Lost lawsuits cost the state almost €10 million in the first half of the year, according to reports from the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro (ZIPI).
The report for the second quarter states that between 1 April and 30 June, a total of €4.7 million was paid from the state treasury based on enforceable court rulings and forced collection procedures caused by state authorities failing to comply with enforcement decisions or settle outstanding invoices, Pobjeda reports.
Together with the first quarter, when €5.2 million was paid for the same reasons, the total reached almost €10 million during the first six months of the year. Last year, these types of payments amounted to €18.8 million.
ZIPI head Bojana Ćirović noted that in the second quarter, the state achieved success in lawsuits worth €2.24 million, while in the first quarter the value reached €164.3 million—most of which relates to the lost case involving Montenegro Airlines, whose bankruptcy administration sought €100 million under the former Consolidation Law.
From April to June, ZIPI received a total of 4,250 new cases, including 540 lawsuits and 2,550 enforcement cases.
Ćirović again emphasized that state authorities, by failing to implement final rulings on compensation owed to lawyers, expert witnesses, and interpreters, are causing significant damage to the budget, as these amounts are collected forcibly. Furthermore, authorities continue to neglect the timely payment of invoices—without disputing them—allowing them to enter forced collection and thus creating additional costs.
Lawsuits from public administration employees continue to arrive regularly, with members of the army and police once again filing the most cases in the second quarter.
Ćirović also pointed out that in administrative disputes before the Administrative Court—where ministries and institutions represent themselves—the awarded legal costs are often not paid, and ZIPI only becomes aware of them once forced collection begins.
The report also states that the Supreme Court upheld lower court decisions rejecting more than 100 lawsuits filed between 2012 and 2018 seeking compensation for flood damage caused by the Zeta River.
The document additionally criticizes the position of the Supreme Court’s Council, which allows public authorities to hire private law firms to represent them before the Administrative Court.
“By doing so, the Supreme Court has undermined the provisions of the Law on Administrative Disputes and directed state authorities toward unlawful behavior. The legislature’s intention was not to make ZIPI’s work easier by allowing state bodies to hire lawyers. These authorities were intended to act as parties in proceedings, but not to have the status of legal entities, which the Supreme Court overlooked,” the report states, adding that ZIPI will appeal such decisions before the Constitutional Court.
ZIPI collected €55.5 thousand in the second quarter from cases it won, compared to €116.3 thousand in the first quarter.
Among the successful cases, the report highlights the lawsuit against Crnogorska Plovidba, in which the court confirmed the state’s claim and upheld the payment order requiring the company to pay €2.23 million to the state. During the second quarter, the state lost three cases involving de facto expropriation worth more than €1 million in total. Along with the Municipality of Ulcinj, the state was ordered to pay over €735,000 in one case and more than €290,000 in another, while together with the Municipality of Kotor it must pay €76,100 for expropriation-related compensation.
Telephone expenses during 2023 cost the state €422.8 thousand, which Crnogorski Telekom collected through enforcement procedures after the Commercial Court dismissed the state’s objection as unfounded.
Ćirović has previously expressed concern that the volume of litigation costs may be linked to negligent work within state bodies, stressing that authorities must urgently determine the causes and implement measures to curb such behavior.
