The protest of a small part of the membership of the Bar Association culminated before Saturday's Assembly of the professional association, at which, they claim, they will seek answers from the management, why they secretly bought business premises for almost a million euros, who made the decision to raise the price of the membership fee, how will the lawyer's tariff be changed, but also whether the old management accumulated debts of some lawyers...
A small group of lawyers addressed "Vijesti" claiming that according to the Statute of the AKCG - the Assembly approves the final account and adopts the income and expenditure plan, which the Management Board prepares and submits to the Assembly, but that they are about the purchase, as they claim, of neglected business space under the "Budućnosti" stadium ", they found out only in the material that the Chamber sent them as an attachment for the regular annual Assembly.
"In a large amount of information, the million-dollar trade was shyly mentioned, and within the documents attached for the adoption of financial reports for this year and 2023. The sales contract, the loan agreement with CKB Bank, and other documentation accompanying this, for us, secret business were not delivered to the lawyers," some lawyers claim.
At the session on October 23 of this year, as stated by the president of the AK Danilo Mićović, the board of directors adopted the text of the new lawyer's tariff, which was sent to the Ministry of Justice for harmonization.
President of the Bar Association, Danilo Mićović, in his reply to "News", confirmed that in June the Chamber bought a property from Invest banka AD Montenegro, which is in bankruptcy, and that it actually "represents the commitment of the Board of Directors in the strategic development of the legal profession as an independent and independent profession". ..
"Today, the Bar Association has about 1020 lawyers, and a certain number of trainee lawyers, which is not negligible and who represent the future legal, judicial and state administration staff, which is why the need to expand the spatial capacity was objectively imposed, so that in the best possible way they could to be an equal member in the judicial system, and in addition to serve and act on the requests of both lawyers and trainees, as well as domestic and international institutions. Since there was no real estate on the market, which would correspond to the requirements of the Bar Association in terms of price range, because business premises in incomparably less attractive locations cost in the range of 3500 to 6000 euros per m2, always in the gray construction phase, we were forced to take a deeper and more comprehensive look at the market , and the product of that is the purchase of the entire office building in the gray phase, in the very heart of Podgorica", Mićović explained.
In the minutes of the session of the Commission for the Control of Financial Operations of the Bar Association, held in October of this year, it is stated that the Chamber paid 700.000 euros for the property, and as part of the whole, part of the space, owned by Branko Vujošević, was acquired in September, and that until paid an additional 203.700 euros.
According to the Report on the work of the Supervisory Board, the Chamber borrowed EUR 550.000 from CKB Bank, and will pay back the loan over the next decade - slightly over EUR 900.000 will go to real estate, while the Chamber plans to spend EUR 200.000 on renovating the business building.
Disagreement about the method of purchasing real estate was also heard at the session of the Commission for the Control of Financial Operations of the AK, when lawyer Danijela Zarubica, as a member of the three-member Commission, issued an opinion in which she stated that the Executive Board of the AKCG did not inform all lawyers that it had purchased the real estate.
"The minimum was for all lawyers to be informed about the properties in question, where they are located, what the purchase price is, what the method of payment would be, and all of this before concluding the contract," stated Zarubica, for whom, as for a group of lawyers disputed that the purchase was made without knowledge of the decision of the Assembly, as the highest body of the Bar Association.
"Such legal work goes beyond the scope of management of the Board of Directors," Zarubica wrote in her opinion.
Mićović states in his answer to "News" that the Board of Directors, in accordance with the powers of the Chamber's Statute, is the only one authorized to look after, take care of and dispose of property and funds...
"Well, in that context, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the members of the Supervisory Board, who are also members of the Chamber, and not the consent of any other body, and therefore not any other lawyer individually. We would like to remind you that in June 2023, the election Assembly was held, where members of the Board of Directors were elected, who are also lawyers and whose role is to protect the interests of the entire legal profession, improve the status and legal profession, and protect the legal profession as independent and independent. profession and improving it in every sense of the word. As for the cost projections for the renovation and furnishing of the space, the Chamber still does not have it, but it will deal with it also by obtaining bids and selecting the best bidder," Mićović explained.
