SERBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Aleksandar Ristić and Stefan Šilobad, Law Office Miroslav Stojanović
or the public bailiff (eg, a public bailiff is exclusively responsible for the enforcement of claims arising from utility services). Depending on the nature of the claim in question as well as the parties involved, enforcement proceedings may be instigated before a basic court ( osnovni sud ) or a commercial court ( privredni sud ), designated for the territory of the debtor’s domicile or registered seat. Apart from such general territorial jurisdiction ( opšta mesna nadležnost ), the LES provides various other jurisdictional grounds, including cases of exclusive jurisdiction ( isključiva nadležnost ) of certain courts (eg, the court designated for the territory on which immovable property is located, etc). While a motion for enforcement must be filed in writ - ing, no official form is provided for under Serbian law. Nevertheless, the LES explicitly regulates information that must be included in such motion in order for the competent authority to be able to issue an appropri - ate enforcement decision based on it (eg, appropriate identification of the parties, the claim and the enforce - able title in question, the proposed means and objects of enforcement, etc). Upon receipt of the motion, the court will examine the fulfilment of both the formal and material require - ments for its adoption. If such requirements are met, said court will order the enforcement of the relevant enforceable title (ie, judgment) by passing an enforce - ment decision.
ment in their motion for enforcement, a creditor of a monetary claim may also request that the enforce - ment instead be conducted against the entire prop - erty of the debtor, in which case the public bailiff will be charged with identifying the debtor’s assets and deciding on the most beneficial means and objects of enforcement. When conducting the enforcement of a monetary claim, the public bailiff must take into account the principle of proportionality and ensure a balance between: • the amount of the debtor’s obligation towards the creditor; and • the means and value of the object of enforcement. In doing so, the public bailiff must ensure that the enforcement is conducted in a way that is of least inconvenience for the debtor. However, this general rule does not apply to cases when the debtor has expressly consented, in the form of a notarial deed (eg, a mortgage agreement or pledge statement), that the enforcement of the specific claim be carried out by specific means or on a specific object of enforce - ment, nor in cases when it is obvious that only specific means or objects of enforcement may be used to sat - isfy the claim in question. According to the LES, certain assets are exempt from enforcement, such as: • clothes, footwear and other items for personal use; • furniture that is considered necessary for the debtor and members of their household; and • food and fuel necessary for the debtor and mem - bers of their household for a period of three months, etc. In addition, certain income is also exempt in this regard, including: • from statutory maintenance (ie, alimony) obliga - tions; • that received under social protection regulations; • from temporary unemployment; and • from scholarships, etc.
Means and Objects of Enforcement Serbian law distinguishes between:
• means of enforcement ( sredstva izvršenja ) – com - pulsory actions through which the satisfaction of a claim is carried out; and • objects of enforcement ( predmeti izvršenja ) – assets and rights of the debtor against which the enforcement is being conducted. Means of enforcement are expressly regulated by the LES and differ depending on whether they are aimed at the satisfaction of a monetary or a non-monetary claim. While the creditor is generally expected to propose one or more means and objects of enforce -
405 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook