This article was originally published in the schoenherr roadmap`10 - if you would like to receive a complimentary copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.schoenherr.eu/roadmap.
The basic principle of trust in land register data for real estate located in Croatia will apply to former state owned (nationalised) property acquired from 1 January 2010.
Land register and the basic principle of trust
The land register ensures protection of trust in legal affairs concerning real estate entered in the land register1, as well as publication of registered rights, obligations and certain legal facts pertaining to such real estate. However, this is only a general rule and has certain exceptions.
Exception: Former state owned (nationalised) ownership
One exception is real estate (i) which was state owned (i.e. nationalised)2, (ii) where state ownership was not deleted from the land register prior to 1 January 1997 and (iii) acquired prior to 1 January 2010.
At the time of the passing of the basic Act on Ownership and other rights (Zakon o vlasnistvu i drugim stvarnim pravima, Narodne Novine no. 91/1996; ZV), which entered into force on 1 January 1997, land register data was largely not harmonised with the corresponding cadastral data. This was most apparent in respect to privatised real estate which was formerly state owned (nationalised). Moreover, on the basis of the ZV and other laws, certain types of real estate (e.g. agricultural land, forests, rivers) were ex lege transferred into the ownership of the Republic of Croatia.
Due to the fact that registration of real estate and all related legal matters with the land register was not a common or consistent practice, the land registers were outof- date and, as such, could not be grounds for the required registration of ownership of the Republic of Croatia. However, since such real estate is of great strategic importance for the Republic of Croatia, but ownership could not realistically be registered until the land register data was updated, the ZV envisaged a sort of a transition period, lasting until the 1 January 20103.
Thus, the principle of trust in land register data in respect of former state owned (nationalised) real estate is suspended until 1 January 2010. This means that any and all disposals and other legal affairs related to real estate effectuated prior to 1 January 2010 are not protected and face the risk of being disputed and annulled.
Exceptions to the exception
According to amendments to the ZV from 2006, as of 1 January 2007 the principle of trust in land register data does apply to (former) state owned (nationalised) real estate under the condition that (i) for the subject real estate the land register has been converted into an electronic land register (EOP land register) or (ii) the subject real estate has been entered in the Land Register Basis (Baza zemljisnih podataka; BZP)4.
Although the above process under (i) is ongoing and already covers a significant number of real estate located in Croatia, there is still a number of plots in respect to which the process of transformation in EOP land registers has not even commenced. As for the above condition (ii), it has generally not been fulfilled. The BZP is currently only in an experimental phase – the platform for the BZP is established within the Croatian Ministry of Justice, but functions only as an unofficial basis providing informative land register and cadastral data. It is envisaged that starting in 2010 the BZP should start functioning as the official unified data basis for real estate in Croatia.
Can and will the deadlines be kept?
1 January 2010. That is the date set for completion of the nationwide process of harmonisation of land register and cadastral data, both for the transformation of former land registers into EOP land registers as well as for the establishment of the official BZP. In spite of ongoing efforts of the competent Croatian authorities to speed up the processes, the initial deadlines have already been prolonged. Whether the new deadlines are manageable or whether another extension is required remains to be seen. But once the process is completed, dealing with Croatian real estate will become significantly safer, faster and easier.
The principle of trust in land register data in respect of former state owned (nationalised) real estate is suspended until 1 January 2010.
This article was originally published in the schoenherr roadmap`10 - if you would like to receive a complimentary copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.schoenherr.eu/roadmap.
Footnotes
1 Real estate not entered in the land register in respect to which no land register principles apply is not within the scope of this article.
2 The Constitution of the Republic Croatia from the year 1990 abolished the institution of state ownership in the form of past state (nationalised) ownership.
3 In 2003 Croatia started the national programme of sorting of land register and cadastral data for real estate located in Croatia, including the transformation of former land registers into electronically kept land registers (EOP land registers). The official estimation is that the process will be finalised by the end of 2009.
4 The Land Register Basis (BZP) is a national wide project of the Croatian Ministry of Justice with the goal to form a unified electronic basis of all relevant land register and cadastral data for real estate located in Croatia.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
