Unenforceability of the claims for damages

A right to request fulfilment of an obligation shall come to an end if time barred by statute of limitations. Unenforceability due to the statute of limitations shall follow the expiration of the period specified by statute during which the creditor was entitled to request fulfilment of the obligation.

The court shall not consider the fact of an obligation being time barred should the debtor fail to invoke it. This means that the debtor must raise the unenforceability period’s objection in the dispute for the court to consider it. The unenforceability period’s complaint is substantive, and the court will, as soon as it accepts this objection, reject the claim by a judgment and not renounce the action because of procedural reasons.

A debtor shall not renounce unenforceability prior to the expiration of time set forth for such unenforceability. However written acknowledgment of an obligation expired due to statute of limitations shall be construed as the renouncing of unenforceability. Providing security or other kind of guarantee to cover a claim expired due to statute of limitations shall have the same effect.

According to the provisions of the Law of the Contract and Torts, changing the legal unenforceability time limit by the contract is expressly forbidden.

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Procedure of mediation in resolving disputes

The Law on Mediation in Dispute Resolution (“Off. Herald of RS”, No. 55/2014) regulates the notion, principles, procedure and legal effect of mediation in resolving disputes, requirements for carrying out mediation, rights and duties of a mediator and training program for mediators.

Mediation is understood to mean any procedure, regardless of the name, whereby the parties voluntarily seek to settle their dispute through negotiation, with the assistance of one or several mediators, who assist the parties in reaching an agreement.

Mediation is applied in disputes wherein the parties may freely dispose of their claims, unless other law stipulates exclusive jurisdiction of a court or other authority, regardless of whether it is carried out before or after instituting court proceedings or other proceedings. Continue reading Procedure of mediation in resolving disputes