The Public Housing Enterprise has processed its employees’ salaries following a Supreme Court ruling that sent back for retrial the dispute between NPB and three commercial companies.
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NPB Chief Executive Officer Arton Berisha said at a press conference that the ruling represents an important development for the enterprise, as the review proceedings have been successfully concluded.
According to him, the employees continued to perform their duties even though they had gone without pay for more than two months and had already entered their third month without salaries. Berisha said the enterprise’s services had not been interrupted for a single day.
He said that management had taken the necessary measures to protect NPB’s interests. In this regard, Berisha thanked Pristina Mayor Përparim Rama, as well as the two deputy mayors, for their support during this period.
The employees’ salaries have now been processed, while as of Monday the Public Housing Enterprise is expected to resume its normal operations.
“Following this development, our main goal is to return fully to normality and continue our work, while preparing the next steps to protect NPB’s interests. The salaries have been processed, and from Monday we will continue working in the service of the citizens of Pristina and the entire community,” Berisha said.
NPB lawyer Faton Fetahu described the Supreme Court’s ruling as an achievement in protecting the public interest. According to him, the court overturned two judgments of the Commercial Court, through which the enterprise had been ordered to pay more than 32 million euros to three private companies.
Fetahu explained that the obligation to pay 32 million 570 thousand euros, of which around 32 million euros had been claimed for lost profits, would have seriously jeopardized the continuation of the enterprise’s operations.
“This concerns an exceptionally large amount that could seriously undermine the existence and functioning of the Public Housing Enterprise, exposing it even to the risk of bankruptcy,” Fetahu said.
He said the ruling also carries significance for Kosovo’s legal community, particularly in handling cases involving liability for damages and the determination of lost profits.
“This is a ruling of exceptional importance for protecting the public interest. It clarifies the fundamental standards of civil procedure and the law of obligations, particularly liability for causing damage,” the NPB lawyer said.
The Supreme Court had sent the legal dispute between the Public Housing Enterprise and the three commercial companies back to the first-instance court for retrial.
The court found the reviews filed by “Made Group Construction” LLC, “Arkos” LLC and “Madekos” LLC, by NPB as the defendant, and by the Municipality of Pristina in its capacity as an intervening party, to be well-founded. The dispute concerns the performance of the contract or compensation for material damage, including ordinary damage and lost profits.
In August, NPB announced that its bank accounts had been blocked due to an enforcement procedure related to this court case.
The Commercial Court had ordered the enterprise to pay 32.5 million euros to the three companies, “Made Kos,” “Made Group” and “Arkos,” as compensation for lost profits. NPB had signed a co-investment contract with these companies in 2021, but it was not carried out.
