Nikša Miljanić, lawyer and diver
From Courtroom to Coral: The Dual Passions of a Boka Lawyer
In conversation with Diplomacy & Commerce Montenegro, the lawyer who moves with equal confidence through the courtroom and the open sea reveals his philosophy of life one imbued with freedom, responsibility and the lessons whispered to him by the sea; lessons that he carries, with the same passionate dedication, into his profession and his everyday life.
There are people who live their lives in a single breath, and there are those who seek a dive in every breath into the unknown, into themselves, into the world that surrounds them. Nikša Miljanić, a lawyer from Boka Kotorska, belongs to the latter. His passion for justice is as strong as the curiosity that draws him towards the hidden expanses of the sea, where every wave carries untold stories and every current bears lessons that cannot be grasped.
For Nikša, justice and the blue depths are not opposites, but two sides of the same coin both demand calm, precision and a profound reverence for something greater than ourselves. In his world, the laws of the courtroom and the laws of the sea merge in a harmony that both inspires and teaches, showing that true wisdom lies in balancing discipline and freedom, knowledge and feeling.
Nikša, a lawyer by day, a diver by night… or the other way around? How would you describe your “double life”?
We grew up with Marvel superheroes Batman, Superman, and all those seemingly ordinary people who hid their superpowers beneath business suits, only to transform into entirely different beings. I have to joke I’m not a superhero. And even if I were, of course, I wouldn’t admit it. Still, I can say that it’s exceptionally pleasant and fulfilling to carry both “identities”. It’s a perfect feeling to leap, within a single day, from a lawyer’s suit into a diving one or the other way around. I take incredible pleasure in that transformation, and it seems that, as the years go by, that pleasure only grows.All of this is made possible, on the one hand, by the freedom that the legal profession offers, and on the other, by my love and genuine devotion to the freedom of freediving and spearfishing. Interestingly, my profession and my hobby are so different that at first glance they appear to have nothing in common. Still, it is in those symbolic parallels that the true beauty of this duality lies.
Your question “a lawyer by day, a diver by night” is poetic and metaphorical, but in reality, everything happens during the day, as night fishing is strictly forbidden. Nevertheless, that takes nothing away from the magic of transforming between these two worlds.
Can the most complex case you have ever solved be compared to the most challenging dive you have ever had?
I wouldn’t say that I directly connect my work with diving, although interesting parallels arise on their own. In the legal profession, we encounter the unknown every day much like under the sea. You never know what awaits you, and the true skill lies in remaining calm and focused. Many cases are not necessarily complex in terms of the law, but in the sensitivity of the situations they place you in. The real challenge is to remain composed, fair and professional when emotions and interests intensify.A lawyer should not only be a connoisseur of the law, but also a person with a developed civic awareness, someone who profoundly understands society, culture and ethics. That is where the true beauty of this profession lies.Under the water, the situation is quite different.
There, you are free. You can catch a fish but you don’t have to. You don’t have to follow anyone but yourself. It is precisely in that freedom, and in a mindful relationship with nature, that the beauty of spearfishing lies.I wouldn’t compare a particular case to a specific dive, but one thing is certain: both teach you patience, focus and responsibility. In both worlds on land and under water these are skills that are never forgotten.
When did you first realise that the sea could be your “escape”?
The sea has been my true way of life practically for as long as I can remember. I grew up right on the shore, in the beautiful little coastal village of Đenovići, in the Bay of Kotor. I learnt to swim at the age of three, and by four I had my first diving mask. Since then, the sea has been both my peace and my restlessness. It is light and darkness alike all the colours and shades of life.When I want to free myself from stress, I think of the sea and imagine myself diving into the blue. But that is not an escape it is simply one of the most beautiful things that comes to mind. Sometimes it even feels as though, when I am diving, I am more in my natural habitat than I am on land.My profession has also been present in my life for a long time. My father is a lawyer, so I have “lived” law from my earliest childhood. You simply grow up with something. In my case, it was both law and logic, meetings and business conversations but there were always octopuses, scorpionfish and dusky groupers as well. All of that together makes me feel completely natural in both “suits”, with no need whatsoever for escape.
Can you describe a moment when, underwater, you thought: “This is more dangerous than any trial”?
