasing use of MEAT which incorporates quality/environmental criteria. (PPL 2019; Strategy 2021–Dec. 2024; EC 2024 Report)

Bid evaluation

Are there restrictions on allowable grounds for tenderer exclusion? Yes. PPL 2019 establishes mandatory and discretionary exclusion grounds aligned with EU Directive 2014/24/EU Art. 57: mandatory grounds include criminal conviction for corruption, fraud, organised crime, terrorist financing, child labour, human trafficking; non-payment of taxes and social contributions; insolvency/bankruptcy; false declarations; discretionary grounds include grave professional misconduct; anti-competitive agreements; conflict of interest; significant deficiencies in prior contract performance; notably, there are no debarment lists in Montenegro's legislation – identified as a gap by civil society; the EC 2024 Report recommends expanding definitions of corruption and fraud in the PPL, with upcoming PPL amendments to address this. (PPL 2019; civil society reports; EC 2024 Report)
Are some bids automatically excluded? e.g., lowest/highest price; unusually low price, etc. No. For abnormally low tenders, the contracting authority must request written clarification from the tenderer before any exclusion; exclusion is not automatic; aligned with EU Directive 2014/24/EU Art. 69. (PPL 2019)
Is scoring criteria published? Yes. Contracting authorities must publish award criteria and their relative weights in the SPDs from the date of notice publication; PPL 2019 mandates the most economically advantageous bid (MEAT) based on: (1) offered price; (2) best price-quality ratio; or (3) life-cycle cost – the use of lowest price as the sole criterion is not the default under the PPL 2019; in practice, the competitiveness index is reported above 3% (2024 data); scoring criteria and their weights are part of the standardised SPDs published on CEJN. (PPL 2019; EU.me reports (latest available))
Are decisions always made by a committee? Yes. PPL 2019 requires each contracting authority to establish a Procurement Commission for evaluating tenders; the commission must consist of an odd number of members (minimum 3) with relevant expertise; external experts may be engaged; the commission issues written, reasoned decisions. (PPL 2019)
Are there regulations on evaluation committee composition to prevent conflict of interest? Yes. PPL 2019 includes explicit conflict-of-interest provisions; commission members must declare conflicts of interest and recuse themselves; the EC 2024 Report recommends amending the PPL to expand definitions of corruption and fraud and to link relevant provisions of the PPL with the Law on Prevention of Corruption (misdemeanour liability); upcoming PPL amendments will address this. (PPL 2019; EC 2024 Report)
Is some part of evaluation committee mandatorily independent of contracting authority? No. There is no legal requirement for procurement commission members to be independent of the contracting authority; members are generally officials of the contracting authority with relevant expertise; external experts may be co-opted but are not mandatory. (PPL 2019)
Are scoring results publicly available? Yes. Award decisions and reasoning must be published on CEJN; all tenderers are notified of the award decision; CEJN publishes award notices including the winning tenderer name, contract value and award date; however, DPPP does not publish data on the top 10 suppliers (discontinued in 2018), and CEJN does not allow bulk data extraction for independent analysis; the OECD 2024 Report confirms public access is limited to DPPP annual reports. (PPL 2019; CEJN system; OECD 2024)
Does the law specify under which conditions the tender can be cancelled? Yes. PPL 2019 specifies conditions for cancelling a procedure: no bid was submitted; no acceptable bid was received; fundamental circumstances changed; the procedure was vitiated by essential errors; public interest grounds; the cancellation notice must be published on CEJN; approximately 19% of all launched procedures are cancelled annually per DPPP reports. (PPL 2019; DPPP Annual Report 2022)

Open competition

CFT publication

Does the law specify the location for publicizing open calls for tenders? Yes. CEJN e-procurement system: https://www.cejn.gov.me (mandatory for all procedures above EUR 8,000); Official Gazette of Montenegro for above-threshold notices; DPPP website: https://www.ujn.gov.me; all procedures above EUR 8,000 must be published on CEJN; below EUR 8,000: simple procurement with no publication on CEJN required. (PPL 2019; CEJN system)
Does the law specify the location for publicizing restricted calls for tenders? Yes. CEJN: https://www.cejn.gov.me; limited procedure notices published on CEJN (0.40% of all 2022 procedures). (PPL 2019; CEJN system)
Does the law specify the location for publicizing negotiated calls for tenders? Yes. CEJN: https://www.cejn.gov.me; negotiated procedures with prior publication are published on CEJN; negotiated procedures without prior notice are reported after award; in 2022, 11.14% of all procedures used the negotiated procedure without prior notice – EC 2024 Report recommends reducing this share further and the annual limit of EUR 100,000 per contracting authority for direct/simple procurement was introduced as a closing benchmark for Chapter 5. (PPL 2019; CEJN; EC 2024 Report; Institute Alternative reports)

Minimum # of bidders

What is the minimum number of bidders for restricted procedures? 5. For restricted (limited) procedures above the upper EU-equivalent threshold: minimum 5 candidates; below the upper threshold: minimum 3 candidates; aligned with Directive 2014/24/EU. (PPL 2019)
What is the minimum number of bidders for negotiated procedures? 3. The minimum number of candidates for the competitive negotiation procedure (with prior publication) is 3. (PPL 2019)
What is the minimum number of bidders for competitive dialogue procedures? 3. The minimum number of participants in competitive dialogue is 3, aligned with Directive 2014/24/EU. (PPL 2019)

Bidding period length

What are the minimum number of days for open procedures? 35. For open procedures above the upper EU-equivalent threshold: minimum 35 days from notice publication to bid submission deadline; for simplified procedures below the upper threshold: minimum 15 days; for urgent cases: reduced time limits per PPL 2019; average duration of the overall tendering process is 74 days per DPPP 2022 report (well above the legal minimum, average works procurement: 86 days). (PPL 2019; DPPP Annual Report 2022)
What are the minimum number of days for restricted procedures? 30. Minimum 30 days from notice publication for submission of requests to participate; minimum 30 days from the invitation to tender for submission of offers. (PPL 2019)
What are the minimum number of days for competitive negotiated procedures? 30. Minimum 30 days for the candidacy stage; subsequent stages set by the contracting authority. (PPL 2019)

