The Boka Navy Kotor welcomed the position of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, expressed in the Parliament, to accept the initiative for the adoption of a special law, lex specialis, which would regulate its legal status.
They said that the Prime Minister's stance represents an important and encouraging step, but also the beginning of a process that should be rapidly continued with concrete activities by the Government, the Parliament, the competent cultural institutions, and the Boka Bay Navy itself.
"This initiative, launched by the Boka Kotorska Navy in 2024, aims to establish, after a long-standing lack of a systemic solution, a clear institutional legal framework for an organization that has been one of the most recognizable features of Kotor, Boka Kotorska and Montenegro for more than twelve centuries. On Boka Kotorska Navy Day, June 26, 2024, the draft law was presented to the Minister of Culture and Media, Tamara Vujović. The text was prepared by the Navy management and the legal team of the Municipality of Kotor, based on the need to protect its historical continuity, public significance and cultural value in a responsible and sustainable manner," the statement reads.
An additional basis for the adoption of a special law, they said, was created by the amendments to the Law on the Protection of Cultural Property from July 2025, which added Article 17a. This provision, they explain, enables the financing of programs to preserve the tradition of intangible cultural property inscribed on the UNESCO list, as well as resolving their legal status through a special law.
They say that the adoption lex specialisa would not represent a privilege, but rather appropriate and responsible care by the state towards the oldest brotherhood of seafarers in the world, an intangible cultural asset of Montenegro of national importance and a holder of an inscription on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
"We appreciate and thank you for reopening this issue in the Parliament of Montenegro through a parliamentary question at the Prime Minister's Office by Croatian Civic Initiative MP Adrijan Vuksanović, which further emphasizes the need to finally regulate the status of the Boka Kotor Navy in an institutional manner," the statement reads.
They also expressed their gratitude to the members of the Boka Navy, the leaderships of the Boka municipalities, the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Government and President of Montenegro, as well as to all those who, through their actions, contributed to the issue of the legal status of the Boka Navy receiving the institutional attention and support it deserves.
"In this process, we particularly highlight the engagement of individuals, including MP Tonći Janović, who clearly and unequivocally supported the adoption of the law." lex specialisa as a permanent and systemic solution as well as amendments to the Law on the Protection of Cultural Property from 2025. After the expressed support from several institutional addresses as well as the wider social community, the final and most important phase remains, the finalization of the draft law and its adoption in the Parliament of Montenegro," adds the Bokeljska mornarica.
They said they remain committed to preserving and passing on the values and traditions they have inherited since 809.
"We are convinced that the adoption of a special law would represent a historic step forward in the protection of this unique heritage, to the pride of Kotor, Boka Kotorska, Montenegro and the entire cultural heritage of humanity," the statement reads.
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