Member of Parliament for New Serbian Democracy and member of that party's council in the Budva parliament Bojana Pican called on the protector of property and legal interests of Montenegro Bojan Ćirović to examine whether the decision of the Mayor of the Municipality Nikola Jovanović to prohibit vehicle entry and parking in the contact zone of the Old Town in accordance with the laws of Montenegro, and what was done in the case of the blockade of the Port of Budva by the local administration.
Last summer, traffic on the promenade and parking along the walls of the Old Town were banned, and the Port of Budva was hit hard, with its operations practically jeopardized due to this decision by the Municipality. Compliance with this decision was met with numerous criticisms, as it was selectively applied by the Municipality - while some were prevented from doing so, others were allowed to drive their vehicles freely through the "forbidden zone".
"I ask you to provide me with documentation and inform me about the activities undertaken regarding the decision to ban traffic and parking on plots 3102/1, 3102/2, 2419/1, 2688, 3054/1, 3054/2, 3103/1, 3104/1, 3105, 3106/1, 3102/11, 2391/1 of the cadastral municipality of Budva. The aforementioned plots are owned by the state, while the Municipality of Budva has the right to dispose of them for public purposes - a public road," the request, which "Vijesti" had access to, states.
These are plots related to the city promenade and the contact zone of the Old Town.
Pićan points out in his request that the Decision on the Traffic Ban essentially represents a restriction of the rights of the state owner and changes the way land is used without the consent of the Government.
"This violates Article 60 of the Law on Local Self-Government, which stipulates that the Mayor is accountable to the Government for the performance of delegated and entrusted tasks, and that in the event of unlawful exercise of authority, the Government may notify the Assembly and propose measures. Furthermore, parking in the Old Town area is regulated by the Regulation on the Regime of Traffic Regulation in the Old Town Protected Zone, which was adopted in 2019 by the then Mayor of the Municipality." Marko Tsarević"This regulation clearly defines the rights and obligations of owners of residential premises with registered residence in the Old Town, owners and tenants of business premises, as well as vehicles intended for supplying business premises with regard to movement, staying and parking in the specified zone," Pićan stated.
The NSD MP also asked Ćirović to inform her whether the current Mayor of the Municipality, Nikola Jovanović, without adopting a new regulation on the traffic regulation regime in the protected zone of the Old Town and without adopting a decision on traffic regulation on the territory of the municipality, introduced the so-called "quiet zone" regime, that is, banned traffic in the Old Town zone starting from June 15, 2025, contrary to applicable regulations.
"Do the above activities jeopardize the property and legal relations of the State of Montenegro? Have you taken any actions and please inform me? The Law on Roads stipulates that a public road is a traffic surface for road traffic. On public roads, the right of easement can be acquired for the purpose of installing utility, water supply, energy and electronic communications facilities and related equipment, as well as similar facilities and equipment of public interest, if the stability of the road, safety and traffic regime are not jeopardized, in accordance with the law. This right of easement is entered in the real estate cadastre. In this regard, please inform me about the steps you have taken to enable access to the Port of Budva, bearing in mind that the Port of Public Interest has been ceded to the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management," Pićan pointed out.
She also requested information on what the Protector of Property and Legal Interests has undertaken to protect the property and legal interests of the state of Montenegro in the domain of the Port of Budva, taking into account the Law on Local Self-Government, which prescribes the obligation of cooperation with legal entities founded by the state.
"Is Budva denied the right to land access to the Budva Port zone managed by JP Morsko dobro, which prevents the management of the Budva Port, its maintenance and provision of port services, causes damage to port facilities and endangers the safety of maritime navigation," states the request by Pićan, who invoked her parliamentary function and the obligation to provide her with information.
State institutions are silent
The Public Company for the Management of the Coastal Zone, as "Vijesti" reported, sent urgent requests back in February to the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms Siniša Bjeković, the Administrative Inspection and the relevant ministries, after state institutions remained silent on their request that an urgent response be made because the Municipality of Budva has been preventing access for vehicles that carry out procurement and execution of works for the needs of the Public Company for a long time in the area of the Pizana, Brijeg od Budve and Budva Port beaches.
To date, none of the institutions called have responded to the emergency calls.
As "Vijesti" has written on several occasions, Morsko dobro has been forced to bring ferries all the way from Boka Bay to deliver the necessary equipment to the Port of Budva, as extensive work is being carried out on the reconstruction and equipping of the marina, and the Municipality has blocked access for trucks by land, while allowing others access to the contact zone.
As a result, the costs of the Coastal District have increased by one hundred thousand euros in the past six months alone due to this way of working.
The war between the Municipality of Budva and Morski dobro has been raging for two years, considering that the local government is headed by Nikola Jovanović and Morski dobro is led by Mladen Mikijelj, once political comrades in the joint Democratic Front, after which they became bitter political opponents.
In a complaint, which "Vijesti" had access to, addressed to the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Freedoms, legal representatives of Morski dobro point out that this is discrimination that the state-owned company suffers from the Municipality of Budva.
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