The renovation of the Rog factory should have begun by now, but things became complicated last year, when a conflict between the municipality and Rog’s current users flared up. Foto: BoBo
The renovation of the Rog factory should have begun by now, but things became complicated last year, when a conflict between the municipality and Rog’s current users flared up. Foto: BoBo

Over the weekend, the Municipality of Ljubljana (MOL) published a video presenting its vision for the renovation of Ljubljana’s Rog Factory. Titled A Film About Rog, the video is intended to help “the people of Ljubljana to better imagine the appearance and the contents of the new Rog Center.”

The renovation of the Rog factory should have begun by now, but things became complicated last year, when a conflict between the municipality and Rog’s current users flared up. In June 2016, MOL brought an excavator and began to tear down some of the factory buildings. The move was followed by a physical confrontation between security guards and Rog’s current users.

Rog’s users then sued MOL for trespassing, while the municipality filed civil suits against several individuals, requesting that they vacate the property and hand it over to the municipality. The case is still tied up in courts. Before its regular recess, the Ljubljana Circuit Court ruled in favor of the municipality in one of the cases and decided that the current user must clear out the premises and return them to the municipality.
Two rulings in favor of MOL
Attorney Zoran Korenčan, who represents the users of Rog, told MMC that two court rulings have ordered users to leave the premises of the former factory. The rulings are not yet legally binding because they were appealed and will be heard by higher courts. Meanwhile, suits filed by MOL against the factory’s users are still ongoing.

Korenčan explains that the Ljubljana Circuit Court is currently considering a suit filed by the Rog users against the municipality for trespass. The court ruling, which prohibits MOL from removing the users from the premises and prevents it from tearing down any buildings, is still in effect. The case is expected to end in mid-January, but appeals are likely.

The matter is expected to be tied up in courts for a while longer. Korenčan says that the cases will be heard as a priority matter, which means that the appeals will be decided relatively quickly. However, MOL has sued only eight out of more than 100 users. Apparently, MOL will have to sue the rest as well, if it wants them to vacate the premises.

Korenčan adds that the hearings have revealed that MOL has allowed the use of the property and that the former Deputy Mayor Miloš Pavlica told the court that during the occupation of the factory, he sympathized with Rog users in a way and that he was glad to see that they are engaged in various types of activities.