Transparency of the Regulatory System

The government has adequate laws to foster competition; however, due to corruption, laws are often not implemented transparently or efficiently.  The multitude of state, entity, cantonal (in the Federation only), and municipal administrations – each with the power to establish laws and regulations affecting business – creates a heavily bureaucratic, non-transparent system.  Ministries and/or regulatory agencies are not typically obligated to publish the text of proposed regulations before they are enacted.  Some local and international companies have expressed frustration with generally limited opportunities to provide input and influence/improve draft legislation that impacts the business community.

Foreign investors have criticized government and public procurement tenders for a lack of openness and transparency.  Dispute resolution is also challenging as the judicial system moves slowly, often does not adhere to existing deadlines, and provides no recourse if the company in question re-registers under a different name.

In an effort to promote the growth of business in its entity, the Republika Srpska government passed a series of amendments in 2013 to create an RS one-stop-shop for business registration.  This institution centralizes the process of registering a business, ostensibly making it easier, faster, and cheaper for new business owners to register their companies in the RS.  The Federation’s announced plans to establish a one-stop-shop have long been delayed.

Businesses are subject to inspections from a number of entity and cantonal/municipal agencies, including the financial police, labor inspectorate, market inspectorate, sanitary inspectorate, health inspectorate, fire-fighting inspectorate, environmental inspectorate, institution for the protection of cultural monuments, tourism and food inspectorate, construction inspectorate, communal inspectorate, and veterinary inspectorate.  Some investors have complained about non-transparent fees levied during inspections, changing rules and regulations, and an ineffective appeals process to protest these fines.

International Regulatory Considerations

BiH is not a part of the EU, the WTO, or a signatory to the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

Legal System and Judicial Independence

BiH has an overloaded court system and it often takes several years for a case to be brought to trial.  Moreover, commercial cases with subject matter that judges do not have experience adjudicating, such as intellectual property rights, are often left unresolved for lengthy periods of time.  Most judges have little to no in-depth knowledge of adjudicating international commercial disputes and require training on applicable international treaties and laws.  Regulations or enforcement actions can be appealed, and appeals are adjudicated in the national court system.

The U.S. government has provided training to judges, trustees, attorneys, and other stakeholders at the state and entity levels to assist in the development of bankruptcy and intellectual property rights laws.  Those laws are now in effect at both the entity and state levels, but have not been fully implemented.

Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment

The state-level Law on the Policy of Foreign Direct Investment accords foreign investors the same rights as domestic investors and guarantees foreign investors national treatment, protection against nationalization/expropriation, and the right to dispose of profits and transfer funds.  In practice, most business sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina are fully open to foreign equity ownership.  Notable exceptions to this general rule are select strategic sectors, such as defense; electric power transmission, which is closed to foreign investment; and some areas of publishing and media, where foreign ownership is restricted to 49 percent (see below).  However, one of the sub-national governments (Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska) may decide that companies normally subject to this limitation are not subject to restrictions.

According to legal amendments adopted in March 2015, foreign investors can now own more than 49 percent of capital business entities dealing with media activities, such as publishing newspapers, magazines and other journals, publishing of periodical publications, production and distribution of television programs, privately owned broadcasting of radio and TV programs, and other forms of daily or periodic publications.  The new law maintains the restriction that foreign investors cannot own more than 49 percent of public television and radio services.  The March 2015 amendments also set conditions to enhance legal security and clarity for foreign direct investment flows.  The Foreign Investment Promotion Agency maintains a list of laws relevant to investors on its website: http://www.fipa.gov.ba/publikacije_materijali/zakoni/default.aspx?id=317&langTag=en-US 

The complex legal environment in BiH underlines the utility of local legal representation for foreign investors.  Bosnian attorneys’ experience base is still limited with respect to legal questions and the issues that arise in a market-oriented economy.  However, local lawyers are quickly gaining experience in working with international organizations and companies operating in BiH.  Companies’ in-house legal counsel should be prepared to oversee their in-country counsel, with explicit explanations and directions regarding objectives.  The U.S. Embassy maintains a list of local lawyers willing to represent U.S. citizens and companies in BiH.  The list can be accessed at https://ba.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/attorneys/

Competition and Anti-Trust Laws

BiH has a Competition Council, designed to be an independent public institution to enforce anti-trust laws, prevent monopolies, and enhance private sector competition.  The Council reviews and approves foreign investments in cases of mergers and acquisitions of local companies by foreign companies.  The Competition Council consists of six members appointed for six-year terms of office with the possibility of one reappointment.  The BiH Council of Ministers appoints three Competition Council members, the Federation Government appoints two members, and the RS Government appoints one member.  From the six-member Competition Council, the BiH Council of Ministers affirms a president of the Council for a one-year term without the possibility of reappointment.

Expropriation and Compensation

BiH investment law forbids expropriation of investments, except in the public interest.  According to Article 16, “Foreign investment shall not be subject to any act of nationalization, expropriation, requisition, or measures that have similar effects, except where the public interest may require otherwise.”  In such cases of public interest, expropriation of investments would be executed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, be free from discrimination, and include payment of appropriate compensation.  Neither the entity governments nor the state government have expropriated any foreign investments to date.

