MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT OF MONTENEGRO AND THE NETWORK OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS This document has been prepared with the support of the European Union, through the Delegation of the European Union in Montenegro. The contents of this document by no means reflect the views of the European Union.

Referring to international documents(the White Book of the EU on Governance, the Rio Declatation, the Agenda 21, the UN Millennium Declaration, the Malmö Declaration, the Aarhus Convention), documents of the bodies and specialised agencies of the UN (UNESCAP, UNECE, UNEP, UNCED, UNDP), the Treaty of Lisbon by which the participative democracy has been recognised as one of the values of the European Union, the Council of Europe Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in the Decision-Making Process, decisions, recommendations and reports of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, the OECD documents, the Decision of the Council on principles, priorities and conditions entailed in the European partnership with Montenegro, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, Deeply aware of – the necessity of active participation, direct cooperation and coordination of all subjects of the society,including also the civil society organisations, for the development of democracy and realisation of human rights; – the need for cooperation between the Parliament of Montenegro and the civil society organisations in the segment of increasing the quality of legislative and supervisory function of the Parliament in the area of democratisation and human rights; – the importance of proactive approach of the non-governmental organisations to proposing concrete projects of cooperation with the Parliament of Montenegro; – the importance of active participation and direct cooperation and coordination of all subjects including the civil society organisations on Montenegro’s path to full EU membership; Supporting – the autonomy of the civil society organisations and their right to express their views, judgements and recommendations; – the need of mutual informing and consulting aimed at contibuting adoption and application of a quality legislative framework, especially in the area of democratisation and human rights; – the development of civil society through public dialogue and cooperation; With the aim of – advancing the prerequisites for greater participation of civil society in the process of democratisation and human rights; – strenghtening mutual cooperation, in accordance with democratic principles and values; – contributing continuous development of democracy and respect for universal human rights and freedoms; – contributing development of democratic society and pluralism, through promotion of the civil awareness and activism;

Signatory Parties: 1. The Parliament of Montenegro, represented by the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Mr Ranko Krivokapić (hereinafter: the Parliament) 2. The Network of Civil Society Organisations for Democracy and Human Rights, represented by the authorised representative, Ms Ana Novaković (hereinafter: the Network) Have agreed to regulate their mutual communication and cooperation through the following M E M O R A N D U M O F C O O P E R A T I O N I Basic Principles The signatories of this Memorandum (hereinafter: Memorandum) have agreed to base their mutual cooperation in the area of democratisation and human rights on the following principles: – Partnership – signatory parties shall cooperate in good faith, in realisation and advancement of public interest, and in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Montenegro; – Transparency – the signatory parties shall timely present the information on their activities; – Responsibility – the signatory parties shall take full responsibility for realisation of the joint activities; – Mutual Informing – the signatory parties shall timely exchange information on their plans, programmes and activities; II Activities for Cooperation Realisation 1. The signatories of this Memorandum shall provide regular and timely informing regarding the activities in the field of democratisation and human rights; 2. The signatories of this Memorandum shall jointly organise round tables and other gatherings aimed at promotion of democratisation and human rights; 3. The signatories shall cooperate on planning, creating and conducting projects of the common interest in the area of democratisation and human rights; 4. The Parliament of Montenegro shall continue promotion of cooperation with the civil society organisations in the fields important for the work of the Parliament. In this respect the Parliament of Montenegro shall prepare a form which shall be available at the Internet presentation of the Parliament, by which the civil society organisations and citizens will be able to submit, in written form, their proposals and suggestions concerning the proposals of laws and other acts which are considered/discussed by the working bodies of the Parliament; 5. Competent working bodies shall consider/discuss the proposals and suggestions thus received, within their competence; 6. The Parliament of Montenegro, that is to say the competent working bodies shall, as needed, when considering/discussing proposals of laws and other acts within their competence, organise consultative hearings along with participation of representatives of the civil society organisations, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Montenegro,

and with a previous timely invitation and leaving the term for analysis of the proposal of the act; 7. The Parliament of Montenegro, that is to say the competent working bodies shall, as needed, accept the initiatives and engage relevant representatives of the civil society organisations for certain areas of democratisation and human rights and invite them to participate in the work of the competent committee of the Parliament, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Montenegro, and via the civil society organisations database which has been installed in the Parliament; 8. The representatives of the civil society organisations shall propose the concrete manners of cooperation with the Parliament of Montenegro and make the contribution by making proposals related to advancement of the work of the Parliament, as well as by promoting cooperation between the civil society organisations and the Parliament of Montenegro; 9. The representatives of the civil society organisations shall regularly invite the representatives of the Parliament of Montenegro to the gatherings and other events which they organise on the subjects of democratisation and human rights; 10. Non-governmental organizations shall take care of complementarities of their programmes, projects and activities in the areas of cooperation with the Parliament, as well as the criterion of competence and professional credibility of organizations and individuals. III Mechanisms for Cooperation Realisation Signatories have agreed to, with the aim of realisation of cooperation provided by this Memorandum, within the term of 30 days starting from the day of signing, form the Working Group for Coordination and Monitoring of activities provided by the Memorandum(hereinafter: Working Group), which shall consist of 2 (two) representatives of each signatory party of the Memorandum, with the term of office of 2 (two) years. The Working Group shall meet at least 2 (two) times a year, with the task of coordinating joint activities and monitoring their results. In the meetings of the Working Group the minutes shall be made, which shall be adopted with the majority of votes of the members present. IV Transitional and Final Provisions This Memorandum has been made in good faith and mutual trust. Each signatory may unilaterally terminate the Memorandum, by sending the written note to the other signatory party. Accepted roles and responsibilities may be changed by written consent of both parties. All possible disputes arising with regard to the intrepretation and implementation of the Memorandum, the signatories shall resolve in the spirit of good cooperation and mutual respect. The Memorandum shall take effect on the day of signing, and it has been concluded for the indefinite time. With the Memorandum the principles on the grounds of which the Parliament shall cooperate with other interested non-governmental organisations have been defined as well. The Memorandum shall also be open to other civil society organisations which accept the principles and provisions of the Memorandum. This Memorandum has been made in four (4) copies, two of which (2) for each signatory party. In Podgorica, on ________________ 2011

For the Parliament of Montenegro For the Network of Civil Society Organisations for Democracy and Human Rights ___________________ ____________________________________ President Mr Ranko Krivokapić Mrs Ana Novakovic