Institutional arrangements

Institutions and regulations

Does the law specify the main EXCEPTIONS preventing the application of the public procurement law for tenders/organisations? Yes. PPL 2019 does not apply to: (1) contracts concluded on the basis of international agreements with specific procedure rules required by international financing institutions; (2) contracts for intelligence/classified activities where necessary for essential security interests; (3) certain acquisition of arms, munitions and war material (partially – defence is covered by PPL 2019 chapter transposing Dir. 2009/81/EC); (4) R&D services where the contracting authority does not exclusively benefit; (5) certain broadcasting services; (6) arbitration and conciliation services; (7) employment contracts; (8) civil defence/protection services; (9) financial services related to securities; (10) concession contracts (governed by separate PPP/concessions law). (PPL 2019)
Does the law specify the main types of institutions that must apply the public procurement law? Yes. PPL 2019 applies to: (a) state administration bodies and state institutions; (b) local self-government units (23 municipalities + 2 urban municipalities of Podgorica and Old Royal Capital Cetinje); (c) legal persons governed by public law established for purposes of general interest, financed or controlled by contracting authorities; (d) sectoral contracting authorities conducting activities in water, energy, transport and postal services; (e) defence and security authorities (subject to the specialised PPL 2019 chapter). (PPL 2019)
Does the law specify the main procedure types or procurement methods permitted? Yes. Open procedure (most used: 73.26% of 2022 procedures); Limited/restricted procedure (0.40%); Negotiated procedure with prior publication; Negotiated procedure without prior publication (11.14% of 2022 procedures); Competitive negotiation procedure; Competitive dialogue (new in PPL 2019); Partnership for innovation (new in PPL 2019); Simple procurement above EUR 8,000 (via CEJN); Simple procurement below EUR 8,000 (no CEJN); Design contest; Defence and security specific procedures. (PPL 2019)
Is there a procurement arbitration court dedicated to public procurement cases? Yes. The Commission for Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures (Komisija za zaštitu prava u postupcima javnih nabavki) is the independent first-instance review body; since the January 2023 amendment, its members are appointed by the Parliament (previously appointed by the Government – a significant independence strengthening); the Commission processes complaints against procurement procedures and award decisions; the average 77-day duration of procurement and the significantly increasing number of complaints (Institute Alternative, 2024) place pressure on the Commission's capacity; decisions may be challenged before the Administrative Court (second instance); complaint filing is conducted via CEJN (electronic submission). (PPL 2019 (as amended OG No. 003/23); Institute Alternative report 2024)
Is there a procurement regulatory body dedicated to public procurement? Yes. The Directorate for Public Procurement Policy (DPPP) within the Ministry of Finance is the central regulatory and supervisory body; it develops sub-legal acts, manages and upgrades CEJN, publishes annual PP reports, standard SPDs and training programmes; the Public Procurement Inspectorate (Inspektorat za javne nabavke) conducts ex-post inspections; 161 simple monitoring requests were filed with the Ministry of Finance in 2024, with 76 recommendations for remedying irregularities; a Strategy for Improving PP Policy and PPP Dec. 2024–2030 is being developed incorporating World Bank MAPS evaluation findings. (PPL 2019; EU.me reports (latest available); DPPP data)
Does the law specify procurement advisors' profession (i.e. degree to be obtained, official list of members of the professional association) and its role in the tendering process (e.g. right to draft tender documentations, conduct market research identifying bidders)? Yes. Montenegro has a certification system for procurement professionals: contracting authority staff conducting procurement procedures must be certified; the certification programme is managed by DPPP; as of 2020, there were 734 certified procurement persons and the number of certified persons continues to grow; the PPL 2019 and its bylaws define certification requirements. (PPL 2019; Strategy 2021–Dec. 2024; DPPP data)
Is disclosure of final, beneficial owners required for placing a bid? No. PPL 2019 does not require beneficial ownership disclosure as a precondition for bidding; Montenegro's anti-money laundering framework includes beneficial ownership registration; the EC 2024 Report and upcoming PPL amendments are expected to address beneficial ownership transparency in procurement as part of the anti-corruption strengthening package. (PPL 2019; EC 2024 Report)

Complaints

Is there a fee for arbitration procedure? Yes. The filing fee for a complaint before the Commission is 1% of the estimated value of the public procurement, capped at a maximum of EUR 20,000; the fee is refundable if the complaint is upheld; if dismissed, it is retained; this is one of the highest fee caps in the Western Balkans region; Institute Alternative (2024) notes a significantly higher number of complaints compared to previous years, with the Commission deciding on all appeals within the legal deadline. (PPL 2019; CMS Guide; Institute Alternative reports)
Is there a ban on contract signature until arbitration court decision (first instance court)? Yes. When a complaint is filed with the Commission, the contracting authority must automatically suspend the procurement procedure and may not sign the contract until the Commission issues its decision; the suspension is automatic from the date of complaint filing; no additional application for interim measures is required for this automatic suspension. (PPL 2019)
What is the maximum number of days until arbitration court decision from filing a complaint in the case of awarded contracts? 10. The Commission must decide on a complaint within 10 working days of receipt of all required documentation; Institute Alternative (2024) confirms the Commission "decided on all appeals in a timely manner, within the legal deadline"; the Administrative Court does not always act as promptly, which is identified as a systemic bottleneck; CEJN introduction of automatic deadline tracking is recommended as an efficiency improvement. (PPL 2019; Institute Alternative reports)
Is there a requirement to publicly release arbitration court decisions ? Yes. The Commission is required to publish all decisions; decisions are accessible on the Commission's website; complaint filing is conducted through CEJN (electronic submission), which notifies relevant parties; the Administrative Court publishes its decisions through the court system; DPPP publishes aggregate complaint statistics in annual reports; the EC 2024 Report recommends strengthening budgetary inspection controls and linking PPL misdemeanour provisions with the Law on Prevention of Corruption. (PPL 2019; CEJN system; EC 2024 Report)

Legislation

Public Procurement Law (Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 74/2019) (English)pdf

*Last update: 2017

Anti Money Laundering

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Risk-based approach100
Sanctions for natural persons100
Sanctions for legal persons75
Pecuniary sanctions for obliged entities80
Beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements81
Supervision of obliged entities100
Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)100
Mutual legal assistance (MLA) and International Cooperation100

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Country score

Risk-based approach

Each Member State shall be legally required to prepare a national risk assessment that outlines appropriate steps to identify, assess, understand and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting it. Yes. The National Risk Assessment shall be determined by the Government, at least once every three years. The National Risk Assessment shall be updated as needed. (Article 7, Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Member states shall be legally required to keep the national risk assessment up to date and review it at least every 4 years. Yes. The National Risk Assessment shall be determined by the Government, at least once every three years. The National Risk Assessment shall be updated as needed. (Article 7, Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Member states should legally designate an authority or mechanism to co-ordinate actions to assess risks. Yes. The National Risk Assessment shall be determined by the Government, at least once every three years. The National Risk Assessment shall be updated as needed. (Article 7, Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )

