Enforcement Proceedings Attorney in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Enforcement proceedings are a special court process through which creditors (the persons owed money) can compulsorily collect from a debtor when voluntary performance fails to occur. In practice this means that, if you hold a final court judgment or another enforceable document and the debtor does not pay, in enforcement proceedings the court can order various measures of compulsory collection, such as freezing bank accounts, enforcement against salary or the seizure and sale of the debtor's assets, in order to secure payment. Such proceedings are often the last resort for debt collection, but they can be highly effective once all other options have been exhausted.

An enforcement proceedings attorney specialised in this field of law can help you move through these complex steps quickly and correctly, so that your rights are realised in full. The Prnjavorac Law Firm provides professional assistance in precisely these situations, across the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina; we can represent you wherever your case is located, whether in Sarajevo, Tuzla, Mostar or Banja Luka.

What are enforcement proceedings?

Enforcement proceedings (izvršni postupak) are a statutory procedure for the compulsory collection of claims based on an enforceable document. Simply put, it is the process in which the court enables the creditor to compulsorily collect a claim from the debtor when the debtor does not perform voluntarily. An enforceable document (izvršna isprava) is most often a final and enforceable court decision (a judgment or a ruling), a court settlement, a notarial deed or another document suitable for enforcement. An enforceable notarial deed does not need to carry a certificate of enforceability, because its enforceability is assessed under the regulations on notaries. On the basis of such a document, the creditor (the enforcement creditor, tražilac izvršenja) files a motion for enforcement with the competent court, which formally opens the enforcement proceedings.

Once the court receives a proper motion for enforcement, it issues an enforcement ruling (rješenje o izvršenju) determining the object and the means of enforcement. The ruling is served on the debtor (the enforcement debtor, izvršenik), and service starts the period for filing an objection, which as a rule is eight days. The remaining details of the legal remedies are governed by the law on enforcement procedure applicable to the specific case, so they may differ between the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and the Brčko District. The objection itself does not, as a rule, stop the course of the enforcement proceedings, but the satisfaction of the enforcement creditor is postponed until the first instance court decides on the objection, subject to the exceptions provided by law, such as maintenance obligations. If the debtor still fails to settle the debt, the compulsory measures of enforcement follow.

It is important to stress that enforcement proceedings are not a new lawsuit against the debtor, but the continuation of the earlier process, a way to obtain, with the court's assistance, what already belongs to you under the decision you hold.

An ordinary business invoice is not, on its own, a basis for enforcement. The law on enforcement procedure exhaustively lists the authentic documents (vjerodostojne isprave) on the basis of which the court may order enforcement without prior litigation: a bill of exchange and a cheque with protest and a return account, where these are required to establish the claim, and invoices or excerpts from business records for the price of utility services (water supply, heating, waste removal). Court practice further holds that a bill of exchange containing a "no protest" clause is deemed authentic even without protest. Republika Srpska and the Brčko District regulate this circle somewhat more broadly, so it also covers, among other things, telecommunications services and the RTV fee. An invoice between businesses is not among them, so for such a claim an enforceable document must first be obtained in civil litigation, and only then can compulsory collection be initiated.

An enforceable document does not remain valid indefinitely. A claim established by a final court decision or a court settlement becomes time barred after ten years, even where a shorter limitation period would otherwise apply to the claim itself. The exception is periodic payments falling due in the future under such a decision, such as interest or maintenance, because they become time barred within the shorter period prescribed for periodic claims. For businesses it also matters that claims of legal entities arising from contracts for the trade in goods and services become time barred within a short period, so the enforceable document should be obtained in good time. Delaying the filing of a motion for enforcement therefore carries risk, all the more so because not every action in enforcement proceedings interrupts the limitation period. The court does not consider the statute of limitations of its own motion: the debtor must invoke it, in enforcement proceedings as a rule by an objection against the enforcement ruling.

Why hire an attorney for enforcement proceedings?

