The Court of Appeal overturned the verdict in the case of the lawsuit filed by the company of Blaža Đukanović and Ivan Burzanović against Montenegro

The Court of Appeal of Montenegro announced today that it has overturned the judgment of the Commercial Court of Montenegro of February 21 this year in the case of the lawsuit filed by the company "BB Hidro" against Montenegro for the termination of the concession contract and compensation for material damage, and returned the case to the Commercial Court for retrial and decision.

The company "BB Hidro" is owned by Blaž Đukanović, son of the former President and Prime Minister of Montenegro, and former leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Milo Đukanović and Ivan Burzanović.

"The judgment of the Commercial Court of Montenegro determined that the concession contract for the construction of the small hydroelectric power plant 'Slatina' was terminated and the claim for compensation for material damage in the amount of 155.613,50 euros with interest and on behalf of the calculated interest from the date of individual payments until 01.04.2024, an amount of another 70.599,94 euros, was partially accepted. The claim for compensation for material damage-lost profits in the amount of 1.410.915,93 euros was rejected as unfounded. The Court of Appeal issued the aforementioned decision in the procedure for deciding on the appeals of the plaintiff and the defendant. In the opinion of the Court of Appeal, the parties' appeals are justified in challenging the first-instance verdict due to a material violation of the provisions of civil procedure referred to in Article 367, paragraph 2, item 15 of the Civil Procedure Code, because there are no reasons on the facts that are decisive for the proper application of substantive law, and given "The reasons are unclear, which is why it could not be examined, and in addition, the factual situation remained incomplete and incorrectly determined," the Court of Appeals said in a statement.

According to the Court of Appeal, the first-instance verdict lacks clear reasons regarding the decisive facts, conditions for termination, and guilt for terminating the concession contract, which significantly affects the plaintiff's right to compensation for material damages, both ordinary and lost profits, which he is seeking on that basis.

"The judgment Pž.br. 161/2025 of 18.09.2025 with detailed explanations will be published on the website of the Court of Appeal of Montenegro," the statement reads.