The court cases in which dozens of Kolašin residents are trying to establish ownership rights to plots of land in Lug have been suspended for the time being.
The reason for this, the protector of property and legal interests of the Municipality told "Vijesti": Bozidar Pižurica, a request for a review of the constitutionality of the Decision on the allocation of land in that part of the city.
In Lug, 168 plots of land were distributed by a 2009 decision five months before the local elections, and in recent years, large-scale construction of family houses has resulted in a settlement that is an example of urban chaos. However, before the Municipality requested a review of the constitutionality of the decision, several cases had been finally concluded.
"Regarding the case to determine the ownership rights on the plots in Lug, all cases are suspended until the decision of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro. A small number of these cases have been finalized. However, a huge number of such cases have begun to arrive, namely about 40 lawsuits on this basis. Since there was a fear that abuse could occur, the Municipality filed a request for a review of the constitutionality of the Decision, which is the legal basis for the filed lawsuits. Then, a suspension of all proceedings was requested until this review is received, which was confirmed by the Higher Court in Bijelo Polje," said Pižurica.
An unusual list, to say the least.
No one has been able to overturn the decision made by the Municipal Assembly more than a decade and a half ago. Only the then-SDP councilors had previously questioned it. Željka Vuksanović i Bojan Zekovic. That act did not prescribe the criteria according to which at least 50.400, and possibly up to 75.000 square meters of municipal land were distributed free of charge, depending on the minimum or maximum size of the plot prescribed by the Decision. Along with the 2009 Decision, the councilors were also provided with, to put it mildly, a strange list, which in some cases did not even include the name of the future “owner” of the plot, but only the surname, and in some cases, for example, it was written that the plot would be given to “the family of the deceased…”, while in some cases the name and surname were subsequently added in ballpoint pen.
The “winners” of the plots were classified in several categories on the list. The plots were given, among others, to 36 officers “from the police station”, then eight employees of secondary and primary schools, and six from the category of “refugees and displaced persons”. According to the opinion of the local administration at the time, 14 people “in social need” also deserved free plots, three pensioners and employees of the Health Center, the same number of athletes, and two employees of the Forest Company. Free plots of land in Lug also went to three employees of the Electric Power Distribution and the Municipal Utilities, then two employees of the Ski Center, as well as eight employees of state bodies and one employee of the Podgorica Bank. As many as 16 employees and civil servants in the local administration at the time received free plots. The list also includes a special item “private sector and others”, which contains about 60 names.
Dispute against the Municipality worth around 200.000
Among the court cases in which the Municipality of Kolašin has been sued, there are none whose value could significantly affect the budget, claims Pižurica. A significant number of lawsuits, he reminds, are for compensation for damages due to attacks and bites by stray dogs. There are 30 to 40 such cases annually.
"We try to resolve 99 percent of these cases amicably with the injured party. Individually, these disputes are not in large amounts, but collectively they can be treated as larger... Other disputes are most often property-related, compensation for damages from employment, insurance damages and the like, but these are certainly not disputes that could be called larger," explains the protector of property-related interests of the Municipality.
The largest dispute, however, is the one against the Municipality. Miodrag N. Maraš, or rather his company. The value of the dispute, Pižurica says, could be around 200.000 euros. Maraš, who worked at the DUP Centar Kolašin more than a decade and a half ago, is suing the Municipality because he was allegedly not paid for additional projects.
"This dispute is being heard before the Commercial Court in Podgorica. The court ruled and issued a verdict rejecting the plaintiff's claim as unfounded. A completely legal and the only valid decision in this legal matter. I believe that the young judge who is handling this dispute has definitely entered the issue, and has conscientiously and legally issued a verdict. However, the Court of Appeals accepted the plaintiff's appeal in record time and returned the case for a new procedure and decision. The hearing is scheduled for November 4," explains Pižurica.
He also highlights the dispute between the plaintiff “DD Ski-centar Bjelasica” in bankruptcy against the Municipality of Kolašin, which is in its initial phase. The value of the dispute is not yet known, but, says Pižurica, “it could be a dispute of great value because the plaintiff is seeking financial compensation for the Kolašin-Jezerine road”. In that case, “the Municipality has filed a counterclaim to establish ownership rights”.
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