Engaging an experienced attorney in enforcement proceedings can be decisive for successful and swift collection. These are the key advantages an enforcement proceedings attorney brings:

• Professional conduct of the proceedings: An attorney experienced in enforcement matters knows all the relevant regulations and procedures. They will correctly draft the motion for enforcement (including the principal debt, interest and costs) and file it with the competent court without errors that could delay the proceedings.
• Efficiency and speed: An attorney helps you avoid procedural standstills and advises which means of enforcement is the most effective in your case. For example, if they know the debtor has regular income, they will propose enforcement against salary or an account freeze instead of a lengthy asset sale process.
• Protection of your rights: Objections, appeals or other obstruction by the debtor can arise during the proceedings. An attorney will react in time to every objection or appeal by the debtor, prevent unjustified delays and make sure that, alongside the principal debt, default interest and all associated costs are collected as well.
• Less stress for the creditor: Debt collection can be stressful, but the attorney takes over communication with the court, tracks all deadlines and keeps you informed of every step. You are relieved of the burden and can be confident that a professional is managing the process.

In short, with an attorney's help you increase the likelihood that your claim will be collected in full and within the shortest possible time, in strict compliance with the statutory procedure.

How do enforcement proceedings unfold? (Main steps)

Below are the main stages of typical enforcement proceedings in BiH:

1. Holding an enforceable document: You must hold an enforceable document, for example a final and enforceable court judgment, a court ruling, a notarial deed suitable for enforcement or another document confirming that someone owes you a specific amount. Without an enforceable document, or an authentic document in the cases defined by law, enforcement proceedings cannot be initiated.
2. Filing the motion for enforcement: The creditor, or their attorney, files a written motion with the competent court. It states the details of the creditor and the debtor, the basis of the debt (the enforceable document), the amount of the claim and the proposed collection measures (e.g. enforcement against salary, an account freeze, sale of assets).
3. The court issues the enforcement ruling: The court examines the motion and, if the conditions are met, issues a ruling approving enforcement and determining the specific measures. This ruling is served on both parties, and service on the debtor starts the periods for filing a legal remedy.
4. Compulsory measures of enforcement: If the debtor does not voluntarily settle the debt even after the ruling has been issued, the compulsory measures are carried out; with enforcement based on an enforceable document, implementation may by law begin even before the ruling becomes final, while enforcement ordered on the basis of an authentic document cannot be implemented before the ruling becomes final. Court enforcement officers carry out collection through the means specified in the ruling: they can freeze the debtor's accounts, levy enforcement against salary, seize and sell movable assets, or register an annotation of the enforcement ruling against real estate and organise its sale by public auction. The law at the same time exempts certain items and income from enforcement or limits it (e.g. essential household items, part of salary and pension, and in the Federation of BiH, subject to statutory exceptions, real estate that constitutes the debtor's only home).
5. Collection of the debt and closure of the proceedings: The funds obtained are directed to the creditor after deduction of the costs of the proceedings. Once the claim is satisfied (or it is established that nothing can currently be collected), the court closes the enforcement proceedings. If the debt has not been collected in full, enforcement can continue against another means or object of enforcement (in the Federation of BiH the law prescribes a 15 day period for that motion, running from receipt of the court's notice that enforcement could not be implemented), or a new motion can be filed if the debtor acquires assets.

Every case can have its specific features, but these are the basic steps. Your attorney will adapt the approach to the circumstances of the specific case and make sure everything proceeds in accordance with the law.

Enforcement against real estate: limits to check in advance

Enforcement against real estate is the strongest means of collection, but also the slowest, and in recent years the legislator in the Federation of BiH has restricted it considerably. As soon as it issues the enforcement ruling, the court ex officio orders the registration of an annotation of enforcement in the land register. Through that annotation the enforcement creditor acquires the right to be satisfied out of that real estate, and anyone who later acquires a right in it must respect that priority. Early annotation therefore often pays off even when the sale is still far away.

Before real estate is proposed as an object of enforcement at all, three statutory limits must be checked in the Federation of BiH:

• Ratio of debt to property value: real estate cannot be an object of enforcement if the total amount of the claim under the enforceable or authentic document is lower than one third of its market value. For a debt of a few thousand marks against an apartment with a market value of KM 200,000.00, enforcement against that apartment is, as a rule, not possible.
• The debtor's only home: real estate that constitutes the debtor's only home cannot be an object of enforcement, that is, a property serving exclusively as the residence of the debtor and the members of their immediate family in the place of their domicile. The extent and area of the exemption is determined by the court in each specific case.
• Agricultural land: a farmer's agricultural land of up to 5,000 m² is exempt.