Sanctions for natural persons

The following conduct, when committed intentionally, is punishable as a criminal offence: the conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting any person who is involved in the commission of such an activity to evade the legal consequences of that person’s action; Yes. (1) Whoever converts or transfers money or other property knowing them to be derived from criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the origin of money or other property or who acquires, possesses or uses money or other property knowing at the time of receipt that they are derived from criminal activity, or who conceals or disguises facts on the nature, source, place of deposit, movement, disposal or ownership of money or of other property knowing they are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from six months to five years. (2) The penalty set out in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be imposed on the perpetrator of the offence set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article who is at the same time the perpetrator or the accomplice in the criminal offence resulting in acquisition of the money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article or on whomever assists a perpetrator in view of avoiding his accountability for the offence committed, or undertakes actions, with the same objective, to conceal the origin of money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article. 73 (3) Where the amount of money or value of the property set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article exceeds forty thousand euro, the perpetrator shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from one to ten years. (4) Where the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article is committed by several persons who associated for the purpose of committing such offences, they shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from three to twelve years. (5) Whoever commits the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and could have known or should have known that the money or property are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term not exceeding three years. (6) The money and property set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be confiscated. (7) Property, within the meaning of this Article, shall imply property rights of every kind, whether tangible or intangible assets, movable or immovable things, securities or other documents evidencing title to or interest in such assets. (Article 268, Criminal Code of Montenegro)
The following conduct, when committed intentionally, is punishable as a criminal offence: the concealment or disguise of the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement, rights with respect to, or ownership of, property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity; Yes. (1) Whoever converts or transfers money or other property knowing them to be derived from criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the origin of money or other property or who acquires, possesses or uses money or other property knowing at the time of receipt that they are derived from criminal activity, or who conceals or disguises facts on the nature, source, place of deposit, movement, disposal or ownership of money or of other property knowing they are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from six months to five years. (2) The penalty set out in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be imposed on the perpetrator of the offence set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article who is at the same time the perpetrator or the accomplice in the criminal offence resulting in acquisition of the money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article or on whomever assists a perpetrator in view of avoiding his accountability for the offence committed, or undertakes actions, with the same objective, to conceal the origin of money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article. 73 (3) Where the amount of money or value of the property set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article exceeds forty thousand euro, the perpetrator shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from one to ten years. (4) Where the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article is committed by several persons who associated for the purpose of committing such offences, they shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from three to twelve years. (5) Whoever commits the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and could have known or should have known that the money or property are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term not exceeding three years. (6) The money and property set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be confiscated. (7) Property, within the meaning of this Article, shall imply property rights of every kind, whether tangible or intangible assets, movable or immovable things, securities or other documents evidencing title to or interest in such assets. (Article 268, Criminal Code of Montenegro)
The following conduct, when committed intentionally, is punishable as a criminal offence: the acquisition, possession or use of property, knowing at the time of receipt, that such property was derived from criminal activity. Yes. (1) Whoever converts or transfers money or other property knowing them to be derived from criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the origin of money or other property or who acquires, possesses or uses money or other property knowing at the time of receipt that they are derived from criminal activity, or who conceals or disguises facts on the nature, source, place of deposit, movement, disposal or ownership of money or of other property knowing they are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from six months to five years. (2) The penalty set out in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be imposed on the perpetrator of the offence set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article who is at the same time the perpetrator or the accomplice in the criminal offence resulting in acquisition of the money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article or on whomever assists a perpetrator in view of avoiding his accountability for the offence committed, or undertakes actions, with the same objective, to conceal the origin of money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article. 73 (3) Where the amount of money or value of the property set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article exceeds forty thousand euro, the perpetrator shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from one to ten years. (4) Where the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article is committed by several persons who associated for the purpose of committing such offences, they shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from three to twelve years. (5) Whoever commits the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and could have known or should have known that the money or property are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term not exceeding three years. (6) The money and property set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be confiscated. (7) Property, within the meaning of this Article, shall imply property rights of every kind, whether tangible or intangible assets, movable or immovable things, securities or other documents evidencing title to or interest in such assets. (Article 268, Criminal Code of Montenegro)
Aiding and abetting, inciting and attempting a money laundering offence is punishable as a criminal offence. Yes. Attempt Article 20 (1) Whoever commences the commission of a criminal offence with criminal intent but does not complete it shall be punished for attempted offence punishable under law by a prison sentence of five years or more, whereas other attempted offences shall only be punished where it is explicitly provided for by law that the penalty also applies to an attempt. (2) The use of a specific tool or of a specific method of commission shall also be deemed to constitute the commencement of the commission of an offence, provided that they are defined by law as elements of the offence. (3) Perpetrators shall be punished for an attempt by the penalty laid down for the criminal offence, and they may also receive a lighter sentence. /// Instigation Article 24 (1) Whoever acts with criminal intent to instigate another person to commit a criminal offence shall receive a penalty as if he had committed the offence himself. (2) Whoever acts with criminal intent to instigate another person to commit a criminal offence punishable under law by a five year prison sentence or a more severe penalty, where the commission of offence is not even attempted, shall receive the penalty laid down by law for the attempted criminal offence. Aiding Article 25 (1) Whoever acts with criminal intent to aid another in the commission of a criminal offence shall be punished as if he had committed it himself, but may receive a lighter sentence. (2) The following, in particular, shall be deemed as aiding the commission of a criminal offence: giving counsel or instructions on how to commit the offence, supplying the perpetrator with the means for committing the offence, creating conditions or removing obstacles to the commission of the offence, as well as promising prior to the commission to conceal the offence, the offender, means with which the offence was committed, any traces of the offence, or articles acquired through the criminal offence. (Articles 20, 24 and 25, Criminal Code of Montenegro)
Money laundering offences are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least four years. Yes. (1) Whoever converts or transfers money or other property knowing them to be derived from criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the origin of money or other property or who acquires, possesses or uses money or other property knowing at the time of receipt that they are derived from criminal activity, or who conceals or disguises facts on the nature, source, place of deposit, movement, disposal or ownership of money or of other property knowing they are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from six months to five years. (2) The penalty set out in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be imposed on the perpetrator of the offence set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article who is at the same time the perpetrator or the accomplice in the criminal offence resulting in acquisition of the money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article or on whomever assists a perpetrator in view of avoiding his accountability for the offence committed, or undertakes actions, with the same objective, to conceal the origin of money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article. 73 (3) Where the amount of money or value of the property set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article exceeds forty thousand euro, the perpetrator shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from one to ten years. (4) Where the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article is committed by several persons who associated for the purpose of committing such offences, they shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from three to twelve years. (5) Whoever commits the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and could have known or should have known that the money or property are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term not exceeding three years. (6) The money and property set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be confiscated. (7) Property, within the meaning of this Article, shall imply property rights of every kind, whether tangible or intangible assets, movable or immovable things, securities or other documents evidencing title to or interest in such assets. (Article 268, Criminal Code of Montenegro)
A prior or simultaneous conviction for the criminal activity from which the property was derived is not a prerequisite for a conviction for money laundering offences Yes. (1) Whoever converts or transfers money or other property knowing them to be derived from criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the origin of money or other property or who acquires, possesses or uses money or other property knowing at the time of receipt that they are derived from criminal activity, or who conceals or disguises facts on the nature, source, place of deposit, movement, disposal or ownership of money or of other property knowing they are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from six months to five years. (2) The penalty set out in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be imposed on the perpetrator of the offence set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article who is at the same time the perpetrator or the accomplice in the criminal offence resulting in acquisition of the money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article or on whomever assists a perpetrator in view of avoiding his accountability for the offence committed, or undertakes actions, with the same objective, to conceal the origin of money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article. 73 (3) Where the amount of money or value of the property set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article exceeds forty thousand euro, the perpetrator shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from one to ten years. (4) Where the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article is committed by several persons who associated for the purpose of committing such offences, they shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from three to twelve years. (5) Whoever commits the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and could have known or should have known that the money or property are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term not exceeding three years. (6) The money and property set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be confiscated. (7) Property, within the meaning of this Article, shall imply property rights of every kind, whether tangible or intangible assets, movable or immovable things, securities or other documents evidencing title to or interest in such assets. (Article 268, Criminal Code of Montenegro)
A conviction for money laundering offences is possible where it is established that the property was derived from a criminal activity, without it being necessary to establish all the factual elements or all circumstances relating to that criminal activity, including the identity of the perpetrator; Yes. (1) Whoever converts or transfers money or other property knowing them to be derived from criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the origin of money or other property or who acquires, possesses or uses money or other property knowing at the time of receipt that they are derived from criminal activity, or who conceals or disguises facts on the nature, source, place of deposit, movement, disposal or ownership of money or of other property knowing they are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from six months to five years. (2) The penalty set out in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be imposed on the perpetrator of the offence set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article who is at the same time the perpetrator or the accomplice in the criminal offence resulting in acquisition of the money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article or on whomever assists a perpetrator in view of avoiding his accountability for the offence committed, or undertakes actions, with the same objective, to conceal the origin of money or property set out in paragraph 1 of this Article. 73 (3) Where the amount of money or value of the property set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article exceeds forty thousand euro, the perpetrator shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from one to ten years. (4) Where the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article is committed by several persons who associated for the purpose of committing such offences, they shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term from three to twelve years. (5) Whoever commits the offence set forth in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and could have known or should have known that the money or property are derived from criminal activity shall be punished by a prison sentence for a term not exceeding three years. (6) The money and property set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be confiscated. (7) Property, within the meaning of this Article, shall imply property rights of every kind, whether tangible or intangible assets, movable or immovable things, securities or other documents evidencing title to or interest in such assets. (Article 268, Criminal Code of Montenegro)

