Power of attorney for a lawyer in Bosnia and Herzegovina from abroad

Author: Azur Prnjavorac, attorney at law | Updated: 17 September 2026

In short. The power of attorney is the first and most important step in every matter handled from abroad: without it a lawyer in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot file a single submission, and with it he conducts the whole proceeding in your place. We draft the text, tailored to your case; you only sign it before the official who certifies the signature, at an embassy or consulate of BiH or before a notary in the country where you live. Consular certification is valid in BiH at once; a notarial certification from Germany, Switzerland or the United States needs an apostille, while one from Austria does not because of the 1954 treaty. For most matters a certified signature is enough; for the declaration of inheritance and for real estate in the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District, notarial form is required. This page explains what the power of attorney must contain, where and how it is certified in each country, what it costs, how it is translated, how long it remains valid and how it is revoked. We deliberately offer no ready-made form: we draft the power of attorney separately for each case, once we have agreed the procedure with you, because an authority in BiH accepts only a power of attorney that matches exactly the proceeding being conducted.

What a power of attorney is and who drafts it

A power of attorney is the authority to represent that the principal grants to the agent, and before a court the agent may be an attorney at law (Article 89 of the Law on Obligations, Article 301 of the Civil Procedure Act of the Federation of BiH; identical rules apply in the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District). Acts performed by the attorney within the limits of the power of attorney have the same effect as if you had performed them yourself (Article 302 CPA). A party may authorise the agent to perform only certain acts or all acts in the proceedings (Article 304 CPA), which is why we distinguish a general power of attorney, for representation before courts and authorities in one or more matters, from a special power of attorney, for a precisely defined legal transaction: the sale of a specific property, the giving of a declaration of inheritance, renunciation of citizenship, the conclusion of a specific contract.

If a party has issued an attorney a power of attorney to conduct litigation without specifying its scope, the attorney is authorised by law to file and withdraw a claim, answer a claim, admit or waive a claim, conclude a settlement, lodge and withdraw appeals, apply for interim measures, initiate enforcement and receive the awarded costs (Article 305 CPA). By contrast, under Article 91 of the Law on Obligations an agent may not, without special authority for each individual case, assume a bill of exchange obligation, conclude a contract of suretyship, settlement or arbitration, or waive any right without consideration, and transactions outside the ordinary course of business require specific authorisation. That is why the power of attorney is always drafted by the lawyer who will act under it: he knows which authority will read it and what that authority expects to find in it. A power of attorney written by the client from an internet template is the most common reason a certification has to be repeated.

What the power of attorney must contain under Bosnian law

The law prescribes no form, but courts, notaries, land registries and administrative authorities in practice require the same elements. The power of attorney we draft for clients abroad contains: details of the principal (first and last name, date and place of birth, the Bosnian personal identification number JMBG if you have one, the number and issuing authority of your passport or identity card and your residential address abroad, because the authority in BiH uses these details to establish that you are the party to the proceedings), details of the agent (attorney Azur Prnjavorac, Đorđa Mihajlovića 10b, 75000 Tuzla, entered in the roll of attorneys of the Regional Bar Association of Tuzla), the subject matter (probate after a named deceased, sale of a property identified by cadastral parcel and cadastral municipality, collection of a specific debt, recognition of a specific foreign judgment, entry in the civil registers), the scope of authority (before which bodies and which acts: filing submissions and appeals, receiving service, concluding settlements, obtaining documents, applications for entry in the land register and the civil registers, representation before the tax administration), substitution (another attorney may stand in for the attorney only with the party's express authority, Article 306 CPA, so the power of attorney allows this expressly to prevent a hearing being lost through unavailability), duration (until revoked or until the matter is concluded), and place, date and signature of the principal, beneath which the certification clause is placed.

A special power of attorney for real estate adds the description of the property as entered in the land register (cadastral municipality, parcel number, land register folio number, area, co-ownership share), the type of transaction (sale, purchase, gift, partition, creation of a mortgage), the minimum price below which the attorney may not sell or the maximum price up to which he may buy, the name of the buyer or seller if known, payment to your account abroad and authority to file the tax return and the application for registration. A power of attorney for a declaration of inheritance names the deceased, the court or notary before which the probate is pending and the content of the declaration the attorney is to give on your behalf: acceptance of the inheritance, renunciation or cession of your share to a named co-heir. A power of attorney in citizenship matters names the type of proceeding and the authority (Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH or the registry office).

