SEESAC. 2021 ‘Problems Surrounding Domestic Violence as Grounds for Rejecting Firearm License- Montenegro.’ 2022 SEESAC Gender Analysis Report - Montenegro, pp. 8-9. Belgrade: South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons. 23 December

Relevant contents

Although these legal provisions play an important role in restricting access to firearms in domestic violence cases, several gaps have been identified that need to be addressed to further increase the effectiveness of the legislative framework:

1. The Law on Weapons does not explicitly stipulate whether criminal offences against marriage and family, sexual freedom, and the rights and freedoms of citizens which do not necessarily involve physical violence, but some other form of violence, such as psychological, economic, or sexual violence, would also disqualify an applicant from being issued a firearm acquisition permit.

2. The Law on Weapons and the relevant accompanying bylaws do not specify how relevant background checks are to be carried out, nor the exact manner in which a police officer shall collect data on an applicant with respect to the qualifying condition of the absence of any indications that firearms could be misused due to disturbed family relations. It is assumed
that in practice the vetting of such indications amounts to institutional checks of completed criminal and misdemeanour proceedings, regardless of their outcomes. What represents a problem in this regard, however, are unreported domestic violence cases, as well as cases of such reports that have not yet been processed, neither of which would seem to be taken into account when an application for a firearm permit is reviewed.

3. Neither the Law on Weapons nor the corresponding regulations on its implementation mandate that interviews be conducted with an applicant's present or former intimate partners and/or with other family members or neighbours as part of the permit eligibility assessment procedure with regard to indications of disturbed family relations.

4. The Law on Weapons does not obligate the relevant line authority to inform present or former spouses or other immediate family members of the applicant of any applications filed by the applicant for a firearm acquisition permit.

5. The Law on Weapons does not explicitly require that a check be carried out on the presence or previous issue of any protective measures imposed in domestic violence proceedings on the applicant. This makes it unclear as to whether this is checked as part of the vetting procedure for any indications that firearms could be misused, or for indications of disturbed family relations.

Regarding health requirements, the legal framework does not contain an instrument to govern how the health status of an applicant for a firearm permit is assessed, which makes it unclear as to how an applicant's mental and physical capacities are assessed in practice.

Last accessed at:
https://www.seesac.org/f/docs/Gender-and-SALW/Gender-Analysis-Report_MONTENEGRO.pdf