ZAGREB, May 26, 2018 – Commenting on the adoption of a law on state property management by the Croatian parliament on Friday, which will enable also the management of real estate in Croatia that is owned by other former Yugoslav republics, Bosnia and Herzegovina Justice Minister Josip Grubeša said on Saturday that Croatia could not make unilateral decisions on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s property on its territory, and that that property was protected by the agreement on succession to the former Yugoslav federation.
“Croatia has the right to regulate legal matters by laws on its territory but we believe that the issue of property which is protected under Annex G of the Succession Agreement must definitely be dealt with bilaterally, in cooperation with representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Grubeša said in a statement as carried by local newspapers.
The minister called for signing an agreement to regulate property-rights relations between the two countries.
The Croatian parliament on Friday passed the State Property Management Act, which will allow the State Property Management Ministry to manage the land intended for campsites, golf courses, hotels and other tourism facilities.
Grubeša met with Croatian State Property Management Minister Goran Marić in Zagreb in February this year to discuss succession to the former federation. “Despite Minister Grubeša’s clear efforts to have the talks resumed and to have the matter discussed at the highest level, that has not happened,” the Bosnia and Herzegovina Justice Ministry said.
The two countries started talks on an agreement on property-rights relations back in 1997 but the agreement was never concluded.
The Bosnian ministry said also that it had tried several times, but without success, to schedule a meeting with senior Croatian officials to discuss the implementation of Annex G of the Succession Agreement as the legal framework for dealing with property-rights requests.
The law passed by the Croatian parliament will also enable the use, namely long-term lease of real estate without resolved property-rights status, such as neglected Yugoslav-era holiday complexes on the Croatian coast.
