Incorrectly determined factual situation: Ministry accepted the appeal of "Customs" and revoked the decision of its own inspection

The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property (MEPU), as a second-instance body, accepted the appeal of the company "Carine" from Podgorica and annulled the decision of the urban planning and construction inspector of the Directorate for Inspection Supervision dated April 6, which, among other things, extended the ban on carrying out work at the construction site in Baošići, issued back in October 2024.

"Customs" did not respect the ban, but continued construction of the hotel, which significantly exceeded the permitted number of floors and was built in violation of the applicable urban planning and technical conditions for that location.

"The appeal is accepted. The decision of the urban planning and construction inspector of the MEPU - Directorate for Inspection Supervision - Directorate for Urban Planning Supervision dated 6 April 2026 is annulled and the case is returned to the same authority for a new procedure and decision," reads the decision issued by the MEPU Second Instance Procedure Department on 22 April.

The decision, which, among other things, was issued under the "authorization of the Minister... dated January 28, 2026", was signed by an "authorized official" Dubravka Pešić.

The MEPU is headed by the Minister Slaven Radunović (New Serbian Democracy), and the company "Carine" is run by its owner and director, a Podgorica businessman Cedomir PopovićHe was recently released from detention, after the expiry of the legal 30-day period, in which he was placed by order of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Herceg Novi on March 24th.

The Herceg Novi ODT is currently conducting pre-trial proceedings against Popović, who is being charged with the extended criminal offense of building a structure without a report and necessary documentation, precisely because of the Baošiči case. The Herceg Novi ODT announced that the investigation procedure in this case has not yet been completed.

"So far, a geodetic expert assessment has been conducted, while an architectural expert assessment is underway, which, due to its complexity and extensive documentation, could not be completed in a short period of time," it was specified.

Therefore, as they point out, there were no legal conditions for extending Popović's detention.

The prosecution charges Popović with illegally filling 14 square meters of sea.

Secretary for Urban Planning and Construction Inspection of the Municipality of Herceg Novi Vladislav Velas and Popović were arrested on March 23rd for illegal construction in Baošići. Velaš is suspected of abuse of office and after questioning at the prosecutor's office was released to defend himself at liberty...

Disputed main project

Almost simultaneously, MEPU, in a second-instance administrative proceeding, initiated upon the complaint of “Customs”, annulled the decision of its own construction and urban planning inspector who, on April 6, among other things, extended the measure prohibiting the construction of a hotel in Baošići, issued on October 1, 2024, which Popović’s company did not comply with. The Urban Planning and Construction Inspectorate sealed the construction site on March 20, because the investor had not eliminated the identified irregularities. In addition, the inspector, with a now-revoked decision, suspended the inspection supervision procedure over the construction site in Baošići until the completion of the procedure for the possible legalization of the illegally constructed part of the hotel, which “Customs” initiated with the MEPU’s Administration for the Legalization of Illegal Buildings on March 25 of this year.

In the appeal filed by MEPU, the company "Carine" claimed, among other things, that the inspection "could have terminated the supervision procedure only for the part of the facility for which the legalization procedure had been initiated."

"In relation to the remaining, predominant part of the building, the inspection procedure should have concluded that the irregularities established by the decision on the prohibition of construction of 1 October 2024 have been eliminated, because the building was built in rough construction works in accordance with the conceptual design approved by the Chief State Architect, and therefore, in accordance with Article 155 of the Law on Administrative Procedure, the inspection procedure should be suspended and construction on this predominant part of the building should be allowed to continue," stated the legal representatives of the "Carine" company from the law firm Durutović, Vuksanović and Kraljević from Podgorica.

However, they further acknowledge in their appeal that during the inspection of the construction site on March 18, the urban planning and construction inspection found that the previously identified irregularities that resulted in the issuance of a construction ban on October 1, 2024, had been eliminated, "except that the revised main project is not in accordance with the conceptual design approved by the Chief State Architect regarding the number of floors, which is why the inspection supervision of March 20, 2026 implemented a decision to prohibit construction by sealing the object in question because the irregularity identified in the minutes of March 18, 2026 had not been eliminated."

Representatives of the company "Carine" stated in their appeal that, taking this into account and "the fact that the excess number of floors in the construction will be removed in the legalization process", they believe that "there are no reasons for a further ban on carrying out work on the remaining part of the building".

"In a situation where the building was built in rough construction works, and the number of floors constructed is in accordance with the conceptual design approved by the chief state architect, it is pointless to create a new main design for the purpose of harmonization," the lawyers stated, which the second-instance body, MEPU, accepted and annulled the decision of its own urban planning and construction inspector, noting, among other things, that her decision was "made on the basis of an incorrectly determined factual situation and incorrect application of the substantive regulation because the state of the case files does not refer to the decision given in the enacting clause of the appeal decision."

The Inspectorate may file a complaint

According to the inspector's findings, at the time the construction site was sealed on March 20, facade and finishing work was being carried out on the buildings. Block A was built with 10 floors, seven of which are above ground, and blocks B and C with nine floors each.

The Directorate for the Legalization of Illegal Structures, acting on the request of "Customs" from March 25 to legalize the illegally built part of the hotel in Baošići, stated that the "structure meets the general conditions for legalization", and that they, as an authority, will "implement the actions prescribed by the Law on the Legalization of Illegal Structures" in the coming period.

However, on April 8, the same Administration issued a decision suspending the hotel's legalization process, "until the adoption of a Management Plan and a Protection Study in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Protection of the Natural and Cultural-Historical Area of ​​Kotor."

However, the second-instance body of the MEPU accepted the appeal of "Customs" and annulled the decision of the construction and urban planning inspector, which, among other things, extended the ban on carrying out work at the construction site in Baošići, and the MEPU instructed its own inspection to possibly file a lawsuit with the Administrative Court within 20 days.