BDK Promotions
BDK Advokati announces the promotion of Sasa Stojanovic to partner and Bisera Andrijasevic to senior associate.
BDK Advokati on Gaming Regulation in Montenegro
BDK Advokati contributed to the latest edition of Chambers and Partners Practical Guide on Gaming. The chapter offers a detailed account of the licensing and regulatory framework applicable to the gaming industry in Montenegro, such as the types, availability, duration of, and procedures to obtain, licenses.
Challenges with Enforcing International Contracts
BDK Advokati’s partner Luka Popovic spoke about challenges facing the private sector in enforcement of international contracts during a judicial workshop on enforcement of international sales contracts. The workshop was organised on 24-25 October by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), and the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro. The workshop is part of CLDP’s technical assistance in Montenegro in the area of judicial capacity building, aimed to improve the legal environment for doing business.
Legislative Novelties in the Gaming Industry
Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference, held in September this year in Budapest, gathered a prominent group of stakeholders in the gaming sector to discuss the most recent business and legal developments in the industry across the European markets. BDK partner Luka Popovic spoke at the Balkans panel about legislative changes in the Montenegrin and Serbian gaming sectors.
Investments in Renewable Energy Projects
Besides projects for construction of windfarms Brajici and Gvozd and solar power plant near Ulcinj that are currently underway, no other renewable projects have been officially announced. However, due to recent decision of the Montenegrin Government not to invest in construction of the second block of thermal power plant Pljevlja, further investments in the renewable energy sector may be expected before 2030. One of the potential projects is construction of a solar power plant near Podgorica.
Condo Hotels in Montenegro
The condo-hotel concept was firstly introduced in the Tourism Act of 2010. It was further refined in the 2018 Tourism and Hospitality Act. The main feature of the condo hotel is that, unlike in traditional hotels, the accommodation units (i.e. apartments) within the condo hotel are sellable as individual units – one can own an individual accommodation unit within a hotel. Under the 2010 legislation, the concept of condo hotels was under-regulated as the law merely provided for a definition of the condo hotel, recognizing it as a special hotel type, and introduced the possibility of ownership over the hotel’s individual units.
The new 2018 legislation is more detailed. It recognizes separate notions of “condo business model” and “mixed business model”. To qualify for either status, a hotel must be in operation throughout the year and must either have a minimum five-star rating and be located in the coastal region or in the capital Podgorica or have a minimum four-star rating and be located in the northern and central region excluding Podgorica.
Privatisation of Elektropriveda Crne Gore a.d.
The Government of Montenegro, as a majority shareholder, plans to seek a strategic partner in Elektroprivreda Crne Gore a.d. Elektroprivreda Crne Gore a.d. is the main electricity supplier in Montenegro that is currently 80% owned by the Government of Montenegro and 20% by Italian A2A. The plan of the Government is to acquire the remaining 20% from A2A before seeking a strategic partner that can contribute to the company's profit increase.
The Government has not yet selected a strategic partner and no price for the sale of any shares has been disclosed.
According to Economy Minister Dragica Sekulic,…
Concession of Aerodromi Crne Gore A.D
The Government of Montenegro, as 100% shareholder, has announced its intention to offer Aerodromi Crna Gora a.d. for concession. Aerodromi Crna Gora a.d. operates the two main Montenegrin airports in Podgorica and Tivat and is the only airport service provider in the country.
The Government of Montenegro has not yet engaged with an advisor for the concession and is yet to officially decide on the final draft of the concession act.
The concession fee has not been officially disclosed, but according to unofficial announcements, the future concessionaire should make an upfront payment of EUR 100…
BDK Advokati Advises Industriaimport-Industriaimpex AD
BDK Advokati advised Montenegrin publicly listed company Industriaimport-Industriaimpex AD on the acquisition of 49% of registered capital of Serbian pharma wholesaler Farmalogist d.o.o. from PE firm Adriatic Fund B.V. BDK Advokati also assisted Industriaimport-Industriaimpex AD in connection with the Shareholders’ Agreement entered with the owners of the remaining 51% of shares in Farmalogist.
The acquisition was completed on 4 January 2019 upon obtaining merger clearances from the Montenegrin and Serbian competition authorities. Partner Vladimir Dasic was the main legal advisor to Industriaimport-Industriaimpex…
Montenegro Launches Its Citizenship By Investment Program
The long-awaited regulation for the Montenegrin program of citizenship by investment is set to enter into force on 1 January 2019.
The investment threshold for citizenship depends on the region of Montenegro in which the investment is made. It is set at EUR 450,000 for investments in the coastal area or in the capital of Podgorica, and at EUR 250,000 for investments in other parts of the country. On top of the investment amount, a prospective applicant will be obliged to pay a contribution of EUR 100,000 for the development of undeveloped municipalities and the application fees of (i) EUR 15,000…
BDK Advokati's Seminar on GDPR Attracts 70 Participants From Montenegro
On 18 December 2018, BDK Advokati in cooperation with AmCham Montenegro held a seminar on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Podgorica, for 70 participants from Montenegrin companies and law firms.
Bogdan Ivanisevic, head of BDK Advokati team specialized in data protection & privacy, summarized the key characteristics of GDPR and explained how the Regulation extends to companies outside the EU, including those from Montenegro. He pointed to the presence of vague standards in GDPR which in the years to come will require further elucidation by data protection authorities and…
Montenegrin "Luka Kotor" Port Fined For The Abuse Of Dominance
Bisera Andrijasevic of BDK Advokati discusses a recent fine of Montenegrin “Luka Kotor” port for the abuse of dominance.
The Montenegrin antitrust authority, the Agency for Protection of Competition of Montenegro (“Agency“), announced that the Higher Misdemeanour Court of Montenegro imposed on 10 July 2018 a fine in the amount of EUR 27.249,54 on the Montenegrin port operator “Luka Kotor” A.D. (“Luka Kotor“) for abuse of dominant position that had been established by the Agency in 2016. The fine represents 1% of the infringer’s relevant turnover. The court also fined Luka Kotor’s…
