Constitution of Montenegro

The current Constitution of Montenegro was ratified and adopted by the Constitutional Parliament of Montenegro on 19 October 2007 in an extraordinary session by achieving the required two-thirds supermajority of votes. It was officially proclaimed on 22 October 2007, replacing the constitution of 1992. The Constitution defines Montenegro as a civic, democratic and environmentally friendly country with social justice, established by the sovereign rights of its government. The preamble identifies the nationalities and national minorities of Montenegro as Montenegrins, Serbs, Bosniaks, Albanians, Muslims, Croats and others as citizens of Montenegro, free, equal and loyal to a civic and democratic Montenegro. The Constitution identifies Montenegrin as the official language of the state, replacing Serbian after years of civil conflict. Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian and Croatian are all recognised as official languages. It declares that Cyrillic and Latin scripts have equal standing in law. The Constitution also officially recognises the current flag and coat of arms as legitimate state symbols, as well as the current Montenegrin anthem. The Constitution states that a citizen of Montenegro is not allowed to be made a refugee, nor extradited to another country unless in compliance with a extradition treaty. The Constitution guarantees that religion is separate from the state. The President is constitutionally limited to two five-year terms of office. A candidate must be a citizen of Montenegro and have lived there for at least ten of the prior fifteen years. On 19 October 2007, the Constitutional Parliament of Montenegro held a session filled with heated debate in order to attain the two-thirds supermajority of votes required to ratify the draft Constitution. 55 of the 76 members present voted in favour, the two-thirds supermajority was therefore achieved, and the Constitution duly ratified.