Bosnia: courts should not deal with land register

Instruction for analysis of situation and preparation of solution plan for old and backlogged cases in BIH courts

"Taking into account the principle that a court should not deal with non-contentious matters between two parties and taking to account that in many countries some court activities are successfully performed by administration organs or other specialized organs, for the purpose of relieving courts from non-court activities, upon a thorough elaboration and analysis, the Working Group regards that courts should no longer deal with inheritance proceedings, and a great part of non-litigation proceedings.

These proceedings are the withdrawal and reinstating of working ability, keeping mentally disabled persons in an institution, proclaiming missing persons deceased and proving of death, marriage licenses, preparation and notarization of identification documents, keeping of identification documents, invalidating of identification documents, land register, various registers and execution matters that are by far the biggest problem in the structure of unsolved cases, which can in their undisputable phase be successfully run by administrative organs such as a public executor (Swedish example), bankruptcy and liquidation and all matters, in which there is no contradicting transactions.

It is an extract taken from the document drafted by the Commission for Court and Prosecution of Bosnia and adopted by the Commission for Information Communication Technology (HJPC). The most important statement of this document is that activities, tasks of public administration should belong to other institutions, not to courts. The document was also distributed to all courts in September, 2005. The English translation made by GTZ Land Registry Project – October, 2005.