The power of attorney is drawn up in Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian, because these are the languages used before courts and authorities in BiH. A foreign notary certifies the signature, not the content, so the language of the text does not usually matter to him; if the notary nevertheless wants to understand what he is certifying, which is usual in Germany, Switzerland and the United States, we provide a bilingual version in which the Bosnian text prevails and the English or German translation stands beside it. This also avoids a later translation of the power of attorney itself.

When a certified signature is enough and when notarial form is required

For representation before a court the law requires a written power of attorney (Article 308 CPA), and the court may order certification of the signature only if it doubts its authenticity. When the client lives abroad, a certified signature is nevertheless the standard: courts, land registries, registry offices, the tax administration and banks in practice require a power of attorney with a certified signature, because without certification they have no way of checking that you signed it. Certification of signature means that the consular officer or notary confirms, on inspection of your passport, that you signed the document in his presence; he does not examine the content. This form is sufficient for litigation, enforcement, administrative proceedings, recognition of a foreign judgment, entry in the civil registers, obtaining documents, representation before the tax administration and most of the probate proceedings.

Notarial form means that the notary does not merely confirm the signature but draws up or verifies the content of the document (in BiH notarska obrada, in Germany and Austria the notarielle Beurkundung, in Switzerland the öffentliche Beurkundung, in the United States an act a notary public cannot perform). Under Article 90 of the Law on Obligations, the form prescribed for a legal transaction also applies to the power of attorney for its conclusion. Three cases follow in which a certified signature is not enough. First: the declaration of inheritance and the power of attorney to give it must, in the Federation of BiH, be in notarial form, and the heir may give either with the same effect before a consular or diplomatic representative of BiH (Article 237 paragraph 6 of the Inheritance Act of the Federation of BiH). Second: real estate in the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District, where contracts transferring or acquiring ownership and other rights in rem over real estate are void unless notarially drawn up (Article 57 of the Law on the Notarial Service of the RS), so that a notary there as a rule accepts the power of attorney for such a contract only in notarial form. Third: real estate in the Federation of BiH, where mandatory notarial drafting was abolished by decisions U-15/10 and U-22/16 of the Constitutional Court of the Federation and a contract drafted by an attorney is registered in the land register with signatures certified by a notary or a court; a certified signature is then enough for the power of attorney, but it must describe the property and the transaction precisely, because the land registry does not register on the basis of a power of attorney that does not identify the property. More on the page notary in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Our practical rule: before you go to be certified, you receive from us the draft of the power of attorney and instructions on which form is required for your case, and for real estate and declarations of inheritance we clear the draft in advance with the notary or court that will act on it. That way the certification is done once.

Certification at a BiH consulate or before a foreign notary with an apostille

A power of attorney certified at an embassy or consulate of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a document of a Bosnian authority: it is valid before every court and authority in the country without an apostille, without further authentication and without translation, because it is drawn up in our language and certified with our seal. The consular fee for certifying a signature is small (18 US dollars under the fee schedule of the Embassy in Washington of February 2026; in the European missions in the order of ten to fifteen euros). The drawback is that you must appear in person at the mission with a valid BiH passport or identity card, as a rule by appointment, and there are few missions: four in Germany, one each in Austria and Switzerland, two in the United States. The consulate certifies the signature on the power of attorney you bring; a declaration of inheritance it draws up itself.

A power of attorney certified before a foreign notary is a foreign public document. To be valid in BiH it needs an apostille under the Hague Convention of 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents, unless it comes from a country with which BiH has a bilateral treaty exempting documents from legalisation; among the countries with the largest Bosnian diaspora that is Austria. The advantage is that there is a notary in every town and an appointment within a day or two; the disadvantages are two trips (the notary, then the apostille authority, although the apostille can also be obtained by post), higher cost, and the need to have the notary's clause and the apostille translated by a sworn court interpreter in BiH. In comparison:

Our advice: if the consulate is within reach and the matter is not urgent, certify at the consulate; if the consulate is far away, no appointment is available and the matter cannot wait, go to a notary. As soon as you email us the scan of the certified power of attorney we start work, and we await the original by post.