Sanctions for legal persons

Legal persons can be held liable for the breaches of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 or Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 committed on their behalf or for their benefit by any person, acting individually or as part of a body of that legal person and having a leading position within that legal person, based on any of the following: a power to represent the legal person; an authority to take decisions on behalf of the legal person; an authority to exercise control within the legal person. Yes. Legal entities may be held liable for criminal offences referred to in the special section of the Criminal Code of Montenegro and for other criminal offences provided for under a separate law, if the conditions of liability of a legal entity prescribed by this Law have been fulfilled. (Article 3, Law on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities)
Legal persons can be held liable where the lack of supervision or control has made possible the commission of any money laundering offences for the benefit of that legal person by a person under its authority. No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Legal persons held liable are punishable by criminal or non-criminal fines. Yes. (1) Legal entity may be imposed the following punishments: 1) 2) dissolution of legal entity. (2) Fine and dissolution of legal entity may be imposed only as principal punishments. (Article 13, Law on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities)
Legal persons held liable are punishable by other sanctions, such as: exclusion from entitlement to public benefits or aid; temporary or permanent exclusion from access to public funding, including tender procedures, grants and concessions; temporary or permanent disqualification from the practice of commercial activities; placing under judicial supervision; a judicial winding-up order; temporary or permanent closure of establishments which have been used for committing the offence. Yes. (1) For criminal offences for which legal entities are held liable, the following security measures may be imposed: 1) developing and implementing the programme of effective, necessary and reasonable measures; 2) seizure of items; 3) publication of the sentence; 3a) closing the facilities of the legal entity used for committing the criminal offence; 4) ban on conducting certain business or other activities. (2) The court may pronounce one or more security measures against a legal entity when the conditions for pronouncing them prescribed by law are fulfilled. (3) The ban on conducting certain business or other activities may not be pronounced along with a suspended sentence. (Article 28, Law on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities)

Pecuniary sanctions for obliged entities

In the event of a breach of Regulations (EU) 2024/1624 and (EU) 2023/1113, where obligations apply to legal persons, pecuniary sanctions can be imposed and administrative measures can be applied not only to the legal person, but also to the senior management and to other natural persons who under national law are responsible for the breach. Yes. The fine in an amount of EUR 5,000 to EUR 20,000 shall be imposed on a legal person for misdemeanour if: (...) (Article 137 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Pecuniary sanctions shall be imposed on obliged entities for serious, repeated or systematic breaches, whether committed intentionally or negligently, of the requirements laid down in the following provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624: Chapter II (Internal policies, procedures and controls of obliged entities); Chapter III (Customer due diligence); Chapter V (Reporting obligations); Article 77 (Record retention). Yes. The fine in an amount of EUR 5,000 to EUR 20,000 shall be imposed on a legal person for misdemeanour if: (...) (Article 137 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Supervisors are able to apply administrative measures to an obliged entity, where they identify: breaches of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 or Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, either in combination with pecuniary sanctions for serious, repeated and systematic breaches, or on their own; weaknesses in the internal policies, procedures and controls of the obliged entity that are likely to result in breaches of the requirements; that the obliged entity has internal policies, procedures and controls that are not commensurate with the risks of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing to which the entity is exposed. Yes. If the supervisory authority referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, in the process of the supervision over the implementation of this Law, identifies the irregularities in the operations of the reporting entity, it shall be authorised to: point out to the reporting entity on the identified irregularities and to set a deadline for their remediation; - - - - - - publicly disclose data on the identity of the reporting entity and the responsible person with the reporting entity, as well as the nature of the identified irregularity; issue a misdemeanour order or initiate misdemeanour proceedings against the reporting entity, in accordance with the law regulating misdemeanour proceedings; suspend or revoke the licence, or take other measures to limit or prohibit the work of the reporting entity, in accordance with the law; temporary prohibit the responsible person from the management body to perform the function; in the case of ordering the removal of serious, systemic or repeated irregularities, determine the amount of fine the reporting entity shall pay to the supervisory authority referred to in paragraph 1 items 1 to 4 of this Article, or in the budget of Montenegro if the supervisory authority is referred to in paragraph 1 items 5 to 8 of this Article for the breach of the provisions of this Law; (Article 131 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Where obliged entities fail to comply with administrative measures applied by the supervisor within the applicable deadlines, supervisors are able to impose periodic penalty payments in order to compel compliance with those administrative measures. No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Supervisors are required to publish on their website, in an accessible format, decisions imposing pecuniary sanctions, applying administrative measures or imposing periodic penalty payments. Yes. The supervisory authority referred to in Article 131 paragraph 1 of this Law shall publish on its website the notification on the imposed enforceable measures referred to in Article 131 paragraph 5 of this Law. (Article 131b Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )

Beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements

Beneficial ownership information must be held in a central register in the Member State where the legal entity is created or where the trustee of an express trust or person holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement is established or resides, or from where the legal arrangement is administered. Yes. Beneficial Owners Register is an electronic database where the data on beneficial owners are maintained and kept in order to ensure the transparency of ownership structures and to implement measures for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. Beneficial Owners Register is kept by the administrative body responsible for tax collection. (Article 43 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Member States shall ensure that the entities in charge of the central registers are empowered to request from legal entities, trustees of any express trust and persons holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement, and their legal and beneficial owners, any information necessary to identify and verify their beneficial owners, including resolutions of the board of directors and minutes of their meetings, partnership agreements, trust deeds, power of attorney or other contractual agreements and documentation. Yes. Entities referred to in Article 43 paragraph 3 of this Law shall, upon a request of the administrative body responsible for tax collection, submit documentation based on which it is possible to establish the ownership structure and the controlling member of the customer and to collect data on the beneficial owner. (Article 48 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Where no person is identified as the beneficial owner, the central register shall include: (a) a statement that there is no beneficial owner or that the beneficial owners could not be determined, accompanied by a corresponding justification (b) the details of all natural persons who hold the position of senior managing officials in the legal entity equivalent to the following information: all names and surnames, place and full date of birth, residential address, country of residence and nationality or nationalities of the beneficial owner, number of identity document, such as passport or national identity document, and, where it exists, unique personal identification number assigned to the person by his or her country of usual residence, and general description of the source of such number Yes. Where it is not possible to identify the beneficial owner or if there is suspicion that the natural person referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article is the beneficial owner, the beneficial owner of the legal person or business organization shall be considered to be one or more persons holding managerial positions in that legal person or business organization. The beneficial owner of an association, non-governmental organization, institution, political party, religious community, artistic organization, chamber, trade union, employers' association, or other business entity is any natural person who has control over the management of the entity's assets. (Article 41 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Entities in charge of the central registers are required to verify, within a reasonable time upon submission of the beneficial ownership information, and on a regular basis thereafter, that such information is adequate, accurate and up to date. Yes. When performing supervision of entities referred to in Article 43 paragraph 3 of this Law, the administrative body responsible for tax collection shall verify if: - those entities possess the data on beneficial owners referred to in Article 44 paragraph 1 item 2 of this Law and whether those data are complete and identical to data from reliable sources; - those entities have entered into the Beneficial Owners Register the data referred to in indent 1 of this paragraph and within the time limits prescribed by this Law. (Article 48 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Competent authorities, if appropriate and to the extent that such requirement does not interfere unnecessarily with their functions, are required to report to the entities in charge of the central registers any discrepancies they find between information available in the central registers and the information available to them. No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
The information contained in the central registers must include any change to the beneficial ownership of legal entities and legal arrangements and to nominee arrangements, following their first recording in the central register. Yes. The administrative body responsible for tax collection shall maintain and manage the Beneficial Owners Register in such a manner that: - in addition to keeping the last entry of the data referred to in Article 44 of this Law, it shall keep the previous data entries from the moment of its registration, as well as all changes and deletions of data, according to time and type of change; - - - the last entry of data will be available to reporting entities whenever they need such data; (Article 46 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The entity in charge of the central register is empowered, whether directly or by application to another authority, including judicial authorities, to carry out checks, including on-site inspections at the business premises or registered office of legal entities, in order to establish the current beneficial ownership of the entity and to verify that the information submitted to the central register is accurate, adequate and up-to-date. Yes. Within the supervision referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the administrative body responsible for tax collection shall perform on-site and off-site inspection pursuant to Article 132 of this Law. (Article 48 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Where verification leads an entity in charge of a central register to conclude that there are inconsistencies or errors in the beneficial ownership information, the entity in charge of a central register is able to withhold or refuse to issue a valid certificate of proof of registration, or to suspend the validity of an existing certification of proof of registration. Yes. If, during the supervision referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the administrative body responsible for tax collection determines a discrepancy in the data in the Beneficial Owners Register compared to the data from reliable sources, they shall order the entity referred to in Article 43 paragraph 3 of this Law to correct the errors in the Beneficial Owners Register. Until these errors are corrected, it will indicate in the Beneficial Owners Register that the data for that subject is outdated. The entity referred to in Article 43 paragraph 3 of this Law shall comply with the order from paragraph 4 of this Article within three working days from the date of receiving the order. (Article 48 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The entity in charge of the central register is empowered to, whether directly or by application to another authority, including judicial authorities, apply effective, proportionate and dissuasive measures or impose such pecuniary sanctions for failures, including of a repeated nature, to provide the central register with accurate, adequate and up-to-date information about their beneficial ownership. No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Competent authorities have immediate, unfiltered, direct and free access to the information held in the interconnected central registers without alerting the legal entity or legal arrangement concerned. These competent authorities include: self-regulatory bodies in the performance of supervisory functions of AML rules; tax authorities; national authorities with designated responsibilities for the implementation of Union restrictive measures; AMLA for the purposes of joint analyses; EPPO; OLAF; Europol and Eurojust when providing operational support to the competent authorities of Member States. Yes. Access to the data from the Beneficial Owners Register shall be granted to: (1) the Financial Intelligence Unit, supervisory bodies referred to in Article 131 paragraph 1 of this Law and competent authorities referred to in Article 96 paragraph 1 of this Law; (2) reporting entities, and (3) other legal and natural persons. Entities referred to in paragraph 1 item 1 of this Article shall have direct electronic access to all data from the Beneficial Owners Register and may exchange them with the Financial Intelligence Unit, supervisory authorities and other competent authorities of other EU Member States, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, in a timely manner and free of charge. (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Beneficial ownership information held in central registers may be made available to obliged entities upon payment of a fee, which shall be limited to what is strictly necessary to cover the costs of ensuring the quality of the information held in the central registers and of making the information available. Those fees shall be established in such a way as not to undermine effective access to the information held in the central registers. Yes. Reporting entities shall have direct electronic access to data on beneficial owners entered into the Beneficial Owners Register, for the purpose of conducting the customer identification procedure. (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Any natural or legal person that can demonstrate a legitimate interest in the prevention and combating of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing has access to the following information on beneficial owners of legal entities and legal arrangements held in the interconnected central registers, without alerting the legal entity or legal arrangement concerned: the name of the beneficial owner; the month and year of birth of the beneficial owner; the country of residence and nationality or nationalities of the beneficial owner; for beneficial owners of legal entities, the nature and extent of the beneficial interest held; for beneficial owners of express trusts or similar legal arrangements, the nature of the beneficial interest. Yes. Other legal and natural persons shall have direct electronic access to data on beneficial owners of entities referred to in Article 43 paragraph 3 of this Law, based on electronic identification in accordance with the law regulating electronic identification, as follows: name and surname, year of birth, citizenship, country of residence, type and volume of ownership share. (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: persons acting for the purpose of journalism, reporting or any other form of expression in the media, that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; Yes. The legitimate interest test is not necessary to access the register (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: civil society organisations, including non-governmental organisations and academia, that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; Yes. The legitimate interest test is not necessary to access the register (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: natural or legal persons likely to enter into a transaction with a legal entity or legal arrangement and who wish to prevent any link between such a transaction and money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; Yes. The legitimate interest test is not necessary to access the register (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: Member States’ public authorities in the context of public procurement procedures, in respect of the tenderers and operators being awarded the contract under the public procurement procedure; Yes. The legitimate interest test is not necessary to access the register (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Member States shall ensure that the information provided by central registers does not lead to the identification of any person consulting the register where such persons are: persons acting for the purpose of journalism, reporting or any other form of expression in the media, that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Member States shall ensure that the information provided by central registers does not lead to the identification of any person consulting the register where such persons are: civil society organisations that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing. No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Where entities in charge of central registers decide to grant access to beneficial ownership information, they shall issue a certificate granting access for 3 years. Entities in charge of central registers shall respond to any subsequent request to access beneficial ownership information by the same person within 7 working days. Yes. Access is public based on identification (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Member States shall ensure that entities in charge of central registers shall only refuse a request to access beneficial ownership information on one of the following grounds: the applicant has not provided the necessary information or documents pursuant to paragraph 1; a legitimate interest to access beneficial ownership information has not been demonstrated; where on the basis of information in its possession, the entity in charge of the central register has a reasonable concern that the information will not be used for the purposes for which it was requested or that the information will be used for purposes that are not connected to the prevention of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; one or more of the situations referred to in Article 15 applies; the legitimate interest to access beneficial ownership information granted by the central register of another Member State does not extend to the purposes for which the information is sought; where the applicant is in a third country and responding to the request to access information would not comply with the provisions of Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Yes. Only grounds for refusal is the one from AML-40 (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
In exceptional circumstances to be laid down in national law, where the access to beneficial ownership information would expose the beneficial owner to disproportionate risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, harassment, violence or intimidation, or where the beneficial owner is a minor or otherwise legally incapable, Member States shall provide for an exemption from such access to all or part of the personal information on the beneficial owner. Member States shall ensure that such exemptions are granted on a case-by-case basis upon a detailed evaluation of the exceptional nature of the circumstances and confirmation that those disproportionate risks exist. The right to an administrative review of the decision granting an exemption and the right to an effective judicial remedy shall be guaranteed. Yes. Entities referred to in Article 43 paragraph 3 of this Law may submit to the administrative body responsible for tax collection a request for restricting or denying legal or natural persons referred to in paragraph 1 item 3 of this Article the access to all or to a part of the data referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, if the access to those data would expose the beneficial owner to a risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, violence or intimidation or if the beneficial owner is a child or a person deprived of legal capacity. Financial Intelligence Unit shall establish the existence of circumstances referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article by a decision. When the Financial Intelligence Unit establishes the existence of circumstances referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, the administrative body responsible for tax collection shall restrict or deny the legal or natural persons referred to in paragraph 1 item 3 of this Article access to all or to a part of data covered by the request referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article. (Article 47 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )

