The responsibilities of the President of Montenegro are to:
- Represent Montenegro in the country and abroad;
- Command the Army based on the Council for Defense and Security decisions;
- Promulgate laws by decree;
- Call elections for the Assembly of Montenegro;
- Propose to the Assembly mandates for the composition of the Government after discussions with political representatives of the parties represented in the Assembly, two judges of the Constitutional Court and the protector of human rights and freedoms, appoint and recall ambassadors and heads of other diplomatic missions of Montenegro abroad, at the proposal of the Government and with the opinion of the Assembly’s committee responsible for international relations, receives credentials and letters of recall from the foreign diplomatic representative, awards honours and recognitions of Montenegro, grants pardons and performs other duties determined by the Constitution or law.
The President of Montenegro is elected based on general and equal suffrage by direct and secret ballot. A Montenegrin citizen who has resided in Montenegro for at least ten years in the last fifteen years can be elected as the President of Montenegro. The President of the Assembly announces elections for the President of Montenegro. The President of Montenegro is elected for a five-year term, and the same person can be selected to that position a maximum of two times. The President takes office on the day of taking the oath before the members of the Parliament of Montenegro. If the mandate of the President expires during a state of war or emergency, the order is extended for a maximum of 90 days after the end of the circumstances that caused that state. The President of Montenegro cannot hold any other public office.
The mandate of the President of Montenegro ends at the end of the term for which he was elected, by resignation, if he is permanently prevented from performing the duties of the President, and by dismissal. The President is responsible for violating the Constitution of Montenegro. The Assembly can initiate the procedure for determining whether the President of Montenegro has violated the Constitution on the proposal of at least 25 deputies. The Assembly submits the bid to start the process to the President of Montenegro for a statement. The decision is made by the Constitutional Court and is published and delivered to the Parliament and the President of Montenegro without delay. The Parliament can dismiss the President of Montenegro when the Constitutional Court determines that he has violated the Constitution.
In the event of the termination of the mandate of the President of Montenegro until the election of a new President, as well as in the event of the President being temporarily prevented from performing his duties, that function shall be completed by the President of the Assembly.
B.P.