The High Court of Bjelopolje again annulled the verdict which decided that the church of St. Dimitrije, within the complex of the Castle of King Nikola in Kruševac, belongs to the state.
The panel of judge Milica Čukić and members Jelena Čabarkapa and Milan Smolović sent the case back to Podgorica Basic Court judge Danilo Jegdić for a decision.
The third trial begins on May 19.
In the High Court, they stated that Jegdić did not eliminate procedural obstacles that were pointed out to him during the previous annulment of the decision.
They judged the appeal of the Metropolis as well-founded, which pointed out that the first-instance court did not properly assess the evidence presented and reliably determine whether the church is state property.
They also say that it has not been established whether the building was confiscated by the Petrović dynasty and on that basis became social property, or whether King Nikola disposed of the building by will.
They are also asking to determine whether the object in question is registered in the church register.
"This especially bearing in mind that (in the sense of Article 716 of the General Property Law from 1888), the owners of property rights could be churches, monasteries and other institutions that have this ability recognized by internal religious law. So, considering that that according to the regulations that were in force before the Second World War, religious communities could be the holders of property rights on immovable property, it remained undetermined whether the object in question was church property, and whether it had always been in the possession of the church...", it says in the explanation of the judgment.
In the repeated proceedings, Jegdić made the same decision as in the case of the previously revoked verdict.
He obliged the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral to hand over the Palace Chapel (church) to the state within 15 days of the decision becoming legally binding.
As unfounded, he rejected the counterclaim, which sought to establish that the Metropolis had acquired the right of ownership to that immovable property.
Explaining the rescinded verdict, the judge stated that the religious building belonged to the property of the Montenegrin Petrović dynasty.
He states that in the list of confiscated property of the former Petrović dynasty - drawn up in Belgrade on June 18, 1926, it is written that this religious building was confiscated and thus became social property - state property.
The judge said that the Metropolis could not acquire the right to the property by maintaining the building and that they did not provide any evidence that the building was ever in their possession.
"Obviously, the state's 20-year period required for maintenance has not passed, so there is no doubt that the conditions have not been met for the plaintiff to be recognized as possessing the property in question on that basis," the judgment states.
In the lawsuit, the state states that the palace complex is their property according to the Law on State Property, but that they are unable to use the State Chapel, so they are asking for it to be returned to them.
The representatives of the Metropolis claim in the counterclaim that they never had any problems with the current Center of Contemporary Art, nor was it ever mentioned that it was theirs.
They announced that it is indisputable that it is a religious building and asked since when the state is the owner of sacred buildings.
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