Montenegro implements new post-disaster recovery law

Ljuban Tmušić, head of the Directorate for Civil Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction, has announced new procedures for citizens seeking aid following fire damage under the new Law on Post-Disaster Recovery.

Citizens must report damages to local commissions for the assessment of damage, losses, and needs within 15 days of the incident occurring. Once a report is filed, local commissions have a 60-day deadline to conduct field assessments and submit reports to the relevant state authorities.

The new law, developed with support from the UNDP and aligned with standards from the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Commission, establishes formal policies for post-disaster recovery. Tmušić noted that the law changes previous practices by specifying that aid is distributed by local self-government units and the state according to prescribed legal procedures, rather than an automatic state obligation to compensate all damages.