Specifics for Germany

Consular certification: the Consulates General of BiH in Frankfurt am Main, Munich and Stuttgart and the Embassy in Berlin, according to the federal state where you live; addresses, telephone numbers, opening hours and the division of competence are on the page Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Germany. Notarial certification: any German notary certifies the signature (Unterschriftsbeglaubigung, fee under the GNotKG at least 20 and at most 70 euros) or, where notarial form is required, draws up the deed (Beurkundung). The apostille on a notarial document is issued in Germany by the president of the Landgericht (regional court) in whose district the notary has his seat; in some federal states the competence lies with the ministry of justice or the president of the Amtsgericht, and the notary can always tell you who is competent for his document. The Regierungspräsidium, Bezirksregierung or Landesverwaltungsamt issue apostilles for administrative documents, such as registry office certificates and residence certificates, not for notarial ones. The apostille is obtained in person the same day or by post within one to two weeks, for a fee of about 15 to 40 euros depending on the state. There is no treaty between Germany and BiH dispensing with the apostille, so it is mandatory. Everything for clients in Germany on one page: Bosnian lawyer for clients in Germany.

Specifics for Austria

Consular certification: the consular section of the Embassy of BiH in Vienna; the honorary consulates in Graz, Linz and Salzburg do not certify signatures, and for citizens far from Vienna the Embassy periodically holds consular days. Details on the page Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Austria. In Austria a signature is certified by a notary or at the Bezirksgericht (district court), which is cheaper, while notarial form (Notariatsakt) is drawn up only by a notary. Between Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina the 1954 Treaty on Mutual Legal Relations applies, which BiH took over from the former Yugoslavia, so Austrian public documents, including notarial and court certification of signatures, are valid in BiH without an apostille; Austria applies the same rule to documents from BiH. If an authority in BiH nevertheless asks for an apostille, which happens when the clerk does not know the treaty, it is issued for notarial and court documents by the president of the competent Landesgericht, for administrative documents by the Landeshauptmann and for federal documents by the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs in Vienna; the cost is small, so clients who want to avoid any discussion often obtain it in advance. The Austrian certification clause is translated by a court interpreter in BiH. Everything for clients in Austria: Bosnian lawyer for clients in Austria.

Specifics for Switzerland

Consular certification: only the Embassy of BiH in Bern (Muri bei Bern), which also covers Liechtenstein; there is no consulate general in Zurich, Basel or Geneva. Details on the page Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Switzerland. In Switzerland the certification of a signature depends on the canton: it is done by a notary, in some cantons also by the municipality (Gemeindekanzlei, Stadtammannamt) or the cantonal notarial office. The apostille is issued by the Staatskanzlei (chancellery) of the canton in which the certification was made (30 francs in Zurich, 50 in St. Gallen, no appointment needed, in person or by post); in some cantons a certification by a municipal official must first be authenticated at cantonal level before it receives the apostille, which the notary or municipality will know. There is no treaty between Switzerland and BiH exempting documents from legalisation, so the apostille is mandatory. Everything for clients in Switzerland: Bosnian lawyer for clients in Switzerland.

Specifics for the United States

Consular certification: the Embassy of BiH in Washington for the eastern and southern states and the Consulate General in Chicago for the Midwest and the West; the division of competence and details are on the page Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the USA. Because of the distances, most clients in the United States have the power of attorney certified by a notary public, who is authorised only to certify the signature and not to draw up deeds; for that reason we always prepare a power of attorney for the United States bilingually, in Bosnian and English, because the American notary requires the signer to understand what he is signing. The apostille is issued by the Secretary of State of the state in which the notary is commissioned, not by the federal Department of State in Washington; in some states (New York, for example) the notary's signature is first certified by the County Clerk and only then does the Secretary of State issue the apostille. Fees range from a few dollars to about twenty per document, by mail it takes one to four weeks, and in larger cities same-day service in person is possible. Where notarial form is required, for example for a declaration of inheritance, a client in the United States gives it at the Embassy or Consulate of BiH, because an American notary cannot substitute for that form; alternatively the attorney in BiH can give the declaration under a special power of attorney drawn up by the consulate. Everything for clients in the United States: Bosnian lawyer for clients in the United States.

