The Commercial Court is required to obtain the Government’s commentary and additional documents, along with the decision regarding the request for the primary concession of the Port of Bar, amidst the ongoing lawsuit filed by the private firm “Port of Adria” (PoA) against the state.

Judge Vladimir Bulatović has thus scheduled the continuation of these proceedings for April.

This follows a hearing that took place yesterday at the Commercial Court. The private entity, PoA, which operates the previous container terminals within the Port of Bar, has initiated legal action against the state-owned company, asserting that the privatization agreement from 2013 denied them the exclusive right to handle container and general cargo in the Port of Bar waters.

According to sources from “Vijesti”, the lawsuit is valued at several million euros. The Port of Bar maintains that it has the right to manage the transshipment of container and general cargo due to the lack of consultation with the Competition Protection Agency regarding whether only one company could be granted this privilege during the privatization process.

Previously, the Commercial Court sought further documentation related to the concession in the Port of Bar from the Government and the Maritime Safety and Port Management Authority.

Judge Bulatović noted that the Administration had sent a correspondence in mid-February indicating that their archives had not received the application for a concession concerning cargo transshipment at the Port of Bar. He pointed out that the Administration had informed the court about the receipt of a request for a primary concession under Article 34 of the Ports Act, which is currently in the archival records at the Kotor Port Authority.

“A company utilizing a port and engaging in port activities under a previously established contract shall continue its operations until that contract is terminated. A company that operates within a port without a binding contract as of the law’s enactment date is required to submit a request along with: a business plan for the concession duration sought, a final account, and a balance sheet for the primary concession award. The grantor shall award a primary concession for a maximum duration of 12 years based on the request as outlined in paragraph 3 of this article,” the Ports Law specifies.

Bulatović added that the General Secretariat of the Government reported that they had forwarded the document request to the relevant ministry, thereby postponing the hearing until the Government’s commentary and decision on the primary concession could be acquired.

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