No. 07-00-84/2025-02  date: 29. 9. 2025.

OPINION

The Opinion was adopted following two complaints submitted by the Montenegrin … Association “AA” from B. against the Municipality of Mali Iđoš. Since the complaints are based on the same or similar factual circumstances and the same legal grounds, the Commissioner conducted a unified procedure and adopted an opinion on the basis of both complaints. The complaints state that … “AA” is the only cultural organization of the Montenegrin national community in the Municipality of Mali Iđoš, that the members of the association are supporters of the Montenegrin Party, a political party representing the interests of the Montenegrin national minority, and that, due to their national, cultural, linguistic, and political affiliation, they have been exposed to discrimination by the leadership of the Municipality of Mali Iđoš. It is further alleged that the Commission for the Allocation of Funds for the Co-financing of Programs in the Field of Culture for 2024, as well as for 2025, treated the Montenegrin association unequally in comparison with associations of other national communities, as a result of which, in both years, the municipality approved higher amounts of funds for associations of other national communities and disbursed a proportionally higher share of the allocated funds than to … “AA”. With regard to the allegation in the complaint that the association (and its members) was discriminated against on the grounds of language, in that funds were not provided for organizing a recitation competition in the Montenegrin language, an analysis of the allegations in the complaint and the accompanying documents established that it was not made plausible that the decision to allocate a lower amount of funds to the association and to disburse only part of the allocated funds was made because the specific competition was conducted in the Montenegrin language. Likewise, with regard to the political beliefs of the association’s members as a possible ground of discrimination, the Commissioner finds that no evidence was submitted on this point either that would make it plausible that the conduct of the municipal authorities toward the association was causally linked to the political beliefs of any of the association’s members. For all of the above reasons, the Commissioner analyzed the allegations of the complaint and the statements only in the remaining part. In the statements submitted by the President of the Municipality of Mali Iđoš in relation to both complaints, it was stated that the criteria for allocating funds for the co-financing of citizens’ associations are regulated by the Rulebook on the Manner and Procedure for Exercising the Right to Allocation, Use, and Monitoring of Funds from the Budget of the Municipality of Mali Iđoš for Projects in the Field of Culture that are of importance to the Municipality of Mali Iđoš, and that disbursements are carried out in accordance with the inflow of funds into the municipal budget. However, the statements did not answer which criteria prescribed by the Rulebook were decisive in allocating lower amounts of approved funds to … “AA” than to associations of other national communities, nor according to which dynamics, key, or system the approved funds are disbursed from the budget to associations. By applying the rule on the shifting of the burden of proof under Article 45 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, the Municipality of Mali Iđoš failed to submit evidence that … “AA” was not in the same or a similar situation as other associations, or that the reason for the different treatment of … “AA” was not a personal characteristic of the association or its members, but rather some objective factors unrelated to personal characteristics. On the basis of the foregoing, the Commissioner adopted the opinion that the Municipality of Mali Iđoš, through the procedure of allocating and disbursing funds from the budget for projects in the field of culture for 2024 and 2025, placed … “AA” from B. at a disadvantage on the grounds of the national affiliation of the association’s members, thereby violating the provisions of Article 6 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. The Municipality of Mali Iđoš was issued a recommendation to eliminate the consequences of discriminatory conduct toward … “AA” from B. by, when disbursing funds under concluded contracts, acting in the same manner as toward other associations, and to henceforth, within the scope of its activities, comply with regulations on the prohibition of discrimination.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY

Brankica Janković