Jelena Samardžić-Kotri

Jelena Samardžić-Kotri, Head of the Department for the Preparation of the Montenegrin Version of the EU Acquis, Ministry of European Affairs of Montenegro. Her main responsibilities involve strategic and operational activities related to translation of the European legislation, focusing on establishing a sustainable translation management system that would optimize quality control, coordination of expert and legal revision processes, and ensure terminology consistency and reliable translation memories. As part of the legal alignment process, one of the main tasks and challenges of her team is compiling, defining and disseminating Montenegrin legal terminology with particular emphasis on the controlled introduction of new EU acquis concepts and terms into the national legal system.

Samardžić-Kotri graduated in English Language and Literature from University of Montenegro. She started her career as a translator in 2007 at the Secretariat for European Integration of Montenegro (now Ministry of European Affairs), working on official documents of the Government of Montenegro and the European Union related to the activities under the European integration process. She was involved in all stages of Montenegro’s European path, including SAA process, screening process, the EC Questionnaire, and the negotiating process of Montenegro. In 2020 she took the position of the Head of the Department. She is also a sworn translator for the English language and long-term associate of Matrix of Montenegro (national non-profit cultural publishing institution) hired as a translator, proofreader and copy editor on publications in the fields of science, art and culture.