Dispute Settlement

ICSID Convention and New York Convention

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a signatory of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”).  Bosnia and Herzegovina is a signatory to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID), also known as the Washington Convention.

Investor-State Dispute Settlement

Over the last decade, there have been two cases of legal disputes involving U.S. investors and the local government.  While efforts are being made to improve BiH’s commercial court system, its current capacity and practical inefficiencies limit timely resolution of commercial disputes.

International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts

BiH has been a member of the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes since 1997.  BiH does not have a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) or Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.  It accepts international arbitration to settle private investment disputes if the parties outline this option in a contract.

The only domestic arbitration body in BiH, the Arbitration Court of the BiH Foreign Trade Chamber, is an inexperienced institution.  It needs updated and modernized laws and regulations to comply with international norms and standards.  The Arbitration Court would benefit from licensed and trained arbitrators.  Domestic arbitration legislation is encompassed within the Civil Procedure Code and is not currently modeled on internationally-accepted regulations.  As for the legislation, arbitration is generally poorly addressed.  There are few provisions in the entities’ laws that regulate litigation procedures, which are the legal basis for parties in dispute to entrust the dispute to arbitration.  There is no legislation that is modelled on internationally accepted regulations, such as the model law of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNICITRAL).

Bankruptcy Regulations

Both the Federation and Republika Srpska entities have Laws on Bankruptcy.  However, bankruptcy proceedings are not resolved in a timely manner, and there is insufficient emphasis placed on companies’ rehabilitation and/or reorganization.  The entities’ laws define the rights of creditors, equity shareholders, and holders of other financial contracts.  Foreign contract holders enjoy the same rights as local contract holders.  Bankruptcy is not criminalized.  The U.S. government provided recent training to judges on international bankruptcy principles.

Real Property

The 2020 World Bank Doing Business Report ranked BiH at number 96 out of 190 in the ease of registering property, which takes 7 procedures and an average of 35 days.  Registration of real property titles is generally acknowledged as a significant barrier to the real property and mortgage market development.  The present system consists of separate geodetic administrations for the Federation and the RS, which are responsible for real property cadasters.  Real property cadasters describe and certify the legal object, e.g. land, house, etc.  Separately, the land registry establishes legal ownership and rights for the specific object and is maintained by the municipal courts.  A significant portion of land and real estate property does not have a clear title due to restitution issues.  Foreigners must register a local company to purchase property; the company then makes the purchase and is recorded as the land owner.  The exception to this rule is if the foreigners’ country of citizenship has a reciprocal land ownership agreement with BiH.  In that case, the foreigner may directly own land.

Intellectual Property Rights

Companies should have a comprehensive intellectual property rights (IPR) strategy in BiH since rights must be registered and enforced according to local law.  BiH’s IPR framework consists of seven laws adopted and put into force by the Parliament in 2010.  This legislation is compliant with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and EU legislation.  BiH is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and party to a number of its treaties, including the Berne Convention, the Paris Convention, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the WIPO Copyright Treaty, and the WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty.  Registration of patents and trademarks is on a first-in-time, first-in-right basis, so businesses should consider applying for trademark and patent protection prior to introducing their products or services in the BiH market.  Companies may wish to seek advice from local attorneys who are experts in IPR law.  Although existing legislation provides a basic level of protection, BiH’s civil and criminal enforcement remains weak.

Jurisdiction over IPR investigations is split between customs officials, entity inspectorates, and state and entity law enforcement agencies, none of which have specialized IPR investigation teams.  IPR crimes are prosecuted primarily at the state level.  Cases in which companies are indicted often involve fairly low-level violators.  More significant cases have sometimes languished for years with little action from prosecutors or judges.

Some BiH government entities have been using licensed software for a number of years, such as the state-level government which came into compliance in 2009, a significant step forward in the government’s commitment to IPR protection.  However, some of the Cantonal governments continue using unlicensed software as some officials still do not understand the implications for IPR infringement.

In BiH’s private sector, awareness of IPR, particularly the importance of copyright protection, remains low, though the emergence of a local software development industry is helping to raise awareness.  Curbing business software piracy could significantly improve the local economy by creating new jobs and generating tax revenue.  The failure to recognize the importance of preventing copyright infringement makes software producers and official distributors less competitive and the establishment of a legitimate market more difficult.  Businesses in BiH lose an estimated USD15 million annually from the sale of counterfeit and pirated software, CDs, and DVDs.  According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the rate of illegal software installed on personal computers in BiH currently remains at 66 percent, which is the regional average.

Collective copyright protection also remains a challenge in BiH.    There is currently no established local representative to collect and distribute royalties for visual artists, filmmakers, and literary authors.  The Association of Composers and Musical Authors is the only licensed collective management organization for music authors in BiH, and it faces enforcement challenges since both musical artists and consumers remain skeptical and unfamiliar with collective management protection.

The U.S. Government, in conjunction with local partners, has made IPR awareness within the BiH enforcement community a priority through judicial engagement and public awareness programs.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is not included in the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Report or the Notorious Markets List.

For additional information about treaty obligations and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles at www.wipo.int/directory/en/ .