The purpose of this analysis is to assist the Montenegrin executive, legislative and judicial authorities to align the country’s domestic legislation and practices on the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities with the international obligations that Montenegro has assumed through the ratification of both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereinafter: the Convention) and the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights) (hereinafter: the ECHR), as well as with the obligations assumed under the process of accession to the European Union.

In ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, Montenegro pledged to abolish discriminatory regulations and establish a system of supported decision making. A 2017 analysis showed that the regulations governing the deprivation of legal capacity in Montenegro were not aligned with international legal standards in the field of anti-discrimination and human rights, and supported decision making was neither recognized nor guaranteed by law. Some pieces of legislation have been amended in the meantime, including those governing the requirements and the process of deprivation of legal capacity. This study has found, though, that the practice of legal capacity deprivation has remained largely unchanged. 

This interdisciplinary study primarily consists of an analysis of Montenegro’s legal framework governing legal capacity and an analysis of case law on the deprivation of legal capacity from 2022 to 2024. The case law analysis included a sample of decisions in non-contentious proceedings for the deprivation of legal capacity during the mentioned period. The sample was sensitive to the geographical distribution of courts. This led to an analysis of the rulings made by all the competent courts in Montenegro whose decisions were available, including those with the fewest decisions. The study also includes a comparative review of the norms and practices in Montenegro from the perspective of regional and international law in this field. Consultative and informative meetings were held with judges who are currently presiding or have presided over cases of deprivation of legal capacity, representatives of guardianship authorities (social welfare centres – SWCs), persons with disabilities and representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities, representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and the Ministry of Social Welfare. The meetings offered a detailed insight into the practices of different stakeholders, as well as the opportunities and barriers to improve the system. Following this analysis conducted by applying the participatory methodology, steps are proposed to amend the legislation and practices, and align them with the Convention.