Practice areas: which law and which court in Bosnia and Herzegovina
In brief: Bosnia and Herzegovina has no single civil legislation. The Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and the Brcko District each have their own laws on civil procedure, enforcement, property rights, inheritance and family relations. The same life situation may therefore carry a different time limit, a different jurisdiction and a different outcome, depending on where the proceedings are conducted.
- Seat of the office: Tuzla, with representation throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- First instance in litigation: the municipal court in the Federation of BiH, the basic court in Republika Srpska.
- Administrative dispute: the cantonal court in the Federation of BiH, the district court in Republika Srpska.
- Commercial disputes in RS: the district commercial court.
- The office does not take on: criminal and labour law cases.
Law Office Prnjavorac is a law office with its seat in Tuzla that provides legal services throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with representation before the courts and authorities in the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and the Brcko District. The office was founded in 1993, works in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, English and German, and regularly represents clients from the diaspora under a power of attorney. Its services cover the whole country, including its 15 largest cities: Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla, Zenica, Bijeljina, Mostar, Prijedor, Brcko, Doboj, Cazin, Zvornik, Zivinice, Bihac, Travnik and Gracanica.
Three legal systems in one state
This is the first thing to settle before any discussion of practice areas. In Bosnia and Herzegovina there is no single civil code and no single civil procedure act. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and the Brcko District each enact their own regulations in civil, property, family and inheritance matters, while the state, at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regulates only what the Constitution entrusts to it, such as citizenship and the administrative procedure before the institutions of BiH.
The practical consequence is simple and expensive. A time limit that applies in the Federation need not apply in Republika Srpska, a court that has jurisdiction in one entity does not exist in the other, and the case law of one supreme court does not bind a court in the other entity. So the first question in every case is not which area of law it belongs to, but where the proceedings are conducted. The answer to that determines the law, the court and the time limit.
One exception is worth remembering: the Law on Obligations was taken over and applies in both entities and in the Brcko District, so contract law and the compensation of damage rest in essence on the same text.
Which law applies in which area
The overview below shows the basic law by area in both entities and the first-instance court before which the proceedings are conducted. All the texts listed are available on this site in Bosnian; an overview of the legislation in English is on the page Legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
| Area | Federation of BiH | Republika Srpska | First instance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Litigation | Civil Procedure Act of the FBiH | Civil Procedure Act of RS | municipal court, or basic court |
| Enforcement | Enforcement Procedure Act of the FBiH | Enforcement Procedure Act of RS | municipal court, or basic court, and in commercial matters the district commercial court |
| Real estate and property rights | Property Rights Act of the FBiH | Property Rights Act of RS | municipal court, or basic court |
| Contracts and compensation of damage | Law on Obligations , taken over in both entities and in the Brcko District, with entity amendments | municipal court, or basic court | |
| Inheritance | Inheritance Act of the FBiH | Inheritance Act of RS | municipal court, or basic court; the probate procedure may also be conducted by a notary as commissioner of the court |
| Family relations | Family Law of the FBiH | Family Law of RS | municipal court, or basic court |
| Non-contentious procedure | Non-Contentious Procedure Act of the FBiH | Non-Contentious Procedure Act of RS | municipal court, or basic court |
| Land registers | Land Registers Act of the FBiH | Law on Survey and Cadastre of RS | land registry office of the municipal court in the Federation of BiH, or RUGIPP (the real estate cadastre) in Republika Srpska |
| Administrative procedure | Administrative Procedure Act of the FBiH | General Administrative Procedure Act of RS | the competent administrative authority, not a court |
| Administrative dispute | Administrative Disputes Act of the FBiH | Administrative Disputes Act of RS | cantonal court, or district court |
Which court has jurisdiction and where the appeal goes
The names of the courts differ between the entities, so the same level of proceedings carries a different name. The order of instances is as follows.
| Instance | Federation of BiH | Republika Srpska |
|---|---|---|
| First instance | municipal court | basic court; in commercial matters the district commercial court |
| Appeal | cantonal court | district court; in commercial matters the Higher Commercial Court |
| Review (revision) | Supreme Court of the Federation of BiH | Supreme Court of Republika Srpska |
| Administrative dispute | cantonal court | district court |
One difference in the organisation of the judiciary deserves a separate note: the Federation of BiH has no separate commercial courts, so commercial disputes at first instance are heard by the municipal courts, which have commercial departments for the purpose. Republika Srpska has district commercial courts, and legal remedies in that branch are decided by the Higher Commercial Court in Banja Luka.
Above the entity courts stand two legal avenues common to the whole state. The first is the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to which an appeal is lodged for violation of rights under the Constitution of BiH and the European Convention on Human Rights, within 60 days of service of the last decision. The second is the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which is approached only after the domestic remedies have been exhausted. More on the judicial system and the courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina is on separate pages.
The Brcko District as the third system
The Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina has its own regulations and its own court organisation. At first instance the Basic Court of the Brcko District acts, and the appeal is decided by the Appellate Court of the Brcko District. The regulations applied include the Civil Procedure Act of the Brcko District, the Enforcement Procedure Act of the Brcko District, the Law on Ownership and Other Property Rights of the Brcko District and the Inheritance Act of the Brcko District.
For real estate this is not an academic question. A property located in the District is registered and kept under the regulations of the District, regardless of where the owner lives and where the contract was made.
