Court to decide in a month on dispute between NUNS and UNS

NUNS demands that the Journalists' Building be partitioned, while UNS rejects the proposal

Proceedings in the lawsuit initiated by the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) against the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) and demanding establishment of property rights and partition of the Journalists' Building in Resavska Street in Belgrade, where both associations are located, have ended yesterday.

According to the judge in the case, Jasmina Tubic, the decision of the First Primary Court will be delivered to both parties within 30 days.

The legal representative of NUNS, Dejan Vukovic asked the court yesterday to uphold the claim for partition of the Journalists' Building, while UNS' lawyer told the court that the claim should be rejected.
- The government has decided to attack the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) and to use the "reformed" judiciary as a tool to achieve this goal. Yesterday we were informed about the first-instance decision of the Higher Court in Belgrade to take away the property of UNS in Knez Mihajlova Street. Usurpation of property of journalists has never happened during the rule of Milosevic, Djindjic, or Kostunica, but it is happening now, said the president of UNS, Ljiljana Smajlovic, to "Politika".
She claims that the government has targeted the property of UNS because it is the "basis for their independence".

- UNS does not depend on the state, nor donations from foreign embassies. We are the only ones who have fought the battle against the unconstitutional media law, which was supported by certain other media associations. Now we are paying the price. The final verdict in favor of UNS with regard to the property in Resavska Street was overturned by a highly suspicious decision made by the Supreme Court, precisely at the moment when we were fighting against this media law. In the end, we will defend our property, even if we have to go to Strasbourg. We are not afraid of law, but politics, said Smajlovic.
The vice president of NUNS, Jelka Jovanovic, although she says that she does not want to prejudice the court decision, expects that the Journalists' Building in Resavska Street will be partitioned.

- I believe that members of both associations have the right to use these premises, as was written on the building by the founders themselves in 1934. I think that in this way the injustice, whose victims we have been during the last 17 years, will finally be corrected. We are now renting business premises and have no ability to achieve revenue, especially in this economic situation when we need to have available funds in the Solidarity Fund needed to assist our colleagues. Return or partition of property would rectify this injustice, believes Jelka Jovanovic.

The legal process initiated by NUNS was repeated after the Supreme Court of Serbia on June 4, 2009 revoked the verdict against NUNS made by the then Third Municipal and District Court in Belgrade.

Author: M. Derikonjic
Source: Politika, 14.04.2011; page: A7

MC Newsletter, April 21, 2011