A two-day study visit for the staff of the Montenegrin Ombudsperson’s Office to the office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO) of Sweden was organised on 21-22 September 2016, under the framework of Support to the National Institutions in Preventing Discrimination in Montenegro (PREDIM) project.

The Montenegrin team, consisting of Mr Šućko Baković, Ombudsman of Montenegro and Ms Zdenka Perovic, Deputy Ombudsman for NPM and 5 staff members, were welcomed by the Ms Cecilia Renfors, one of four Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsmen, while the working sessions were facilitated by Ms Charlotte De Geer Fällman, International Coordinating Director and her colleagues from legal team and OPCAT unit.

The Study visit allowed for presentation of advanced practices of Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman in regards to the modalities for oversight of the work of courts, without interfering with the independence of the courts. This was made possible through focus on duration of trials, secret surveillance measures, allocation of cases among the judges, clarity of formulations/arguments in the sentences, etc.

The Second segment of the visit was dedicated to the issue of juvenile delinquency, and delegation visited Bärby (Uppsala), an Institution for Juveniles. This visit allow them to learn on the functional aspects of the institutional care of juvenile delinquents, especially those history of drug addictions and criminal behaviour.

For the entire duration of the visit Montenegrin counterparts were engaged in the practical discussions with the senior managers of JO and Bärby, as well as case workers. Such approach was very important for the Montenegrin Ombudsperson's Office, as they are in the process of developing their standards in these areas, and it helped them to explore the modalities for further alignment of their methodology with European human rights standards.