Just as I was about to make a few comments - both general and reluctant - at the recently concluded III Congress of Young Architects - many young, very cute - and equally young and equally cute architects of Montenegro (and seven hills) - which was held from 9th to 11th May in Ulcinj - and which I did not grace with my presence due to previously undertaken obligations - some young female admirers reminded me that I had promised to tell you a joke - it has been more than two months, they say - and since I keep my word - and since there are currently no significant developments on the so-called scene that I would have to (from the spot) follow up with a comment - it seems that the time has come for a joke...
***
I have to note, by the way - and unrelated to the joke I intend to tell you - that in the hated Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Facilities from 2017 (the so-called Pašk Law) - which (should have) been put aside after the president Milatović On March 3rd of this year, he signed two decrees - the Decree on the Promulgation of the Law on Spatial Planning and the Decree on the Promulgation of the Law on the Construction of Buildings - we have an entire chapter - Chapter X. Legalization of Illegal Buildings (Art. 152 to 171) - and how Slaven doesn't know when Mickova The government is to determine the famous Proposal for the Law on the Legalization of Illegal Buildings (ZoLBO) and when the Proposal will be forwarded Rajovoj The Assembly on further action - those around Slaven say that "its adoption is expected during 2025" - which is to say that there is no rush - then the question arises whether Slaven's inspectors will act according to the hated Paško Code until the proclamation of the ZoLBO - or will they not act?
I would bet, for all my money, that the inspectors of Comrade Slav will not act - until further notice - or will act on a more modest scale.
And the question is how those who have built illegally in the past or are building illegally at this very moment view this - and especially those who intend to start building illegally "during 2025" - until the enactment, God willing, of Slaven's ZoLBO...
And why is the old Pašk Code listed as valid on the website of the Official Gazette of Montenegro (sluzbenilist.me) (Status: Valid)...
There are more questions, as usual, than answers...
***
“The principle of legal certainty is linked,” he says, “to the principles of legitimate expectations and non-retroactivity. The principle of legal certainty itself means that individuals can rely on the clear meaning of the regulation that regulates their behavior in order to be in a position to foresee the legal consequences that may arise from compliance or non-compliance with that rule, because only full knowledge of the law ensures the functioning of the law. Every person who claims to be a participant in legal relations must know his potential legal position, which should not be changed by any subsequent change within the system. The European Court classifies legitimate expectations in the group of general legal principles as a source of EU law with an interpretative role.”
Please - and everything else, I would add, is our notorious "useful ambiguity", or rather, hunting in the murky waters...
***
In the meantime, while we wait for ZoLBO, I would suggest that you analyze in parallel the Croatian “Law on the Treatment of Illegally Constructed Buildings” - which came into force at the end of July back in 2012 (the Republic of Croatia joined the European Union on July 1 of the following year - 2013) - and the Draft Law on the Legalization of Illegal Buildings from May 2023 (which was packaged by Ms. Novaković Đurović for the Government's sake Dritana Captain, a hero of history) - complete with the Explanation and Report from the public hearing from September of the same year - to make things clearer for you...
You don't have to analyze everything - you can compare I General Provisions, Article 2 of the Croatian Law, paragraph (1) - and I Basic Provisions, The Concept of an Illegal Object, Article 2, of our Draft Law, paragraph 1 - and you will understand why the Republic of Croatia is in the EU - it will be almost 12 years later - and we are not (even close)...
***
Sorry for the digressions...
So, the joke...
In the 2017 Paško Code, we have... we had in the original version, more precisely, before all those laws on amendments to the original law... Article 87 (Chapter IV - Construction of buildings - Chief State Architect) - which was also/is my favorite article - and which stated, paragraph 1, fanfare please: "In order to implement the State Guidelines for the Development of Architecture in relation to the protection of the authenticity of space and the identity of settlements, ensuring the quality of architectural solutions, improving the visual quality of buildings and settlements, as well as ensuring and promoting best practices in the field of urban planning and architecture, a Chief State Architect (GDA - ed.) shall be appointed in the Ministry."
Protection, he says, of the authenticity of the space and the identity of the settlement... Which settlements? Budva? Or even Kolašin?
I didn't know then, back in 2017, and I don't know now, who was behind the idea of introducing the GDA provision into the Law, I don't even know who wrote Article 87 - I'll have to ask. Zoki Leković, he understands these things, and he knows people - but that's why I know that there is no authority here - and there is none even in the most orderly societies - that would guarantee the best practices in the field of architecture and urban planning - and all with the aim of improving the visual quality of buildings and settlements - with the proviso that, for a start, we would have to agree on these criteria of visual quality and other things...
I guess it's clear to everyone that all these wonderful things won't happen in an absolutely disordered space - after decades and decades of rampage - with only a few pearls - that don't oblige anyone to anything - and in an extremely uninspiring socio-political environment - permeated to the core with corruption...
Orderly spaces are a feature of orderly societies - and disorderly societies, like ours, can only dream of orderly spaces - and that through "laws"...
Uncle Duško, Dragan Vuković, master-Zile, grandmaster-Stevka and finally this Slavenova ... whatever her name was, I miss you, God... We have, in the meantime, had a whole series of GDAs - all by experts of the highest caliber, including this excellent expert Slavenova - but in terms of protecting the authenticity of space and the identity of the settlement, ensuring the quality of architectural solutions, improving the visual quality of buildings and settlements, as well as ensuring and promoting best practices in the field of urban planning and architecture - there have hardly been any noteworthy developments...
OK, it looks like I've run out of steam for today without even getting anywhere near the point of the joke - I got carried away a bit, sorry - to be continued in the next issue...
Bonus video:
