Disputes, Litigation and Arbitration Lawyers in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author: Attorney Azur Prnjavorac · Updated: 17 September 2026

Disputes are part of business and private life, but the way they are conducted decides whether a party emerges with its rights protected or with avoidable losses. Since 1993 Law Office Prnjavorac has represented clients in litigation and arbitration across Bosnia and Herzegovina, combining procedural experience with a sober assessment of risk. This page explains how we approach dispute resolution, how court proceedings run, how arbitration works, and which deadlines to watch so that a right is not lost before the dispute even begins.

Prevention and amicable resolution

The cheapest dispute is the one that never happens. Our work on a dispute therefore begins long before any claim is filed: reviewing contracts, drafting precise clauses on the jurisdiction of a court or arbitral tribunal, organising documentation and internal procedures at the client's business. When a disagreement does arise, we first assess whether it can be settled through negotiation or an out-of-court agreement, since an amicable outcome as a rule preserves the commercial relationship and cuts the costs substantially.

We place particular weight on mediation. Attorney Azur Prnjavorac also acts as a mediator, so we can offer clients this route as well, governed by the Law on Mediation Procedure. A settlement reached in mediation has the force of an enforceable instrument, and the procedure itself is confidential and as a rule takes weeks rather than years.

Representation in court proceedings

Where an amicable outcome is not possible or the other side shows no willingness to settle, we represent the client before the municipal and cantonal courts in the Federation of B&H, the basic and district courts in Republika Srpska including the district commercial courts, the Basic Court of Brčko District BiH, and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina where it has jurisdiction. Every case first passes through a legal analysis in which we tell the client openly what the prospects of success are, how long it is likely to take and what it will cost.

We represent clients in particular in the following types of dispute:

• Contractual disputes: non-performance, termination and nullity of contract, contractual penalties and default interest
• Damages claims: pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, contractual and non-contractual liability
• Property disputes: ownership and co-ownership, disturbance of possession, property and legal relations and disputes concerning real estate in B&H
• Commercial disputes: disputes between companies, disputes among founders and shareholders, debt collection
• Bill-of-exchange and cheque disputes: recovery under a bill of exchange and proceedings on an objection to a payment order
• Administrative disputes: challenging final decisions of administrative authorities before the competent courts

How court proceedings run

Cases differ, but litigation in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a rule passes through the following stages:

1. Legal analysis and attempt at settlement: before filing we assess the evidence, limitation periods and prospects of success, and invite the other side to settle.
2. Statement of claim: filed with the court having subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction, together with a court fee that depends on the value of the dispute.
3. Reply to the claim: the defendant must file it within 30 days of service, failing which the court may issue a judgment by default.
4. Preparatory hearing: procedural issues are settled, the facts are set out and all evidence for the main hearing is proposed.
5. Main hearing: evidence is taken and the parties, witnesses and expert witnesses are heard.
6. Judgment: the court decides on the claim and on the costs of the proceedings.
7. Appeal: filed within 30 days of the judgment being rendered or served (15 days in bill-of-exchange and cheque disputes), and decided by the second-instance court.
8. Enforcement: if the debtor does not comply voluntarily with a final judgment, we initiate enforcement proceedings for compulsory recovery of the claim.

This sequence is typical; the court may schedule several hearings, and at any stage the proceedings may end in a court settlement.

Arbitration: a private court for commercial and international disputes

In arbitration the dispute is decided, instead of by a state court, by a sole arbitrator or a panel of three arbitrators chosen by the parties themselves; the precondition is a written arbitration agreement, most often a clause agreed before the dispute arises. Arbitration in Bosnia and Herzegovina runs on two tracks. Ad hoc arbitration, which the parties organise themselves for a particular dispute, is governed by dedicated chapters of the entity civil procedure acts. Institutional arbitration is conducted by the Arbitration Court at the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a permanent institution seated in Sarajevo that has existed since 1998, first under the Law on the Chamber of Commerce of B&H and today under Article 20 of the Law on the Foreign Trade Chamber of B&H. The two tracks are not separate: where the rules lack a necessary provision, the civil procedure act applies subsidiarily in institutional proceedings as well.

Since May 2025 proceedings before that institution are governed by the Sarajevo Rules: the new Rules of Procedure of the Arbitration Court at the Foreign Trade Chamber of B&H were adopted on 18 March 2025, published in the Official Gazette of BiH no. 26/25 of 6 May 2025 and entered into force on the eighth day after publication. Arbitrations commenced before that date are concluded under the earlier Rules on the Organisation and Operation of the Arbitration Court (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 39/03 and 24/23). We publish the full text of the new rules in our legislation database: Rules of Procedure of the Arbitration Court at the FTC of B&H (Sarajevo Rules).

Key procedural rules under the Sarajevo Rules:

• An arbitration agreement is validly concluded by exchange of letters, by fax or by e-mail, and the nullity of the main contract does not entail the nullity of the arbitration clause
• Disputes up to 100,000 KM are decided by a sole arbitrator, above that amount by a panel of three, unless the parties agree otherwise
• The deadline to reply to the claim is 30 days, and 15 days in the expedited procedure
• Domestic disputes up to 100,000 KM automatically follow the expedited rules, with the option of an award without an oral hearing
• Proceedings are as a rule concluded within one year, and the award is rendered no later than 45 days after the close of the main hearing
• The arbitral award is final, has the force of a final judgment of an ordinary court and receives an enforceability clause
• The tribunal may order interim measures and may act as a conciliator, and the parties may agree on the application of the UNCITRAL Rules

Court practice on setting aside an arbitral award and on challenging an arbitration agreement after the proceedings have ended is collected in our case law database, in Bosnian.

To make these advantages available, arbitration must be agreed in time. The Chamber recommends the following clause for commercial contracts: "The parties agree that in the event of a dispute arising out of or in connection with this contract, its resolution shall be entrusted to the Arbitration Court at the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina." Alongside the basic clause, the number of arbitrators, the applicable law and the language of the proceedings are also agreed.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a party to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, so awards rendered in B&H are recognised in more than 170 countries, and vice versa. Arbitration is most often agreed by foreign companies doing business with partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina: a well-drafted clause removes in advance any uncertainty about the competent forum, the language of the proceedings and the applicable law. We assist foreign businesses and diaspora clients in drafting arbitration clauses, selecting arbitrators and conducting domestic and international arbitrations, as well as in the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards before the courts in B&H.

Deadlines and limitation: when a right ceases to be enforceable

Nothing costs a party more in a dispute than a missed deadline. The Law on Obligations provides that claims become time-barred after a general period of five years (Art. 371), unless a shorter period is prescribed for a particular claim. Mutual claims arising from commercial contracts become time-barred after three years (Art. 374), and a claim for damages after three years from the date the injured party learned of the damage and the person who caused it, and in any event after five years from the occurrence of the damage (Art. 376).

The limitation period is interrupted by filing a claim, by acknowledgement of the debt and by other acts prescribed by law, after which it begins to run afresh. Once a claim is time-barred the right does not cease to exist, but the debtor acquires a defence of limitation and may refuse performance, so the creditor loses the ability to enforce. That is why a timely review of the deadlines is the first step in every case we take on. Court practice on limitation is collected in our case law database, for example on the limitation of claims from commercial contracts, in Bosnian.

Strategy, costs and transparent communication

Every dispute is conducted according to a strategy agreed in advance. Before we take on a case the client receives an estimate of the prospects of success, the expected duration and the costs under the applicable attorney tariff. Every significant procedural decision is taken together with the client, and we build our submissions and arguments on the published practice of the courts in B&H, which we follow continuously.

Since the costs of the proceedings are ultimately borne by the losing party, before filing we say openly what clients sometimes do not want to hear: when a dispute should not be brought at all. Long-term trust is built on realistic assessments, not on promises.

Frequently asked questions about disputes and litigation

If you are in a dispute or are still assessing whether to bring one, contact the office: an analysis of the file will give you a clear answer on the prospects, the costs and the best route to a solution.