All three limits fall away if the debtor consented to enforcement against that real estate or if a security right was earlier created over it by the debtor's own will. This is precisely why a mortgage remains the safest way to secure a larger claim: a creditor with a registered mortgage does not face these obstacles, while an unsecured creditor can lose access to the most valuable object of enforcement.

If enforcement against the real estate is permitted, its value is established by an expert appraisal, and the sale is carried out by oral public auction, or by direct agreement if the parties and the secured creditors so agree. The law also prescribes minimum prices:

• at the first hearing the real estate cannot be sold below 70% of the established value, and opening bids below that amount are not considered;
• at the second hearing it cannot be sold below one half of the established value;
• if it is not sold at the second hearing either, the enforcement creditor may within 15 days move that the court establish, by ruling, their ownership of the real estate, in proportion to the claim relative to the established value; if no such motion is filed, the court will discontinue the enforcement.

For the creditor, one practical rule follows from all of this: the land register status, the appraised value of the real estate and the ratio of that value to the amount of the debt should be checked before choosing the means of enforcement. Otherwise, advances for the appraisal and time at hearings that by law cannot produce a result are wasted, while the opportunity for faster collection from accounts or salary is lost in parallel. The limits described above are prescribed by the Law on Enforcement Procedure of the Federation of BiH; Republika Srpska and the Brčko District regulate the same questions in their own laws, so the solutions differ, and we assess every case under the regulation that applies to it. Individual questions in this field are elaborated in court practice, for example enforcement against real estate over which the debtor holds a right of disposal and enforcement ordered against several objects of enforcement.

Professional support across the whole of BiH

The Prnjavorac Law Firm has many years of experience in conducting enforcement proceedings and represents clients throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Whether you need to enforce a judgment in the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska or the Brčko District, our team is ready to help you. We publish current court positions in this field in the section of our portal dedicated to case law on enforcement proceedings (in Bosnian). We appear before courts and competent authorities throughout BiH, which means we can conduct the proceedings efficiently wherever your debtor or their assets are located. We conduct enforcement proceedings in all cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the seven largest: Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla, Zenica, Mostar, Bijeljina and Brčko.

In every representation we aim for the highest standards of professionalism. We have more than three decades of experience and 1,056 public client reviews on our Google profiles. We combine detailed knowledge of the regulations with practical experience in order to choose the optimal strategy for your case, whether that is a swift account freeze, a proposal to sell assets or another measure. Our goal is always the same: the efficient realisation of your rights and full collection of the debt, in compliance with all statutory procedures. We also pay close attention to communication, keep you regularly informed about the course of the proceedings and remain available for all your questions, because we believe that trust and transparency deliver the best result.

Supreme Court case law

What the Supreme Court says about enforcement proceedings

A third party who acquired a lien after the enforcement order was noted in the land register in favour of the enforcement creditor does not acquire, in respect of that property, any right that would prevent the enforcement creditor from satisfying his claim by selling the property in enforcement proceedings.

Supreme Court of the Federation of BiH, Bulletin 1-2/2024, No. 65 0 P 612124 24 Rev of 26.12.2024 (translation from Bosnian; original decision: advokat-prnjavorac.com)

Recent decisions in this area

• Judicial mortgage established under the Enforcement Procedure Act is not an act of the insolvent debtor (Bulletin 1-2/2024, 14.05.2024)
• Enforcement proceedings based on a mortgage agreement do not bar a civil action on the loan agreement (Bulletin 1-2/2023, 25.07.2023)
• Action to declare an enforcement order inadmissible must be brought against all parties to the enforcement (Bulletin 1-2/2023, 23.03.2023)

Every decision in the collection is listed with the holding, the legal basis, the case number and the date; the collection is in Bosnian. Our office reads the relevant case law for you and explains it in English. Case law by practice area

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Frequently asked questions about enforcement proceedings (FAQ)

What does the term "enforcement proceedings" mean?

