Rulebook determining the appearance of kiosks in…

Tailor-made laws in the Western Balkans and Turkey

Rulebook determining the appearance of kiosks in Belgrade

Introduction

In 2015, the city of Belgrade published a new rulebook prescribing identical types of kiosks in three central city municipalities.

The rulebook determines the type, size and other characteristics of the kiosks in public and other areas in the municipalities of Vračar, Savski Venac and Stari Grad. Articles 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the rulebook describe the exact types and sizes of these kiosks as well as the size of the surfaces they are erected on.

Country: Serbia

Sector: Trade and customs

Type of Law: Capturing a market, an industry or public resources

Description of the law

In 2015, the city of Belgrade published a new rulebook prescribing identical types of kiosks in three central city municipalities.

Two years before Siniša Mali, the mayor of Belgrade, signed the decision regulating the appearance of kiosks in the city centre, the Štampa sistem company erected an identical kiosk in the pedestrian zone of the city centre. According to media reports, there had been no public consultation and no design competition before the decision on the new appearance of kiosks in Belgrade was made in December 2015. Based on this decision, the specified kiosk type, which had first appeared in 2013, became the only permitted kiosk type two years later.

With a single kiosk costing €10,000–12,000, the total cost of replacing about 750 kiosks would be approximately €9 million.

Štampa sistem company, which erected a kiosk in 2013 identical to the type later approved by the city, was owned by Centro štampa holding, a subsidiary of the Centroproizvod company. Centroproizvod changed its name to My Kiosk Group in 2015. This group is owned by the offshore Property Plus establishment and businessman Darko Bajčetić (see here). Centro štampa holding opened a plant for the production of kiosks in 2014 .

Full Law Name

Rulebook on the Type, Size, Appearance and Other Features of Kiosks Set Up in the City Municipalities of Vračar, Savski Venac and Stari Grad ("Official Gazette of the City of Belgrade", No. 89/2015)

Type of law

A general act of local self-government issued by the mayor (regulates issues of general importance) and published in local official journals.

Scope of application

Substantive: a rulebook regulating the uniform appearance of small shops (kiosks) in the city centre of Belgrade
Personal: all owners (legal and natural persons) of temporary shopping objects (kiosks)
Territorial: three municipalities in the city Belgrade (Vračar, Savski Venac and Stari Grad)
Temporal: until abrogated

The rulebook entered into force on 7 January 2016. The deadline for complying with the new requirements was 31 December 2016. In other metropolitan municipalities, the tenants of the kiosks were required to comply by the end of 2018.

Time of adoption and entering to force

The rulebook was enacted on 30 December 2015 (see here). It entered into force on 7 January 2016.

Who drafted it

Siniša Mali, mayor of Belgrade

Who submitted it to Parliament or other collective body, such local council

The new rulebook is enacted by the major of Belgrade based on the Decision to amend the Decision on the Setting of Temporary Objects on the Territory of the City of Belgrade adopted by the City Assembly.

Relevant developments in the process of adoption that show signs it is tailor-made

In December 2013, two years before Mayor of Belgrade Siniša Mali prescribed the appearance of city centre kiosks, the Štampa sistem company erected a kiosk in the pedestrian zone of the city centre. This kiosk was erected in violation of the regulations in place at the time as it was not a type of kiosk allowed by the regulation. Nevertheless, the municipal inspectors, who noted and recorded that the kiosk was not in compliance with regulations, took no further action. The installation of this kiosk was followed by positive newspaper reports stating that "Centro print holding" (owner of the company "Štampa sistem") had decorated the centre of Belgrade with new-look kiosks .

Centro štampa holding opened a plant for the production of such kiosks in 2014 .

In December 2015, the media reported that there had been no public consultation or conceptual design competition prior to the decision regarding the new appearance of kiosks in Belgrade. Based on this decision, this type of kiosk, which had first appeared two years previously, became the only permitted type of kiosk.

One of these new kiosks costs around €10,000 (see here). However, not all owners were prepared for these changes, which is why only a few of them were able to buy a new type of kiosks. The media also reported that one of the first new kiosks appeared in city centre just a few days after the mayor defined its future appearance.

Who adopted it

The mayor of Belgrade, Siniša Mali

Enforcement

Yes, the rulebook is enforced.

Initiatives to challenge it and their outcomes

Several media and one NGO reported on this issue after the adoption of the rulebook. The legality of the rulebook and other initiatives related to this decision was not challenged. Opposition MPs in the city assembly claimed that some kiosk manufacturers seemed to know what type of kiosk the mayor would prescribe before the decision was made, which meant that they were ready to put that type of kiosk on the market, while others were not (see here).

Affected sector

Trade and customs

In 2013, Štampa sistem company, which is owned by Centro štampa holding, erected a kiosk identical to the type later approved by the city.

Centro štampa holding was owned by Centroproizvod company in 2013. In 2015, Centroproizvod changed its name to My Kiosk Group. In the same year, Centro štampa holding was shut down. My Kiosk Group is now owned by the offshore Property Plus establishment, based in Liechtenstein, (99.94%) and businessman Darko Bajčetić (0.06%) (see here and here).

Direct victims

Owners of kiosks based on the previous rulebook complained about the high cost of the new kiosks. It is estimated that there are about 750 kiosks in the city. One new kiosk costs €10,000–12,000.

Socio-economic impact (on markets, sectors, etc)

Owners of the old kiosks had to pay a total of approximately €9 million to replace them, with an estimated cost per kiosk of €10,000–12,000. There are approximately 750 kiosks throughout the city of Belgrade.

Initiatives to challenge it and outcomes

N/A

Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this database. All information is believed to be correct as of December 2020. Nevertheless, Transparency International cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of its use for other purposes or in other contexts.