ZOCG Board: New law to recognize the possibility of using "claws" until parking ticket payment is settled

The new Law on Communal Services, the draft of which was recently subject to public debate, should stipulate the possibility of temporarily blocking vehicles in order to charge for parking services, according to the position of the Committee for Communal Services and the Environment of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro (ZOCG).

The ZOCG announced that the Committee proposed an amendment to the Draft Law so that, in the event of repeated non-payment of the daily parking ticket, under the conditions and in the manner prescribed by the decision of the municipal assembly, the vehicle could be blocked with a special device ("claws") until this obligation is settled.

"In practice, the Committee reminds us, the absence of such legal authorization leads to difficulties in charging for parking services and creates an unequal position between users of open public parking lots and users of closed parking spaces, where exiting or leaving the parking lot without paying cannot be achieved," the statement reads.

The ZOCG said that the Committee's statement on the Draft Law on Communal Activities states that the proposed amendment introduces legal authorization to implement the measure of temporary blocking of vehicles in the event of repeated non-payment of daily parking tickets, in order to ensure efficient collection of utility services and the smooth functioning of the public parking space management system.

"This does not infringe on the very essence of property rights, but rather temporarily limits the manner of its use. The measure of temporary blocking of vehicles is a measure to secure the collection of claims based on the parking service provided, not a criminal sanction, and is lifted immediately upon settlement of the obligation. Its purpose is to ensure the fulfillment of the obligation of the user who, by using the parking space, accepted the parking conditions. Temporary measures would be based on the conditions and procedure prescribed by the decision of the assembly of the local self-government unit, thus ensuring legal certainty, equality of users and transparency," reads the statement of the Committee for Communal Services and the Environment on the Draft Law on Communal Services.

It is noted that a particular problem is that in tourist resorts, including other municipalities in Montenegro, tourists can leave the city without being able to pay the utility provider.

"Comparative practice shows that this measure is applied in countries surrounding Montenegro where parking services have legal and by-law authorizations to apply the measure of blocking vehicles until the payment of due parking obligations," said the ZOCG.