The law office "Three Crowns" was chosen as the legal representative of Montenegro in the arbitration proceedings initiated by the company "Northstar" against the state of Montenegro.
This was officially confirmed by the "News" from the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, which on June 16 of this year announced public invitations for the selection of a law firm to represent Montenegro in this proceeding.
"A total of 31 bids were submitted to the public invitation, after which a Commission was established by the decision of the then Minister of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property from June 19, 2024, whose task was to evaluate and analyze the correctness of all bids received. After completing the detailed analysis, the Commission submitted a recommendation to the Government regarding the selection of a law office that will represent the state in the aforementioned arbitration procedure. Based on the Commission's recommendation, the Government made the final decision on the selection of the law firm. According to the above, the law office "Three Crowns" was chosen as the legal representative of Montenegro in the arbitration proceedings initiated by "Northstar", said this government department.
The Kuwaiti investor, namely the consortium "Northstar" and "Equest Capital Limited Jersey" was supposed to build the tourist complex "Montrose", but in February informed the Government that it had initiated arbitration proceedings due to the alleged non-fulfillment of contractual obligations.
According to information from the "Three Crowns" website, it is stated that they are dedicated to excellence in international arbitration and international law, and that the office was founded with the belief that international disputes require focused counseling and representation.
The office, as stated on the website, has representative offices in London, Madrid, Paris, Singapore and Washington.
"We have been at the forefront of many of the most significant commercial, investment and interstate arbitration cases in recent decades," the website states.
In September 2009, the government signed a contract with this consortium on a long-term lease of about half a million square meters of state land with the obligation to build, develop and manage an exclusive tourist complex. That contract became legally binding in August 2013, when the protocol on its legal validity was signed.
With the second annex, which was proposed in 2017, the value of the investment of the first phase was reduced from 141,8 million euros to 80 million, with the term of investment in the next five years, and it was stated that "the contracting parties did not fulfill their obligations from the basic contract".
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic recently said in the parliament that on February 22, 2024, a request to initiate arbitration was submitted to his cabinet through the legal representative Schonherr Rechtsanwalte GmbH and Schonherr si Asoccciatii SCA.
"At this moment, it is difficult to assess the amount of compensation requested from the state in the arbitration proceedings by the consortium "Northastar" and "Equest Capital Limited Jersey", and whether there were behind-the-scenes actions or not and whether these actions can be attributed to the government at that time will be shown by analysis which will be made, but also the outcome of the arbitration procedure itself", said Spajić at the time.
At the Parliamentary Committee for Tourism, Agriculture, Ecology and Spatial Planning, which had a consultative hearing on the topic "Project 'Montrose'", it was assessed that the Special State Prosecutor's Office (STP) should deal with this contract.
The office, as stated on the website, has representative offices in London, Madrid, Paris, Singapore and Washington.
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