Translation by a sworn court interpreter

Courts and authorities in BiH accept documents in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. If the power of attorney is drawn up in our language, only what the foreign authority added is translated: the notary's certification clause and the apostille, one to two pages in all. If the power of attorney is bilingual, the Bosnian text prevails and is likewise not translated. The translation must be made by a permanent court interpreter appointed in BiH; translations by a German sworn translator or a Swiss or American certified translator are as a rule not accepted by courts in BiH and would be a wasted expense. We arrange the translation on receipt of the original, and it goes into the file together with the power of attorney. The same rules apply to the other foreign documents in the case, such as civil status certificates, judgments and death certificates; more on the page apostille and legalisation of documents.

How long the power of attorney is valid and how it is revoked

The law does not limit the duration of a power of attorney. It remains valid until you revoke it, until the attorney terminates it or until the transaction for which it was given is completed; a general power of attorney for representation is as a rule issued until revoked, while a special power of attorney lapses once the transaction is done. Some authorities and banks nevertheless view a power of attorney certified years ago with suspicion and ask for a fresh one, so we advise certification only once the matter is ready to be started. The power of attorney ends with the death of the principal, a declaration of death and loss of legal capacity (Article 311 CPA, Article 94 of the Law on Obligations), although even then the attorney performs the acts that cannot be postponed.

Revocation is possible at any time, without reasons, and cannot be excluded by contract (Article 92 of the Law on Obligations, Article 310 CPA). It is made by a written statement to the attorney and communicated to the court or authority before which the proceedings are pending; towards the opposing party it takes effect from the moment it is communicated. The law requires no particular form for revocation, but for a special power of attorney for real estate we recommend a certified statement, so that the notary and land registry accept it without discussion. An attorney who terminates the power of attorney must for a further 30 days perform the acts needed to protect the client from harm. The power of attorney may also be narrowed, for example by excluding particular acts, by the same kind of statement by which it is granted.

Why there is no ready-made form and how you receive the draft

There are many power of attorney templates on the internet, and almost every one of them is returned by the authority in BiH for completion, because a generic text cannot know before which body the proceeding is pending, which property or deceased has to be identified and which acts that proceeding requires. That is why we do not offer the power of attorney as a downloadable form. We draft it only after we have agreed the procedure with you: which proceeding, before which court or authority, in which part of the country, which form of certification and where you will have it done. That way the power of attorney contains from the first day exactly what the court, notary or land registry requires, neither more nor less.

You receive the draft by email in Bosnian and, if you are certifying before a foreign notary who wants to understand the content, in a bilingual version with an English translation beside the governing Bosnian text. With it comes a short instruction sheet: where to certify, whether an apostille is needed, what to bring and how to send us the original. The reply with the draft normally follows within one to two working days of agreeing the procedure.

From draft to certified power of attorney: five steps

1. Enquiry by email. You describe the matter and send the documents you have, without translation.
2. Draft power of attorney. We draft the power of attorney with the exact scope of authority and tell you which form is required: certified signature or notarial form, consulate or notary, with or without an apostille.
3. Certification. You sign the power of attorney before the consular officer or notary; for a notarial certification from Germany, Switzerland or the United States you obtain the apostille.
4. Sending. You email the scan the same day and send the original by post or courier to the office. We arrange the translation of the clause and the apostille.
5. Start of work. We file the power of attorney with the first procedural act (Article 309 CPA) and from then on conduct the matter, with a written report after each stage.

Matters in which a power of attorney from abroad is the first step

Our main practice areas for clients abroad

Most matters from abroad fall within a few practice areas in which the office has worked since 1993. Each has its own page with the procedure, timelines and costs:

Legislation and sources this page is based on

This page was written by an attorney on the basis of the legislation in force in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its entities. Legal sources verified on 17 September 2026. Statutory texts are in Bosnian.