It is a procedure in which the court, at the creditor's request, carries out the compulsory collection of a debt from the debtor on the basis of an enforceable document. It is initiated when the debtor does not voluntarily pay what they owe.

How are enforcement proceedings initiated?

A motion for enforcement must be filed with the competent court together with an enforceable document (e.g. a judgment), or an authentic document in the cases defined by law, stating the requested collection (the amount of the debt, interest, costs) and the proposed means of enforcement. It is advisable to have the motion drafted by an attorney so that it is complete and correct.

How long does debt enforcement take?

The duration varies. Simple cases (e.g. freezing an account holding sufficient funds) can be resolved within a few months or faster. Complex cases, where the debtor's assets must be located and sold or where the debtor files legal remedies, can take longer, sometimes over a year. An attorney will strive to speed up the proceedings as far as the law allows.

Is it mandatory to hire an attorney?

It is not mandatory, but it is advisable. An attorney makes sure every step is carried out correctly and significantly increases the chance of successful collection. Without an attorney, mistakes in the motion or missed deadlines easily creep in, which can delay or jeopardise the collection of the debt.

Who bears the costs of enforcement proceedings?

At the outset the costs (court fees, any advances for the work of the court enforcement officer, expert appraisals and the like) are borne by the creditor initiating the proceedings. However, once collection succeeds, those costs are transferred to the debtor through the enforcement proceedings. In other words, the debtor will have to pay, alongside the principal debt, the costs of the proceedings as well as the statutory default interest accruing until payment.

Can enforcement be carried out against the apartment the debtor lives in?

In the Federation of BiH it cannot, if that apartment or house is the debtor's only home, that is, a property serving exclusively as the residence of the debtor and the members of their immediate family in the place of their domicile, with the extent and area of the exemption determined by the court in each specific case. Independently of that, real estate cannot be an object of enforcement when the total amount of the claim is lower than one third of its market value. Both limits fall away if the debtor consented to enforcement against that real estate or if a security right was earlier created over it by the debtor's own will, for example a mortgage in favour of a bank.

How much can be collected from the debtor's salary or pension?

In the Federation of BiH enforcement against salary and similar income may reach up to one half, and against the minimum and guaranteed pension up to one third. Those limits apply while the income does not exceed KM 1,000.00 per month, and on the part above that amount enforcement may reach up to two thirds. Income based on social and humanitarian assistance, child allowance, scholarships and support for pupils and students is exempt from enforcement. Court practice has also considered the limits of enforcement against the minimum pension of a person in poor material and health circumstances.

Can a foreign court judgment be enforced in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Not directly. A foreign court decision must first be recognised in separate proceedings before the competent court in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and only the recognised decision has the force of a domestic enforceable document on the basis of which a motion for enforcement can be filed. For clients from the diaspora holding a judgment from Germany, Austria, Switzerland or another country, this is as a rule the first step before collection itself.

What if the debtor has no assets at all?

Enforcement can only be carried out against assets the debtor owns or income they earn. If the debtor currently has neither assets nor income, collection will be difficult or impossible. In such cases enforcement can be discontinued, but the enforceable document remains, and a new motion for enforcement can later be filed on its basis if the creditor discovers that the debtor has acquired assets or income (e.g. employment, an inheritance, the purchase of real estate). An experienced attorney can help monitor the situation and advise when to attempt collection again, keeping in mind the statute of limitations of the claim. If the debtor transferred assets to other persons to evade collection, the creditor can challenge such legal acts of the debtor, and if bankruptcy proceedings have been opened against the debtor, the claim is registered in those proceedings.

Take the step towards collecting your claim

Although they may seem complex, enforcement proceedings with professional legal support become an effective mechanism for realising your rights. You do not have to go through the process alone. The Prnjavorac Law Firm is at your disposal for conducting enforcement proceedings throughout BiH.

Contact us today to obtain advice or to initiate collection. Leave it to our team of professionals to take care of all the legal details and help you reach the collection of your claim as soon as possible.