Lord Reed was visiting at the invitation of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, with the support of the British Embassy and the AIRE centre. Over 170 participants, including civil society and international organisations were in attendance to hear him speak on the values of judicial transparency and communication, as he joined political and judicial leaders in marking the 80th anniversary of Montenegro’s apex court.

In his address, Lord Reed reflected on what transparency meant in a judicial environment, suggesting that although physically opening the courts to the public – as the UK Supreme Court is – was part of the answer, it more widely rested on making the work of the courts fully accessible to the public, and having effective means of communication between the courts and the public. That communication helps to build confidence and trust in the judiciary, meaning the public are then more likely to accept judicial decisions.

Lord Reed then took part in a panel conversation and Q&A with the President of the Montenegro Supreme Court, Valentina Pavličić, and the President of the Judicial Council, Radoje Korać, which was moderated by Biljana Braithwaite, Director of the AIRE Centre’s Western Balkans Programme.

Later in the morning Lord Reed had a private conversation with the President of Montengro Jakov Milatović, and then met the minister of justice, Bojan Božović, for a conversation about the link between confidence in the courts, a prosperous economy and a stable country. This was their second meeting, as Mr Božović visited the Supreme Court in London in January as part of a wider Montenegrin delegation.