Protection of property rights and the legal status of debtors in enforcement on real estate, implementation of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with the aim to comply the provisions regulating enforcement proceedings with the Constitution of BiH, as well as adoption of recommendations of the Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH – these are the reasons behind the Amendments to the Law on Enforcement Procedures of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) (hereinafter: “the Law”).

The Law was published in the Official Gazette of FBiH no. 19/25 on March 22^nd 2025, and it came into force during the eight day of its publication.

Compared to the previous regulation, the key amendments to the Law are:

• Introduction of statutory deadlines for proceedings (e.g., proposition of a new enforcement measure within 15 days from the date of receipt of the decision that enforcement could not be carried out on the proposed enforcement measure);
• Postponement restriction of the enforcement proceedings for a period of six months (with the exception in the case of concluding a written agreement on the method of settlement of the claim);
• Exemption from the enforcement of real estate that constitutes the debtor’s only home (except with the debtor’s consent to enforcement on that property or if a pledge was established on the property by the debtor’s prior will);
• Unsuitability of real estate as an object of enforcement if the total amount of the claim from the enforcement or authentic document is less than 1/3 of the market value of the real estate;
• Increase in the sale price at public auction hearings (on the first sale, the real estate cannot be sold for less than 70% of the determined value, while on the second sale it cannot be sold for less than half of the value determined by the conclusion on the sale);
• The criteria of material and financial status of the debtor in judicial decision-making regarding the amount of the enforcement;
• Exemption from enforcement of income derived from social assistance, child allowances, and income from scholarships and aid for students and pupils;
• Special PoA during the transfer of funds from the debtor’s transaction account to the transaction account of the claimant or their authorized representative.

Proceedings in cases where a decision on the approval of enforcement was made before this Law entered into force will be conducted per the previously applicable provisions of the Law on Enforcement Procedure of the FBiH.

The Law additionally protects the rights of debtors, including prevention measures against unlawful and disproportionate conduct of enforcement procedures, and ultimately, introduces legal mechanisms which ensure transparency in the proceedings.