Supervision of obliged entities

Each Member State shall ensure that all obliged entities established in its territory are subject to adequate and effective supervision. To that end, each Member State shall appoint one or more supervisors to monitor effectively, and to take the measures necessary to ensure compliance by the obliged entities with Regulations (EU) 2024/1624 and (EU) 2023/1113. Yes. Inspection and other types of supervision, within the competences defined by this Law and other laws, shall be conducted by: 1) the Central Bank of Montenegro in relation to the reporting entities referred to in Article 4, paragraph 2 items 1, 2 and 3 of this Law, to which it issues a licence or an approval for work; 2) the Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services in relation to the reporting entities referred to in Article 4 paragraph 2 item 4 of this Law; 3) the Capital Market Authority of Montenegro in relation to the reporting entities referred to in Article 4 paragraph 2 items 5, 6,7 and 12 of this Law and legal persons referred to in Article 114 of this Law; 4) the Insurance Supervision Agency in relation to the reporting entities referred to in Article 4 paragraph 2 items 8 and 9 of this Law; 5) the administrative authority responsible for financial affairs in relation to the reporting entities referred to in Article 4 paragraph 2 item 10 of this Law; 6) the administrative authority responsible for tax collection in relation to reporting entities referred to in Article 4 paragraph 2 item 11 of this Law and entities referred to in Article 43 paragraph 3 of this Law; 7) the Ministry, through an authorised person, in relation to the reporting entities referred to in Article 4 paragraph 2 items 13 and 14 of this Law; 8) the state administrative authority responsible for judicial affairs in relation to the reporting entities referred to in Article 4 paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Law. The supervisory authorities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall use risk-based approach to money laundering and terrorist financing supervision when planning the examination of reporting entities. (Article 131 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )

Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)