Spearfishing is among the activities that carry the highest level of risk to which a person willingly commits. Unfortunately, hardly a year goes by without the loss of one of our colleagues. I have just returned from a memorial tournament in Croatia, where we paid tribute to those who have perished. The high level of risk is ever-present distraction and the hunt itself, often carried out at depth and with limited visibility, represent a serious challenge. My way of fishing is extreme diving on a single breath to depths of around fifty metres and returning, with or without a catch. Yet spearfishing is not an “adrenaline” sport. The essence of enjoyment in this pursuit is quite the opposite: the beauty lies in the meditative process of preparation, in the calm and concentration before the dive, and in taking every precaution that makes even the most demanding descents safe and pleasant.When approached in this way, there is, in fact, much less danger than in the practice of law. For the legal profession in its own way can also be highly perilous. The lives and destinies of clients often depend on your professionalism and attention to detail. Sometimes, as I sit in my office, I catch myself thinking is this perhaps more dangerous than diving?
Are there situations in which your legal instincts help you while underwater or vice versa?
I would say that these two activities complement each other. In the legal profession, we are almost always bound by various deadlines, the breach of which can be disastrous for our clients, and indirectly for us as professionals. In freediving, the strictness of the time dimension is even more pronounced. I believe that this subconscious, constant focus on caution helps one to act more responsibly in both worlds. Caution is so vital in the practice of law that you should never wait until the very last day to, for example, file an appeal. That is why we often record deadlines in our planners a day or two in advance. It is very similar with diving you should never test the limits of your body. Diving on a single breath carries inherent risk, and any additional exposure to danger in this sport is absolutely unacceptable. You must always resurface calmly, without haste or hunger for air. Particularly in spearfishing, there is no room for unexpected extensions of a dive or for increasing depth. On the other hand, in law, boldness, courage and risk-taking are sometimes necessary. In those moments, the composure developed through freediving proves invaluable it helps you to face challenging situations with clarity and calm.
Which place in the world do you consider the ultimate for diving, and what fascinates you most about it?
Our seabed is beautiful, but unfortunately, it is rather depleted. The reasons are a topic of their own, yet the general neglect towards the sea and its underwater world is undoubtedly present. Still, I manage to find hidden spots that are almost untouched. I consider these “micro-locations” of the Montenegrin seabed to be absolutely magnificent and unique. There are coral reefs and shipwrecks that hardly anyone knows about, and I am particularly fascinated by old, well-preserved wrecks where time seems to stand still and everything tells its own story.I haven’t done much diving in warmer, tropical seas nor do I yearn for it. I believe that the Adriatic and the Mediterranean have a special charm a charm that can be felt both underwater and on land, in the colours, scents, and the light filtering through the surface. I would love to explore the underwater worlds of Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Ibiza and Gibraltar, and the Portuguese island of Madeira is also a true diver’s paradise. If I had to single out a location that is dearest to me emotionally, it would be “Ponta Veslo” on Luštica. This beautiful cliff is the place where, many years ago, I made my very first deep dive and to this day, it remains truly magical, with a palpable sense of marine life surrounding you and inviting you to immerse yourself in its world.
What life lesson have you learnt underwater that you apply in your everyday and professional life?
Under the water, as well as above it, the sea teaches us numerous lessons. First and foremost, never to underestimate any person or situation. You come to understand at sea how short the distance is between an apparently harmless situation and real danger. There, these two extremes alternate with incredible speed. And usually, the culprit is our own carelessness taking signals too lightly, or that familiar “it’ll be easy” attitude all of which lead to poor judgement and slow reactions. This lesson applies equally to everyday life and to the professional world. But it’s not the only one. The sea, and especially diving, also teaches us about our own limits. How deep can we go? Interestingly, we always dive exactly as deep as we have imagined in our minds the depth itself is not what matters, but our perception of it. That is a wonderful lesson: we realise how often we ourselves are our greatest limiting factor. It is precisely at that point when boundaries shift that the feeling of phenomenal openness and freedom is born.We should not forget the lesson about the astonishing beauty of nature and life that the sea offers us every single day. Try it put on a mask and take a look into that underwater world. It’s very simple, yet beautiful. You don’t have to dive deep; even a single glance into that magical realm from which, in some distant moment, we all emerged, is enough. Isn’t that a genuine miracle?
If you could send one message to the world about life, the sea and justice what would it be?
We live in a world of increasing artificial intelligence and, I would say, a general decline in real intelligence, knowledge and awareness. Lately, I have noticed a worrying drop in interest when it comes to preserving the sea, nature, and this beautiful planet on which we find ourselves. The oceans and seas are by far the largest and most important part of our planet, and today they are suffering tremendously under the weight of our negligence.The daily chase for profit and the madness of capitalism into which we have fallen are bringing us ever closer to ecological catastrophe. And here comes justice the true, cosmic kind which, I fear, will catch up with us. For this kind of justice, we need no courts. It is natural. It seems to be sending us a clear message: “My dear ones, the sea, the mountains and the winds will protect you only as much as you protect them.”Therefore, if I could send one message to the world, it would be this one: let us protect this divine expanse for it is our most beautiful duty.