Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The Appellate Court has overturned the judgment of the Commercial Court in a case brought by the companies CG SKI Zabljak and Baltic International Trading from Tallinn against Montenegro for damages amounting to €18.79 million, and has returned the case for retrial and a new decision.

“The ruling partially upheld the claim and ordered Montenegro to pay the plaintiffs €1.37 million in compensation for material damages, with default interest from the end of November 2024. The remainder of the claim was dismissed as unfounded,” the Appellate Court said in a press release.

According to the press release, the plaintiffs based their lawsuit on claims that Montenegro had breached obligations under a long-term lease agreement concluded in November 2018 for the implementation of a tourism project at the site of the former military-tourism complex Mediteran in Zabljak.

They are seeking compensation for actual damages and lost profits, claiming that the project’s implementation was prevented by the actions of the competent authorities in connection with procedures for protecting the area of Durmitor National Park, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Appellate Court found that the first-instance ruling contained significant violations of civil procedure provisions, that the facts had not been fully and properly established, and that substantive law had, for now, been incorrectly applied.