Each Member State shall establish an FIU in order to prevent, detect and effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Yes. The Financial Intelligence Unit is a central national unit responsible for the prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing, in accordance with the law. (Article 84 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The FIU as the central national unit shall be responsible for receiving and analysing suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to money laundering, associated predicate offences or terrorist financing. Yes. Financial Intelligence Unit shall be empowered to: 1) collect, process and analyse data on natural and legal persons, their property, suspicious, cash and other transactions, suspicious and other business activities, bank accounts and safe deposit boxes, prepare and deliver financial analyses and other information in accordance with this Law; 2) receive from the reporting entities, competent authorities referred to in article 96 paragraph 1 of this Law, supervisory authorities referred to in Article 131 paragraph 1 of this Law, other legal and natural persons, foreign financial intelligence units and authorities from other countries or international organisations responsible for the prevention of money laundering and the detection of money laundering and terrorist financing or foreign country authorities responsible for assets confiscation, as well as the information and data on the persons and property for which there are reasons for suspicion or reasonable grounds to suspect that money laundering and associated predicate offences and terrorist financing have been committed or that the property derives from criminal activity, which it may process and use for the purpose specified in this Law; (Article 89 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The FIU shall be responsible for disseminating the results of its analyses and any additional relevant information to the competent authorities where there are grounds to suspect money laundering, associated predicate offences or terrorist financing. Yes. 8) give recommendations, or guidelines for unified implementation of this Law and regulations adopted on the basis of this Law; 9) propose to the National Security Council to include legal and natural persons into the national list of designated persons, in accordance with the law regulating international restrictive measures; 10) at least once a year, publish a report that includes statistical data, trends and typologies in the area of money laundering and terrorist financing, and in particular data related to the number of suspicious transaction reports sent to the Financial Intelligence Unit, the number of investigated cases, the number of persons prosecuted, the number of persons convicted for money laundering or terrorist financing offences, data on the property that has been seized or confiscated, as well as data on limited or restricted data access referred to in Article 47 paragraph 5 of this Law, and to notify the public, in other appropriate manner, on the forms money laundering and terrorist financing; (Article 89 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The FIU shall be operationally independent and autonomous, which means that the FIU shall have the authority and capacity to carry out its functions freely, including the ability to take autonomous decisions to analyse, request and disseminate specific information. It shall be free from any undue political, government or industry influence or interference. Yes. The Financial Intelligence Unit is operationally independent and autonomous in exercising powers prescribed by Law and independent in the decision-making process related to the reception, collection, keeping, analysing and providing data, notifications, information and documentation and submitting results of the strategic and operational analyses of the suspicious transactions to the competent authorities, foreign financial intelligence units and international organisations. (Article 84 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
The FIU, regardless of their organisational status, is authorised to have access to the information that they require to fulfil their tasks, including financial, administrative and law enforcement information. Yes. Financial Intelligence Unit shall be empowered to: 1) collect, process and analyse data on natural and legal persons, their property, suspicious, cash and other transactions, suspicious and other business activities, bank accounts and safe deposit boxes, prepare and deliver financial analyses and other information in accordance with this Law; 2) receive from the reporting entities, competent authorities referred to in article 96 paragraph 1 of this Law, supervisory authorities referred to in Article 131 paragraph 1 of this Law, other legal and natural persons, foreign financial intelligence units and authorities from other countries or international organisations responsible for the prevention of money laundering and the detection of money laundering and terrorist financing or foreign country authorities responsible for assets confiscation, as well as the information and data on the persons and property for which there are reasons for suspicion or reasonable grounds to suspect that money laundering and associated predicate offences and terrorist financing have been committed or that the property derives from criminal activity, which it may process and use for the purpose specified in this Law; (Article 89 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
FIUs are empowered to take urgent action, directly or indirectly, where there is a suspicion that a transaction is related to money laundering or terrorist financing, to suspend or withhold consent to that transaction. Yes. 3) order the reporting entity to temporarily suspend a transaction and conduct ongoing monitoring of the financial activities of the customer; (Article 89 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )

Mutual legal assistance (MLA) and International Cooperation

Member States shall ensure that the FIU to whom the request is made is legally required to use the whole range of its available powers which it would normally use domestically for receiving and analysing information when it replies to a request for information from another FIU. Yes. The Financial Intelligence Unit may, upon a request containing the reasons for suspicion or reasonable grounds to suspect of money laundering, associated predicate criminal offences or terrorist financing or that the property derived from criminal activity and stating the purpose for which the data are being requested, submit to a foreign financial intelligence unit, in a timely manner, information on bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, financial information, financial analyses and other data, information and documentation on persons, transactions and property of significance for the prevention and detection of money laundering, associated predicate criminal offences, criminal activity or terrorist financing. The Financial Intelligence Unit may also submit data, information and documentation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article to other authorities from another country or to international organisations responsible for the prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing, to the authority of another country responsible for the confiscation of property, and to supervisory authorities of another country, upon their request. In the case referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, data, information and documentation may be exchanged electronically, through the means of secure communication systems of the world association of financial intelligence units or through another international communication system that provides the same or higher level of data protection or in another appropriate way in accordance with an international agreement. (Article 107 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )
Member States shall ensure that FIUs are legally required to exchange, spontaneously or upon request, any information that may be relevant for the processing or analysis of information by the FIU related to money laundering, its predicate offences, or terrorist financing, and the natural or legal person involved, regardless of the type of predicate offences that may be involved, and even if the type of predicate offences that may be involved is not identified at the time of the exchange. Yes. The Financial Intelligence Unit may request from the competent authority from another country which, in that foreign country, performs activities related to the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and other issues of importance for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing (hereinafter: the foreign financial intelligence unit) to submit information on bank accounts and safe deposit boxes, financial information, financial analyses and other data, information and documentation on the persons, transactions and property of significance for the prevention and detection of money laundering, associated predicate offences, criminal activity or terrorist financing. (Article 106 Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing )

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Asset Recovery

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Asset Offices100
Confiscation89
International cooperation75

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

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Country score

Asset Offices

Each Member State shall legally designate at least one asset recovery office to facilitate cross-border cooperation in relation to asset-tracing investigations and to conduct asset recovery functions in both criminal matters and civil or administrative matters. Yes. Montenegro has a specialised framework under the Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity, including designated authorities (courts, prosecutors and the Property Administration/Real Estate Administration) that cooperate on tracing, seizing and managing criminal assets, (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity, Articles 1–5 (subject matter, competent authorities and procedures for seizure and confiscation of material benefit derived from criminal activities).)
Each Member State shall legally designate at least one competent authority to function as an asset management office for the purpose of the management of frozen and confiscated property until the disposal of that property further to a final confiscation order. Yes. The same law regulates management of seized and confiscated material benefit and assigns responsibility to the competent state bodies (notably the Property Administration and other designated organs) to preserve, (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity,)

