Activists win court battle over Fruška Gora National Park fence

After years of legal battles, activists in Serbia have secured a significant court victory concerning an 8-kilometer fence and concrete road built in the Fruška Gora National Park. The Administrative Court ruled in favor of activist Dragana Arsić, stating that her request to re-examine the permit for the fence must be reconsidered. This decision overturns a previous rejection that denied her standing to challenge the permit issued by the Provincial Nature Protection Institute.

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We submitted a request to revoke the decision of the Provincial Institute for Nature Protection, which, in fact, gave the green light for the fence installation. So, they issued those conditions, and that decision is illegal.

Arsić, representing the "Defend Fruška Gora Forests" association, argued that the institute's permit was unlawful. She was initially told she lacked the legal standing to file such a request. However, the Administrative Court recognized her right to pursue the case as a representative of public interest, sending the matter back to the Secretariat for a new decision. Arsić expressed skepticism about the outcome, suggesting it depends on political will and potential "clientelistic relationships" between those who influenced the original permit and those who must now decide on its revocation.

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They rejected us with the explanation that I, as Dragana Arsić or the legal representative of the Association for the Protection of Forests and to defend the forests of Fruška Gora, was not actively legitimized to file that request at all, meaning, to deal with that topic.

The land parcel where the fence was erected was purchased by Sanja Petrić, a co-owner of Galens. The construction sparked protests and led to Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) filed against the activists. Despite the risks, Arsić stated the actions were worthwhile, believing they inspired other activists to challenge institutions acting outside their mandates.

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Whether that will actually happen is, of course, now a matter of political will. And we come to the point where those who made, who pressured the Provincial Institute for Nature Protection to make such a decision – I think it's that kind of clientelistic relationship – should now actually make a decision to revoke it.

Previous inspections had identified irregularities in the construction of the concrete road and ordered its removal, though this has not yet happened. Journalist Dragana Prica Kovačević noted that the land was categorized as pasture but was used for building a luxury apartment complex of up to 7,000 square meters, complete with a basement, pool, and cinema, in addition to the fence and road. She also mentioned that part of the land was ceded by the Eparchy of Sremska and that state land was also enclosed. Kovačević suggested this indicates a disregard for regulations in favor of wealth and a connection between Galens and city officials, as the company allegedly builds in inappropriate locations and demolishes structures for its projects.

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It was an action of great risk, which turned out to be the case with these SLAPP lawsuits, but regardless, we do not regret doing it because we have, I think, somehow initiated a wave among activists, to, so to speak, call out institutions on the ground that do not operate within their jurisdictions.