The new Croatian Property Management Law permanently resolves the issue of property-legal cases with companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, in Croatia’s favour, Bosnian experts say. Croatia said there is no cause for concern. For them, private property is sacred.

Facilities from the so-called sub-balances of Bosnian and Serbian companies will be given to concession lasting up to 30 years. A large number of these facilities have been demolished, the one who rents them will invest in them.  

“The Law does not affect the ownership of the facilities in any way. Ownership is sacred and it must be sacred. This Law simply activates the abandoned properties,” said the Croatian State Property Minister Goran Maric.

However, numerous Bosnian companies are unable to achieve property rights in Croatia.

“A concession owner has the right to simply buy the property, which is not a friendly message to Bosnia and in that case, Bosnia’s Council of Ministers must react and send a protest note,” said professor Sead Avdic, former Chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina's House of Representatives, President of the UNESCO Commission,and the current Ambassador of Bosnia to India,.

The Republika Srpska (RS) entity has 64 real estates in Croatia, said Muhamed Cero, a former member of Bosnia’s State Property Commission. According to the Privatisation Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) entity, this entity, on the other hand, has 78 real estates such as petrol stations, hotels, port Sibenik, Ploce terminal, etc.

The Law also treats Serbia’s property in Croatia. Cero said it would be good if Bosnia and Serbia would cooperate in contesting the controversial Law.

“The only serious approach to this story is a joint action against this Law because the two countries are facing an identical legal situation,” Cero concluded.

The FBiH Prime Minister Fadil Novalic already announced that FBiH would notify the Council of Ministers about the said situation, but no official from RS made any comments regarding this situation, yet.

The Succession Law between the former Yugoslav republics has come into force in 2004. Very few property-legal cases between Bosnia and Croatia have been resolved in the past 14 years.