On 1 July 2016 the new Law on Enforcement and Security Procedure enters into force (“Official Gazette of RS“, no. 106/2015) (“LES“).
New LES inter alia provides for the following main novelties:
- Article 4 of the LES abolished the so-called parallel (mixed) jurisdiction of the courts and public executors with respect to the enforcement procedures and instead introduced the exclusive jurisdiction in these matters.
- By the new LES the court is exclusively responsible for:
- the execution of the joint selling of immovable property and movable things, as well as enforcement of acts, omissions or suffering,
- execution of directly enforceable documents concerning family relationships, and
- returning an employee to work.
- On the other hand, public executors are now exclusively competent for execution of:
- other enforceable documents,
- enforcement resolutions on the basis of credible documents,
- enforcement resolutions ordering counter-execution, and
- enforcement resolutions on the execution of court penalties.
- Article 24 of the LES now provides for the right of appeal against the resolution of the first-instance court or of the public executor, if it is not specified by this law that the appeal is not allowed, or that such resolution is challenged by way of objection.
In addition, the provisions of the Articles 546 and 547 of the LES should be pointed out.
Article 546 of the new LES stipulates that if, after the entry into force of the new LES, the resolution on enforcement or security issued under the old law is canceled, the procedure will be continued under the rules of the new LES. If the enforcement or security is conducted by the court, and for realization of the execution or security procedure under the new LES is exclusively competent public executor, the creditor is obliged to designate a public executor and notify the court thereof within 15 days from the date of receipt of the decision on cancelation of the resolution on enforcement or security, or the enforcement or security proceedings will be cancelled.
Article 547 of the new LES provides that enforcement creditors in whose favor was issued an enforcement or security resolution based on enforceable or credible document before the public executors started with work in the Republic of Serbia, and that on 1 May 2016 are still pursuing the enforcement or security procedure are obliged from 1 May 2016 until 1 July 2016 to choose whether the enforcement procedure should be continued by the court or a public executor. If in such a case the enforceable creditor does not make the choice in time, the enforcement procedure will be cancelled.
Therefore, from 1 July 2016 public executors will take over part of the jurisdiction of the courts, and all in accordance with the Article 4. of the new LES.