Butorović pays a visit to the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage

President of the Coordination Body for the Harmonisation and Monitoring of Inspection Supervision and Minister in the Government of Montenegro, Milutin Butorović, paid a working visit, together with his associates, to the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, where he met with the Director of the Directorate, Petra Zdravković, to discuss improving mechanisms for the protection of the country’s most important sites.

During the meeting, also attended by the Chair of the Working Group within the Coordination Body, Miomir Tapušković, and Adviser Andrej Vučeković, it was assessed that priority action should be directed towards amending the legal framework governing the issuance of construction permits, particularly in UNESCO-protected areas and those designated as cultural heritage sites of Montenegro.

It was jointly noted that the recent amendments to the Law on the Protection of the Natural and Cultural and Historical Area of Kotor represent a positive step, but that further amendments to other systemic laws are necessary. The key objective of these reforms is to introduce a mandatory prior opinion of the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in procedures for issuing construction permits in these specific areas.

Our most valuable areas and resources require the highest level of institutional precaution. It is unacceptable that interventions in areas of national and global importance are carried out without a clear and binding expert opinion from the authority responsible for the protection of cultural heritage, it was emphasised during the visit.

The Coordination Body and the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage will continue their intensive cooperation to ensure that inspection supervision and the legal framework function in a coordinated manner, in service of preserving the identity and integrity of Montenegro’s cultural heritage.