The informal civic association, known as STEGA, which is focused on drafting the Strategy for a European and Civic Montenegro, has announced today that it is urging Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Milojko Spajić, to retract the proposed amendments to the Law on State Property. These amendments would alter the status and legal framework concerning cemeteries.

In a statement issued by STEGA, they revealed that on January 17 of this year, they sent an open letter to Spajić, seeking clarification for the Montenegrin public about these amendments and how they would impact cemeteries and their legal ownership status.

“Given the lack of a response from the Prime Minister thus far, STEGA has communicated the issue to the embassies of the Quinte nations in Podgorica (USA, UK, France, Italy, Germany). The letter outlines concerns regarding the proposed changes to the Law on State Property, specifically how they may disregard Article 58, paragraph 3 of the Constitution of Montenegro, which pertains to the designation of cemeteries as ‘natural resources and goods in general use.’ Additionally, STEGA plans to inform other EU member state embassies and relevant international organizations about the potential legal ramifications of these unexamined amendments,” STEGA stated.

The civic association emphasized that, according to Article 16, paragraph 1, line 6 of the current Law on State Property, “cemeteries are categorized as local assets in general use managed by municipalities.”

“This indicates that all cemeteries in Montenegro are strictly state-owned, meaning, as stated in the Constitution of Montenegro, they cannot be classified as private property. Consequently, they cannot be owned by religious organizations or any private entities unless such possession derives from unlawful acts,” the statement explained.

STEGA criticized the Government’s acceptance of amendments by the New Serbian Democracy (NSD), claiming that the process lacked transparency and public discussion on this critical and complex issue. The proposed changes would alter the legal status of cemeteries from “local assets in general use,” which are entirely state property, to “other local assets of general interest.” STEGA argued that this shift undermines the property and legal framework established in Article 58, paragraph 3 of the Constitution of Montenegro and Article 16, paragraph 1, indent 6 of the Law on State Property.

“Once again, STEGA urges the Prime Minister to retract the proposed amendments and to facilitate a public debate involving both the academic community and NGOs. This would demonstrate a lack of ‘hidden and malicious intent’ behind these changes and indicate his awareness of the serious consequences that altering ownership rights over cemeteries could entail,” STEGA asserted in their statement.

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