They don't want payment, but the return of property: Some owners of the Zavala peninsula expect the Supreme Court to overturn the verdict

The informal organization Group of Citizens - Legal Owners of the Zavala Peninsula is convinced that the Supreme Court will accept the appeals of the interveners and the Municipality and overturn the verdict, thereby protecting the budget of the Municipality of Budva, but also ensuring legal certainty regarding the adoption of uniform verdicts in cases concerning the Zavala site.

The advertisement, which was forwarded on behalf of the Citizens' Group Željka Ivanković i Filip Rafailovic, came after "Vijesti" announced that the Higher Court had overturned the verdict of the Basic Court in Kotor, and partially accepted the claim of the representatives of the Rafailović family that the Municipality of Budva pay them compensation in the amount of 4.291.565 euros on behalf of the nationalized land on Cape Zavala.

"The municipality is not the owner of the Zavala site (an undeveloped area whose property a group of citizens claims and for which they are conducting disputes before the competent courts), but rather the state of Montenegro, and this applies to all cadastral plots. In all litigation proceedings, it has been proven beyond doubt that the state registered the property of its legal predecessors in an illegal manner, based on the Law on Maritime Property in the public survey and cadastre of 1995-1996, and that, pursuant to the Law on State Property, the municipality is only the user of these properties," they pointed out in a letter submitted to "Vijesti".

They emphasize that at the time the disputed verdict was issued to the detriment of the Municipality, the local government also received a verdict in another case for the Zavala locality.

"In another case, the court determined that the site was not built and adopted the claim for the determination of ownership, that is, it returned the land to the heirs in their co-ownership shares. Taking into account that there are currently two contradictory judgments in legal circulation for the same site, and that some plaintiffs were ruled to be entitled to compensation because it is treated that the Zavala site (the undeveloped part) was built, and others in other cases were clearly stated that the same site was not built and were awarded the return of the land, we are certain that the Supreme Court will adopt the revisions of the interveners and the defendant Municipality and annul this judgment and thus protect the Municipality's budget, but also ensure legal certainty regarding the issue of issuing uniform judgments in cases concerning the Zavala site," the Citizens' Group points out.

To make it clearer to the public, as they point out, there cannot be two contradictory judgments in legal transactions for the same legal matter and the same location.

"And this is done in a way that in one case it is determined that the same site was "used for its intended purpose", built, and the plaintiffs are paid a huge amount by the Municipality alone (and the state, which is the registered owner, is not even sued), while in other cases on the same legal matter the plaintiffs are ruled that the site was "not used for its intended purpose", not built, and the land, or real estate, is returned to them. This type of court action leads to legal uncertainty and does not give citizens confidence in the judiciary and state authorities, which is why we are sure that the Supreme Court will issue a final and lawful decision in this case as soon as possible. We would like to inform the public that a group of citizens (who are also plaintiffs in the cases for the return of property in Zavala) launched an initiative before the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property and the Protector of Property of Montenegro a year ago in order to reach a final legal solution and final judgments for the return of property in the Zavala site. We note that the position of the group of citizens and all prosecutors in other cases is that the land should be returned to its legal owners, and not that the Municipality or the state pay compensation for these immovable properties because the amounts, according to all estimates, would be almost 105 million euros", they point out.

According to unofficial information, as they point out, the upcoming government sessions will discuss the Zavala site and the state's recognition that it illegally acquired the property, and thus take a position that it be returned to its rightful owners.

"The municipality is obliged to then schedule a session of the Municipal Assembly and make the same decision for itself as a party in the proceedings. This is the reason why we submitted the initiative for a session of the Municipal Assembly," the Citizens' Group concluded.