The Law on Ratification of the Cooperation Agreement between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the United Arab Emirates was adopted by the Parliament of Montenegro by a simple majority, with 46 votes, although Article 91, paragraph 3 of the Constitution of Montenegro stipulates that laws regulating the property rights of foreigners must be adopted by a two-thirds majority of all deputies in the Parliament of Montenegro, which means that at least 54 votes are required for their adoption, said the Human Rights Action (HRA).
The NGO expressed concern about what they say is a violation of the Constitution of Montenegro when adopting a law that enables the implementation of projects in the field of "tourism development and mixed-use real estate" on the territory of our country.
"We consider it obvious that the Law on Ratification of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism and Real Estate Development between Montenegro and the UAE regulates the property rights of foreigners, because the Agreement provides foreigners with property rights in relation to land, the so-called 'development area' for real estate development, with possible expropriation and transfer of ownership of real estate to foreign persons, so it is clear that its ratification required a qualified majority," the statement submitted to the media by the Human Rights Action states.
If the law comes into force, the NGO announced that it would submit an initiative to review the constitutionality of the procedure for its adoption.
"The Constitutional Court of Montenegro has already established in its practice that it has jurisdiction to assess the constitutionality of the procedure for adopting international treaties. When assessing the proposal for the assessment of the constitutionality of the Law on the Ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty and the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of Greece and Turkey, the Constitutional Court stated that 'it can assess the formal constitutionality of the law on the ratification of an international treaty, i.e. the procedure for its adoption, while it cannot assess the substantive legal content of the treaty itself'.
"Given that today the President of Montenegro returned this Law to the Parliament for reconsideration, we expect that the Parliament will apply the two-thirds majority rule from Article 91, paragraph 3 of the Constitution during reconsideration," HRA said.
They also warn that the Agreement defines the public interest for the implementation of unidentified projects too broadly, which seriously threatens the right of Montenegrin citizens to peaceful enjoyment of property in the areas mentioned in the Agreement (north and south of Montenegro).
"The widely declared public interest in implementing real estate development projects also enables unfathomable proportions of land expropriation in favor of the property rights of foreigners, i.e. state interference in the property rights of domestic citizens and other property owners on the territory of Montenegro, which is protected by Article 58 of the Constitution of Montenegro.
"HRA also expresses concern about the non-transparent declaration of public interest in carrying out unidentified activities that may threaten the property rights of an incalculable number of citizens, with also incalculable consequences for environmental protection, which is a key feature of Montenegro, an ecological state," the statement concludes.
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