A striking sign placed on the entrance door of the Movement for Pljevlja’s party office on Boška Buhe Street reads: “Closed by Andrija Mandić,” printed in Cyrillic on A4 paper. According to the president of the Movement for Pljevlja, Novica Stanić, this sign indicates who is accountable for the account blockages and the financial difficulties faced by one of the coalition members in Pljevlja.

Stanić noted that the prolonged blockage of the New Serbian Democracy’s account has jeopardized the party’s operations, with the sole employee having gone without a salary for six months.

“What Milo couldn’t achieve, Andrija Mandić has,” remarked Stanić, a former member of the New Serbian Democracy who left the party in 2015 to establish the Movement for Pljevlja alongside his associates.

The conflict between the Movement for Pljevlja and Nova has persisted for several years, stemming from violations of their coalition agreement regarding collaboration in the 2016 elections. There have been conflicting rulings from Montenegrin courts, the most recent mandating the Movement for Pljevlja to repay nearly 159,000 euros to Nova, along with over 20,000 euros in interest, due to the breach of the coalition agreement.

In response, the Movement for Pljevlja has appealed to the Constitutional Court, following the Supreme Court’s issuance of two opposing decisions on the same legal matter regarding their case against the New Serbian Democracy.

The Movement believes this sequence of events violates their right to a fair trial and is requesting the Constitutional Court to overturn the Supreme Court’s previous decision, sending the case back for a new trial and determination.

“Vijesti” previously reported that based on the primary debt for unpaid budget funds from one parliamentary mandate between November 8, 2016, and September 30, 2019, Nova owed the Movement 158,792 euros, accruing legal interest from October 22, 2019, until full payment, plus an additional 21 euros for overdue default interest calculated until October 2019, totaling 20,597. The Basic Court in Podgorica subsequently directed Nova to cover 3,367 euros for the legal costs incurred by the Movement.

On September 19, 2016, Mandić and Stanić entered into a coalition agreement aimed at participating together in the parliamentary elections. Article 5 of this agreement stated that Nova “unconditionally undertakes to transfer the appropriate budgetary funds pertaining to one parliamentary mandate to the Movement for Pljevlja by the end of the month for the prior month during the term of the newly elected Assembly.”

After Nova failed to fulfill its payment obligations, the Movement initiated a lawsuit. Initially, the Basic and Higher Courts ruled in favor of Nova. However, upon revision by the Supreme Court, it was determined that the signed agreement was legally sound.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, lower courts sided with the Movement for Pljevlja, mandating Nova to deposit approximately 180,000 euros to the Movement’s account. Nova contested this ruling, but on March 20 of the previous year, the Supreme Court upheld and annulled the prior ruling, sending the case back to the first-instance court for retrial, which again ruled in Nova’s favor.

In the meantime, the Movement for Pljevlja has filed an additional lawsuit against Nova for an extra payment of 50,000 euros covering the period from September 30, 2019, to September 30, 2020.

In the constitutional appeal submitted by Petar Drobnjak, a lawyer from Bijelo Polje, it is asserted that the Supreme Court of Montenegro “issued a decision that contradicts its previous ruling made on May 28, 2021.” They argue this inconsistency is unacceptable, especially as the Supreme Court previously recognized the agreement as valid.

The petitioners believe that the Supreme Court’s decision undermines legal certainty.

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