MONTENEGRO Law and Practice Contributed by: Bisera Andrijasevic and Marija Ksenija Popović, BDK Advokati
Regional Cooperation Council projects and has signed memoranda of understanding with Bos - nia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia to enhance regional co-operation and align with European competition stand - ards. Additionally, the Agency collaborates with the Energy Community Secretariat, UNCTAD, the OECD and the EBRD through various co- operation agreements and initiatives, including the Sofia Statement, which promotes deeper regional co-operation. Bilaterally, the Agency has bilateral memoran - da of understanding with national competition authorities in Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Her - zegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Hungary, Germany, Serbia and Turkey. It co- operates most closely with national competition authorities from the region and closely monitors the transactions which they clear in order to detect gun-jumping. 8. Appeals and Judicial Review 8.1 Access to Appeal and Judicial Review Merger control decisions issued by the Agency can be challenged before the Administrative Court of Montenegro. While the Competition Act does not explicitly define the categories of individuals or entities eligible to appeal such decisions, the right to appeal is governed by the Administrative Disputes Act (Official Gazette of Montenegro, No 54/16). Decisions of the Administrative Court may be further challenged before the Supreme Court of Montenegro at third instance. On the other hand, as outlined in 2.13 Penal- ties for the Implementation of a Transaction Before Clearance , the Agency does not have
the authority to impose fines and must initiate misdemeanour proceedings. Decisions of mis - demeanour courts can be challenged before higher misdemeanour courts in accordance with the Misdemeanours Act. Final decisions of high - er misdemeanour courts may only be appealed to the Constitutional Court of Montenegro. 8.2 Typical Timeline for Appeals Appeals to the Administrative Court of Montene - gro must be filed within 30 days from the date the decision is received. Successful appeals before the Administrative Court are rare in practice. In its review, the Administrative Court focuses on procedural matters, and no decisions have been issued in which it provided a different interpreta - tion of substantive competition law compared to the Agency. 8.3 Ability of Third Parties to Appeal Clearance Decisions Third parties whose rights or legal interests have been infringed upon by the clearance decision have the right to lodge an appeal in an adminis - trative dispute. In a noteworthy 2017 decision, the Supreme Court confirmed the legal standing of competi - tors to challenge merger decisions as third par - ties. The Administrative Court of Montenegro had previously rejected lawsuits filed by market competitors challenging the Agency’s decision to approve a concentration. The Court rea - soned that the Agency’s decision only affected the entities seeking approval, not their competi - tors, and thus lacked legal impact on them. The Supreme Court overturned this ruling, finding that undertakings on the relevant market have a legal interest in initiating such proceedings. This established a precedent that allows market participants to challenge the Agency’s decisions concerning other undertakings in the market.
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