How the area is chosen in practice
A client rarely comes with a question from a single area. More often they come with one situation that touches three or four. An inherited house in which one of the heirs lives is at the same time inheritance law, property law, the land register and, if a dispute arises, litigation. So the case is first broken down into the proceedings that actually have to be brought, and only then is the order chosen.
- Establish where the property is and which court has jurisdiction. For real estate, territorial jurisdiction is determined by the place where the property is, and that also determines the law that applies.
- Check the position in the public registers. The land register extract and the cadastral possession sheet show whether a dispute is needed at all or a registration is enough.
- Establish what carries a time limit. Time limits are dealt with first, because a missed time limit usually cannot be repaired.
- Determine the order of the proceedings. Probate before division, division before registration, registration before sale.
- Weigh the cost against the value. If the cost of the proceedings exceeds what can be obtained, that is said at once, not after the first judgment.
What the office does not take on
A list of what is not done is as useful as a list of what is, because it saves the client time. Law Office Prnjavorac does not take on cases in criminal and labour law, cases in which a conflict of interest would arise, or representation before courts outside Bosnia and Herzegovina. In cross-border cases the office conducts the Bosnian part of the proceedings, in cooperation with a lawyer in the other state.
Alongside the areas shown in the overview below, the office also works on property and legal relations, litigation, commercial law, debt collection, assessment of legal risk, notarial matters, real estate, commercial and international commercial disputes, the establishment and division of marital property, international private law, banking law and finance, in-depth legal analysis of a case, tax protection of citizens of BiH working abroad and tax law and VAT. The types of work and the way the fee is calculated are set out on the page legal services: types of work and how fees are calculated.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about the practice areas of the office and the legal map of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Which areas of law does Law Office Prnjavorac cover?
The office covers inheritance and family law, real estate and property relations, commercial and corporate law, enforcement proceedings and debt collection, tax and financial law and international private law, with representation in court proceedings throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Do you represent clients throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Yes. The office, with its seat in Tuzla, represents clients before the courts and authorities in the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and the Brcko District.
Do you represent clients from the diaspora?
Yes. We regularly represent citizens of BiH living abroad. We communicate in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, English and German, and conduct the proceedings under a power of attorney, without the client necessarily coming to BiH.
How is cooperation with the office arranged?
Cooperation rests on a power of attorney and a written agreement on the individual matter or group of matters, after the facts of the case have been reviewed and the legal risk assessed.
Does the same law apply throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina?
It does not. In civil, property, family and inheritance matters the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and the Brcko District have their own regulations, including their own laws on civil procedure, enforcement, property rights, inheritance and family relations. What they share is the Law on Obligations, which was taken over and applies in both entities and in the District, so contract law and the compensation of damage rest in essence on the same text. That is why the first question in every case is not which area of law it belongs to, but where the proceedings are conducted.
Which court has jurisdiction at first instance in a civil matter?
In the Federation of BiH it is the municipal court, and the appeal is decided by the cantonal court. In Republika Srpska the basic court acts at first instance, and in commercial matters the district commercial court; the appeal is decided by the district court, or by the Higher Commercial Court. Review is decided by the Supreme Court of the Federation of BiH, or the Supreme Court of Republika Srpska. In the Brcko District the Basic Court of the Brcko District acts at first instance, and the appeal is decided by the Appellate Court of the Brcko District.
To which court is a claim in an administrative dispute filed?
In the Federation of BiH a claim in an administrative dispute is filed with the competent cantonal court, and in Republika Srpska with the competent district court. The administrative dispute is a separate procedure that follows only after the remedies before the administrative authorities have been exhausted, because the administrative procedure itself is conducted not by a court but by the competent administrative authority, under the Administrative Procedure Act of the FBiH or the General Administrative Procedure Act of Republika Srpska.
Who decides a dispute over a property located in the other entity?
Jurisdiction and the applicable law are determined by the place where the property is, not by where the owner lives or where the contract was made. A property in Republika Srpska is dealt with under the Property Rights Act of Republika Srpska before the basic court, a property in the Federation of BiH under the Property Rights Act of the FBiH before the municipal court, and a property in the Brcko District under the Law on Ownership and Other Property Rights of the Brcko District before the Basic Court of the Brcko District.
Is the probate procedure conducted by a court or a notary?
The probate procedure is a court procedure conducted by the municipal or basic court, but the court may entrust its conduct to a notary as commissioner of the court. The notary then acts on the basis of the court’s decision and may charge only the fee under the prescribed tariff. The decision on inheritance still has the effect of a court decision.
What happens when all the ordinary legal remedies have been exhausted?
After the ordinary and extraordinary legal remedies have been exhausted, two avenues remain that are common to the whole state. The first is an appeal to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for violation of rights under the Constitution of BiH and the European Convention on Human Rights, lodged within 60 days of service of the last decision. The second is an application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which comes into consideration only after the domestic remedies have been exhausted.
Which cases does the office not deal with?
The office does not take on cases in criminal and labour law, cases in which a conflict of interest would arise, or representation before courts outside Bosnia and Herzegovina. In cross-border cases the Bosnian part of the proceedings is conducted, in cooperation with a lawyer in the other state.
Clients have trusted us since 1993.
The law office Prnjavorac has been active since 1993. Today, in its fourth decade of work, it has 1,056 Google reviews with a rating of 5.0 / 5 across two independent Google business profiles.
All client reviews are publicly available on both Google business profiles, without filtering, mediation or moderation by the law office.
Other areas of the firm's work
We provide legal assistance and representation across a wide range of areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
