Court Orders Miroljub Petrovic to Pay Cetinje 10,000 Euros

The Basic Court in Cetinje has ordered Miroljub Petrovic and the Serbia-based association Pleme Kuci to jointly pay the Capital City of Cetinje 10,000 euros over the “Srce Srbije” music video, the city announced on October 16. The case also touches Serbia, since one of the defendants is an association from this country and the ruling concerns a song video shot at locations in Montenegro.

The defendants must also cover the costs of the proceedings. The court further ordered them to take the video down from YouTube and never publish it again. The ruling is a first-instance decision.

What did the court order the defendants to do?

According to a statement from the Capital City of Cetinje, the Basic Court upheld the city’s claim against Miroljub Petrovic and the Pleme Kuci association. “Jointly” means the obligation to pay falls on both defendants together. The city relayed the operative part of the ruling this way:

“The ruling obliges the defendants to jointly pay the Capital City 10,000 euros in compensation for non-material damage, as well as the costs of the proceedings, and to remove the disputed video from the YouTube platform and permanently refrain from publishing it again on the internet and through the media.”

The 10,000 euros were awarded for non-material damage, meaning harm to the city’s reputation and identity rather than a financial loss. According to the statement, that harm came from the publication of the “Srce Srbije” video. The decision was made by a court of first instance, so the case is still at the first stage of the proceedings.

How did the court explain its ruling?

City officials say the court found in its reasoning that the way Cetinje’s cultural and historical landmarks were presented in the video damaged the city’s reputation and identity. The Capital City quotes part of the reasoning:

“In its reasoning, the court found, among other things, that Cetinje’s recognizable cultural and historical landmarks were used and presented in a context that damaged the reputation and identity of the Capital City as the historical and cultural center of Montenegro.”

By this account, the court ruled because of the context in which Cetinje’s landmarks appear in the video. The reasoning is given here as relayed by the city itself, which is a party to the dispute.

Where was the “Srce Srbije” video shot?

According to the news portal N1, the song “Srce Srbije” is performed by Jovana Petrovic, and the production was credited to Miroljub Petrovic. It was filmed at several locations in Montenegro:

• Court Square in Cetinje
• Orlov Krs in Cetinje
• Lake Skadar
• Zabljak Crnojevica
• Ostrog Monastery

Two of the five locations are in Cetinje itself, the city whose reputation and identity the ruling addresses. In its statement, the Capital City does not say exactly which Cetinje landmarks appear in the video.

The reaction of Miroljub Petrovic and the Pleme Kuci association to the ruling was not known at the time of publication.