A new translation of the German Criminal Code into Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian has been published by the IRZ, with an introduction written by the Research Director at the Institute for Eastern Law in Regensburg, Prof. Dr Dres. h.c. Friedrich-Christian Schroeder.
The book is part of a series of publications with translations of German laws into the languages of the partner states in South Eastern Europe, which are intended to strengthen the role of German law as an orientation law in legal transformation. The Minister of Justice of Northern Macedonia, Prof. Dr. Nikola Tupancheski, himself a professor of criminal law and a member of the local expert commission for the reform of the criminal code until he took office, recently confirmed the important role of the publication.
The translations are not only used to inform groups of experts working on draft reform laws, but are also used by scholars researching on comparative law, practitioners working across borders and students. They are also a popular tool for learning German legal terminology.
The speaker Prof. Dr. Zlatan Meskic during his lecture Bosnia and Herzegovina
Due to pre-accession harmonisation, European law has an impact on the legal system of a country long before it joins the European Union (EU). Therefore, it is necessary for judges there to be informed at an early stage in which area of law "national provisions with a European background" are to be expected. They should be familiar with the legal technicalities of such regulations, including in particular the interpretation in conformity with the directives. A practically very important area of law is consumer law - here judges can benefit from such knowledge.
For this reason IRZ, together with the Centre for Judicial Training of both entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, organised the online seminar "The impact of European law on national law with special regard to consumer law" on 19 November 2021. The event was made possible with project funding from the Federal Foreign Office.
The speaker was Prof. Dr. Zlatan Meskic from the University of Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who completed his legal training, including court practice, in Vienna, where he also received his doctorate on European consumer law. He then taught European law as part of a Master's programme at Saarland University. With this background, he dealt with the topic with detailed reference to the relevant legal provisions and taking into account the case law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He explicitly pointed out that the Consumer Protection Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina was not harmonised with the general civil law provisions in numerous places. He also pointed out that the law contained translation errors, which, however, could be overcome by means of interpretation in conformity with the directives.
As a result, the approximately 70 participants from all parts of the country asked numerous questions, made comments and reported on further case law on the topic during the lecture. A lively professional discussion took place.
The ninth “Family Law” day was held in Mostar on 10 June 2021. The event, organised by IRZ together with the Faculty of Law at Džemal Bijedić University, had been shortened to a one-day online event due to the pandemic. The international conference traditionally addresses lawyers from various succession states of former Yugoslavia with an interest in family law. This year, the focus was on current issues in family law theory and practice. The background for this choice of topic was the influence of societal and social changes on family law, e.g.:
migration,
emigration,
ageing population,
falling birth rates,
the growing number of bi-national marriages, especially in the closely linked West Balkan countries, as well as
the new possibilities of reproductive medicine.
The family law conference involved around 50 participants from both entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as from Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. The goal of facilitating exchange between practising legal experts and academics was achieved, as the conference was attended by:
legal academics,
members of the judiciary,
notaries,
lawyers and
employees of public authorities.
After the conference was opened by the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. Alena Huseinbegović, and Dr. Stefan Pürner for IRZ, more than twenty speakers spoke on a wide range of topics. The German expert representing IRZ, Dr Karolina Mihaljevic-Schulze, a lawyer from Berlin of Croatian origin, spoke in the national language, focusing in particular on questions of parentage law in LGBT families from the perspective of the case law of the Federal Court of Justice.
To ensure the sustainability of the event, the conference papers will be printed in the Faculty Yearbook and will also be available online
The importance of the conference was also underlined by the fact that the Minister for Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the host canton Herzegovina-Neretva, Prof. Dr. Rašid Hadžović, did not miss the opportunity to open the event. In his welcoming address, he explicitly emphasised the long-standing fruitful cooperation between the faculty and IRZ.
