Serbia

Conference on the professional responsibilities of notaries

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Published: June 7, 2019
Lovro Tomašić and Richard Bock, German Federal Chamber of Notaries; Srbislav Cvejić and Sava Dedajić, Serbian Chamber of Notaries; Miroslav Đorđević, IRZ (from left to right)
Lovro Tomašić and Richard Bock, German Federal Chamber of Notaries; Srbislav Cvejić and Sava Dedajić, Serbian Chamber of Notaries; Miroslav Đorđević, IRZ (from left to right)
Serbia

In May 2019, the IRZ, together with the Serbian Chamber of Notaries and the German Federal Chamber of Notaries (Bundesnotarkammer or BNotK), organised a conference on the professional responsibilities of notaries. The event met with such a great level of interest that the same topics were discussed on both the 27 and 28 May.

The event was opened on each occasion by the President of the Serbian Chamber of Notaries, Srbislav Cvejić, the former Vice-President of the BNotK, the former notary Justizrat Richard Bock, and the local representative of the IRZ, Miroslav Đorđević.

Notaries Sava Dedajić from Stara Pazova and Aleksandar Mrkaljević from Smederevo outlined the professional aspects from the Serbian point of view. The situation in Germany was presented by notaries Richard Bock and Dr. Lovro Tomašić. The latter gave his speech in Serbian.

The German speakers explained the professional duties of notaries using specific cases as examples. They emphasised the fact that, under German law, notaries not only have to point out any risks, they also have to actively suggest ways offering the best possible protection for each party. They also presented the high requirements of German case law for the professional activity of notaries.

As had been the case the previous year, the subject of the conference, which was decided by all three partners, met with a great deal of interest. A total of 175 notaries and notarial staff took part in the event. The conference was part of the IRZ’s efforts to support Serbia as part of the EU’s strategy for the Western Balkans and strengthens the role of notaries' offices in the administration of justice.

Expert talks on the Model Declaratory Action (“Musterfeststellungsklage”) in Belgrade

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Published: May 29, 2019
Čedomir Backović, Deputy Minister, Serbian Ministry of Justice; Dr. Stefan Pürner, Head of Section at the IRZ; Dr. Claudia Alfons, BMJV; Miroslav Đorđević, LL.M., IRZ local staff in Serbia (from left to right)
Čedomir Backović, Deputy Minister, Serbian Ministry of Justice; Dr. Stefan Pürner, Head of Section at the IRZ; Dr. Claudia Alfons, BMJV; Miroslav Đorđević, LL.M., IRZ local staff in Serbia (from left to right)
Serbia

On 21 May 2019, expert talks organised by the IRZ in partnership with the Serbian Ministry of Justice took place in Belgrade. During the discussions, a group from the Serbian Ministry of Justice working on the reform of the Serbian code of civil procedure was able to learn about the model declaration, as well as about other regulations under civil law, which should enable consumers to execute their rights.

Once the event had been opened by the Assistant Minister for European Integration and International Projects, Čedomir Backović, who is also head of the negotiation team for Chapter 23, Dr. Claudia Alfons, representing Section R A 2 “Civil Procedure, Labour Tribunal Proceedings” at the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, presented the history and legislation of the model declaratory action. The participants also learned about the register of model declaratory actions held by the German Federal Office of Justice.

The scope of the subjects presented and subsequently discussed was inevitably broad. They ranged from the reasons for developing the claims as declaratory actions and not actions for performance to the potential options for formulating claims. There was a particular emphasis on the fact that new statutory provisions should make it easier for consumers to enforce the law but should not themselves create new laws.

Participants in the expert talks were also provided with translations of the relevant provisions of the German ZPO (code of civil procedure), the legal justification of the new provisions for the model declaratory action, the decree for the register of model declaratory actions and other documents on the civil aspects of consumer protection in Germany.

Publication of documentation for a symposium on “Legal transformation in the West Balkans”

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Published: March 20, 2019
Serbia

The documentation for the first interdisciplinary South-East Europe symposium organised jointly by the IRZ and the South-East Europe association (SOG), which was held in Berlin in November 2017 with the title “Legal transformation in South-East Europe using former Yugoslavia as an example: prerequisites, parties involved, failures and successes – a preliminary review”, appeared in the March edition of the Südosteuropa Mitteilungen, published by the SOG.

The publication includes a written transcript of the lectures, as well as a summary of the panel discussions, which were moderated by Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Heribert Küpper, Managing Director of the Munich Institute for Eastern European Law, based in the Research Centre in Regensburg, and one of the Vice-Presidents of the SOG.

The documentation includes the following articles:

  • Dr. Stefan Pürner: The framework conditions for transformation – initial situation, parties involved and external influencing factors;
  • Doz. Dr. Aleksandar Lj. Spasov: Dealing with the past as a prerequisite for transformation – the case of Macedonia;
  • Prof. Dr. Zlatan Meškić: Legal transformation in Bosnia and Herzegovina – constitutional perspectives;
  • Prof. Dr. Miloš Živković: Legal transformation in Serbia;
  • Norbert Koster: The framework conditions for transformation – initial situation, parties involved and external influencing factors, taking criminal procedural law as an example

The concept for the event involves contrasting the observations and opinions of law professionals from the transformation states with those of advisers from other countries. Despite the heterogeneous composition of the speakers, there were considerable parallels to be drawn from their opinions. These related in particular to the importance of the moderate development of the law, using existing continental European principles as a guideline, and the significance of further training measures in supporting legislative activities.

The publication can be downloaded as a PDF from the IRZ website: Legal transformation in South-East Europe using former Yugoslavia as an example: prerequisites, parties involved, failures and successes – a preliminary review.