He claims that the Chamber spends money in the most rational way and that the purchase of office space represents an investment and increases the value and property of the Bar Association.
"The most significant thing is that by purchasing a building with an area of 1323 m2, at an average price of 680,07 euros per square meter, we met not only the current, but also the potential needs of the Bar Association, and especially the fact that the number of newly enrolled lawyers increases every year. Here we have a need that with the development of society in general, the Bar Association also develops, so there is a need to establish educational centers for the education of the young generation of lawyers, an increasing need for the formation of working groups (amendments and amendments to laws, proposing new laws, participation in the work of international institution, various state institutions, etc.), which requires a much larger space than the one currently used by the Chamber. We especially emphasize that with this legal work we have in any case saved money from inflation", Mićović wrote in a detailed reply.
The head of the Bar Association claims that they informed all lawyers in Montenegro about everything that happened related to the purchase of space, in the usual way, i.e. by submitting the minutes from the Board of Directors meetings.
"Until today, we have not received any complaint, remark or even any negative comment on the conclusion of the legal affairs in question, which the leadership of the Bar Association frankly did not even expect, because the fact is that the Bar Association is being run in the best possible way," he says. Mićović.
The lawyers claim that no one wanted to buy the ruined business building, the former Invest Bank, for years and, they claim, they will seek clarification from the Assembly, who all responded to numerous public tenders because the Chamber marketed the space only in the 18th round of advertising.
Mićović invited all active lawyer members to come to the AK Assembly on Saturday, and to express remarks, suggestions and possible criticisms of the work of the Chamber's management.
Mićović: Debts collected almost in full
The president of the Bar Association, Danilo Mićović, stated that there are currently 260.000 euros in the Chamber's account, and that they expect a significant inflow from membership fees, registration fees and debt repayment agreements by the New Year.
He neither decisively confirmed nor refuted the claims of some lawyers that the former management of the Chamber allegedly left over 800.000 euros in unpaid claims from lawyers.
"In response to the question of who allowed the accumulation of debts towards the Chamber, we can point out that the sole and only responsibility for this lies with individual lawyers, who gave themselves the right to not settle their obligations in a timely manner, but we are still of the opinion that this is pure negligence according to the professional association. This conclusion is supported by the indisputable fact that some settled their debts immediately, once, some in installments, and some by concluding an agreement," he claims.
He explained that AK collected the outstanding claims "almost in full".
He did not state how many proceedings the Chamber initiated against lawyers who did not fulfill their obligations for more than six months, and whether anyone was terminated from the right to practice law.
"Lawyers who have outstanding obligations to the Chamber, and valuing the principle of responsibility and equality among members, will be subject to consideration at the meetings of the Board of Directors, in the coming period, when appropriate decisions will be made in relation to each one individually and possibly proceedings will be initiated before the competent bodies of the Bar Association . Therefore, based on the above, it can be clearly concluded that the Board of Directors, led by the President, has an absolutely non-selective approach in solving all current problems, as well as in making meaningful decisions", he answered.
The membership fee is now 20 euros
When asked by "Vijesti" whether due to the purchase of real estate and repayment of loans to CKB Bank, the decision was made to increase the membership fee for lawyers by 100 percent, the President of the Bar Association replied that "it has absolutely nothing to do with it".
"The increase would definitely happen. During the analysis of the business and functioning of the Bar Association, a necessary need to increase membership fees emerged for a number of reasons, as the amendment of the AKCG Statute and the potential establishment of new bodies of the Chamber, the formation of working groups are planned. AK, like any other organization, must necessarily follow the development of society, and accordingly, make growth. In addition, we point out that on this issue we had consultations with chambers from the region, and determined that the amount of the membership fee in question is the lowest in the region, and therefore in Europe, which therefore imposes an obligation that, as a Chamber that strives for European standards, the membership fee raise to the newly established level. The monthly membership fee has not changed for about 20 years, it is the lowest in the region (in Serbia it is €22, in the Federation of BiH 50 KM, in Croatia €27, in Kosovo €25), which means that it is incomparably lower than in the surrounding countries", he explained. is Mićović.
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