RESTITUTION- SECOND-INSTANCE PROCEDURE
Law on Restitution of Expropriated Property Rights and Compensation of Former Holders (“Official Gazette RoM”, No. 21/04), which entered into force on 8 April 2004, governs conditions, manner and procedure of expropriation of right of ownership and other property rights and compensations of former holders vis-à-vis rights expropriated in favour of national, state, social and cooperative property. Therefore, the country created necessary conditions for removal of the consequences, which resulted from adoption and implementation of the so-called revolutionary laws in the period after the end of the World War II.
According to the Law, first-instance administrative procedure which decides on an applicant i.e. former holder’s request for restitution or compensation is conducted by municipal commissions in charge of restitution and compensation established by local parliaments. Up to now such commissions have been established in 20 municipalities (except for the municipality of Zabljak).
Parallel with passing necessary by-laws provided for under the Law, the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Montenegro, as required under the Law, established a second-instance authority responsible for acting upon appeals against the decisions made by the first-instance local commissions.
Up to now, concluding with 26 December 2005, the Ministry of Finance, as a second-instance authority, processed 79 appeals total, as per the following municipalities: Podgorica 19, Ulcinj 14, Pljevlja 13, Budva 8, Tivat and Herceg Novi 7 each, Danilovgrad 5 and Bar and Cetinje 3 each. Out of the above 79 appeals, decision was made on 70 of them, 52 of which were approved so the first-instance decision was annulled and in most cases, the first-instance authority was asked to renew the procedure.
Implementation of the Law on Restitution of Expropriated Property Rights and Compensation of Former Holders definitely requests a further education, strong engagement and certain level of specialist training, which will indeed be partly achieved after a certain period of time and larger number of the processed files and decisions made.
Given the current trends and launched reforms in almost all fields of the social life, including the public administration system together with local government and significant efforts aimed at the staff training, it is necessary to establish an adequate model of a permanent communication between the Ministry of Finance and local commissions, primarily with respect to the Law on Restitution of Expropriated Property Rights and Compensation of Former Holders, being a key material regulation and with regard to the General Administrative Procedure Act, which is a main procedural law.
The Ministry of Finance will continue with the already established, positively marked and purpose-serving practice to provide explanations and instructions to the former holders as well as interpretations of certain provisions under both above laws, including other laws and regulations applicable in the work of the first-instance local commissions. We also invite both local commissions and former holders to send their opinions, proposals and suggestions to the Ministry concerning all issues under the competence of the local commissions and the second-instance authority so that the Ministry of Finance could provide adequate information to all interested persons with the aim to fulfill main purpose of the Law on Restitution of Expropriated Rights and Compensation of Former Holders that is a timely, efficient and legal exercising of rights of the applicants i.e. former holders.
Zoran Radulović
Independent Advisor I