Confiscation

Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the freezing of property necessary to ensure a possible confiscation of that property. The freezing measures shall consist of freezing orders and immediate action. (Freezing measures) Yes. The law provides for seizure (temporary confiscation) of material benefit derived from criminal activities as soon as well‑founded suspicion exists that such benefit has been derived from criminal activities, and the Criminal Procedure Code (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity, Articles 1–2 and 5 (conditions for seizure and confiscation; procedure conducted in accordance with this Law and the Criminal Procedure Code).)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation, either wholly or in part, of instrumentalities and proceeds stemming from a criminal offence subject to a final conviction, which may also result from proceedings in absentia. (Conviction based confiscation) Yes. The Criminal Code provides that pecuniary gain acquired through a criminal offence shall be confiscated; if the injured party has been awarded damages, (Criminal Code of Montenegro, Article 112 (Confiscation of pecuniary gain) and Article 113 (Confiscation of objects).)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of property the value of which corresponds to instrumentalities or proceeds stemming from a criminal offence subject to a final conviction, which may also result from proceedings in absentia. (Confiscation of equivalent value) Yes. Where it is not possible to confiscate specific material benefit derived from criminal activities, the law allows confiscation of other property of the perpetrator corresponding to the value of the material benefit, or confiscation of such benefit from legal predecessors, (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity, Article 2 (confiscation of material benefit or its value, including from legal predecessors, legal successors, family members and third persons).)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of proceeds, or other property the value of which corresponds to proceeds, which, directly or indirectly, were transferred by a suspected or accused person to third parties, or which were acquired by third parties from a suspected or accused person. (Third-party confiscation) Yes. Material benefit may be confiscated from legal predecessors, legal successors, family members and third persons, and also when the material benefit was derived from criminal activities for another person, (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity, Article 2 (confiscation from legal predecessors, legal successors, family members and third persons, and where material benefit was derived for another person).)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation, either wholly or in part, of property belonging to a person convicted of a criminal offence where the offence committed is liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to economic benefit, and where a national court is satisfied that the property is derived from criminal conduct. (Extended confiscation) Yes. Extended confiscation is explicitly provided: material benefit may be confiscated where well‑founded suspicion exists that it has been derived from criminal activities, the perpetrator fails to make plausible the legal origin of such material benefit, (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity, Article 2(1) (extended confiscation); Criminal Code of Montenegro, reference to extended confiscation in Article 112.)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of instrumentalities, proceeds or property, or proceeds or property transferred to third parties, where criminal proceedings have been initiated but could not be continued because of illness, absconding, or death of the accused or the limitation period of the offence is below 15 years and has expired. (Non-conviction based confiscation) Yes. If the person against whom criminal proceedings have been instituted dies, or proceedings cannot be continued due to circumstances permanently precluding prosecution, material benefit derived from criminal activities shall nevertheless be confiscated in a confiscation procedure under the Law. (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity, Article 10 (confiscation where proceedings cannot be continued because of death or other permanent obstacles).)
Confiscation without a prior conviction shall be limited to cases where, in the absence of the circumstances above, it would have been possible for the relevant criminal proceedings to lead to a criminal conviction for, at least, offences liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to substantial economic benefit, and where the national court is satisfied that the instrumentalities, proceeds or property to be confiscated are derived from, or directly or indirectly linked to, the criminal offence in question. (Non-conviction based confiscation) Yes. The Venice Commission notes that the Law covers both extended confiscation and non‑conviction based confiscation, allowing confiscation of proceeds of crime where there is well‑grounded suspicion and a link to criminal activity, (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity, Article 2 and Article 10; Venice Commission opinion CDL‑AD(2024)024 on the consolidated version of the Law.)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of property identified in the context of an investigation in relation to a criminal offence, provided that a national court is satisfied that the identified property is (i) derived from criminal conduct committed within the framework of a criminal organisation and (ii) that conduct is liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to substantial economic benefit. A ‘criminal offence’ in this case is punishable by deprivation of liberty of a maximum of at least four years. (Confiscation of unexplained wealth) Yes. Under Article 2, material benefit may be confiscated where there is well‑grounded suspicion that it has been derived from criminal activities, the perpetrator fails to make plausible the legal origin of such proceeds, and the perpetrator has been convicted of certain serious offences punishable by at least four years’ imprisonment, operating as an unexplained‑wealth (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity, Article 2(1) (conditions for extended confiscation and reference to seriousness of offences).)
Member States are legally required to adopt a national strategy on asset recovery and update it at regular intervals of no longer than five years. (Deadline of 24 May 2027) No. Montenegro has strengthened its legal framework on confiscation and asset management and has received international support for training and implementation, but there is no explicit statutory national asset recovery strategy with a five‑year update obligation as of 31.12.2024. (No explicit national asset recovery strategy provision identified in the Criminal Code or the Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity.)

International cooperation

To facilitate cross-border cooperation, Member States shall legally require measures to enable the swift tracing and identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or of property which is, or might become, the object of a freezing or confiscation order in the course of proceedings in criminal matters. Yes. The Law on Seizure and Confiscation and the Criminal Procedure Code apply to cross‑border asset recovery, and Montenegro participates in training and cooperation activities focused on financial investigations and cross‑border (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity (application together with the Criminal Procedure Code); OSCE reports on training in cross‑border)
Member States shall legally require the necessary measures to ensure that their asset recovery offices provide, upon request from an asset recovery office in another Member State, any information that those asset recovery offices have access to, and that is necessary for the performance of the tasks of the asset recovery office requesting that information Yes. Montenegrin institutions involved in asset recovery cooperate with foreign counterparts under international instruments and participate in regional initiatives on asset recovery, (Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity; Montenegro’s reports under UNCAC and regional asset‑recovery)
Member States may legally allow for cost-sharing agreements with other Member States on the execution of freezing and confiscation orders. No. As of end‑2024, Montenegrin legislation on confiscation and mutual legal assistance does not contain a specific statutory basis for cost‑sharing (No explicit cost‑sharing clause identified in the Law on Seizure and Confiscation of Material Benefit Derived from Criminal Activity)
Countries should be able to share confiscated property with other countries, in particular when confiscation is directly or indirectly a result of co-ordinated law enforcement actions Yes. Montenegro may share or return confiscated proceeds of crime to other states under international conventions and treaties on mutual legal assistance and confiscation, as part of its anti‑corruption and organised‑crime (Implementation of international conventions on confiscation and mutual legal assistance as reported in Montenegro’s UNCAC self‑assessment.)

Legislation

*Last update: 2017