International Development Law Organization

Montenegro: Bolstering Competition

In its latest report on Montenegro’s progress towards EU membership, the European Commission has highlighted the need to strengthen the capacity of the country’s agency tasked with enforcing competition law. Cartels and abuse of dominance, the report suggests, are challenges that remain overlooked.  

With this in mind, IDLO has conducted a high-visibility workshop on competition law in the capital, Podgorica. The capacity building exercise covered both legal and economic aspects of competition, with a heavy emphasis on best practices. Experts came from Italy and the southern Balkans, in a deliberate attempt to fuse EU expertise and regional context.

The Montenegrin market is also marked by high levels of copyright infringement. Counterfeit products are common. Citizens often receive a raw deal from online traders – as they do from some banks and health service providers. To help the judiciary handle such cases, IDLO has also conducted workshops on consumer protection and intellectual property law. Participants included senior judges – both from general and commercial courts – and representatives of state agencies and regulatory bodies.