Dear clients, friends and colleagues, it is our honour and pleasure to announce that our colleague Miloš Milošević, associate partner at Živković Samardžić Law Office, published Manual for Private Bailiffs, II amended and supplemented edition, with the support of the United States Agency for International  Development (USAID). You may find this Manual here.

New Companies Act ("Official Gazette of The Republic of Serbia" no. 36/2011) (hereinafter: the new Act) came into force on June 4, 2011. New Act shall be applicable as from February 1, 2012, except from Article 344. paragraph 9. and Article 586, paragraph 1., point 8 of this Act, which shall be applicable as from January 1, 2014. Only provisions of the Article 456 of the previous Companies Act ("Official Gazette of The Republic of Serbia" no. 125/2004) (hereinafter referred to as: the previous Act) shall remain in force, and be applicable until the privatization process of the existing social enterprises or companies that operate with social or state capital is completed.

Law on the Bar (“Official Gazette” No. 31-11) was passed on 5.5.2011 and entered into force eight days after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, while the provisions regarding the Bar Examination and lawyers’ professional liability insurance apply after the expiry of one year from the date of enactment of this Law.

Specified by the Law, advocacy is an independent and autonomous service of providing legal assistance to natural and legal persons. A lawyer may perform as an individual, in a common law office or as a member of partnership, whereby the Law precisely regulates all these forms of work for lawyers.

In accordance with the Regulation on the Promotion of Employment (Official Gazette RS, No. 32/2011), entered into force on 14^th May 2011, an employer from Private Sector who engages, on definite or indefinite period, a person who is unemployed in the 6 month period (at least) without interruption is entitled to subsidize 30% of the calculated amount of income tax and total contributions for pension and disability insurance in 12 month period from the date of engaging this person or during the period of the employment relationship for this engaged person.

An employer from Private Sector who engages, on definite or indefinite period, a person under 30 years or older than 45 years old who is unemployed in the 6 month period (at least) without interruption, is entitled to subsidize total calculated amount of income tax and total contributions for pension and disability insurance in 12 month period from the date of engaging this person or during the period of the employment relationship for this engaged person.

During the period of subsidies employers cannot reduce the number of employees that they had on 31^st March 2011. That number also includes the number of newly employed workers.

Please contact us if you would like to receive further guidance on the above.

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Živković Samardžić Law Offices

in Belgrade, 31^st of May 2010

• Law on capital market (“Official Gazette RS”, No. 31/2011) (hereinafter referred to as: “The Law”) was passed on May 5^th, 2011 by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and it shall come into force six months after its passing (Article 305).  
• This Law will be the basic law regulating the financial market of the Republic of Serbia and after its entering into force the previous Law on the securities and other financial instruments (“Official Gazette RS”, No. 47/06) shall become ineffective.

The Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Financial Leasing (“Official Gazette RS” No 31/2011)  has been passed at the third session of the first regular congress of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia held in 2011. It shall enter into force on May 18^th, 2011.

Law on Consumer Protection (“Official Gazette RS” No. 73/2010) has entered into force on 20.10.2010, and has started to be applied on 01.01.2011.

Law on Amendments of the Pension and Disability Insurance Law is passed on December 29^th, 2010. It has entered into force on December 30^th, 2010 and started to be applied on January 1^st, 2011, except from the provisions regarding professional servicemen, which shall be applied starting from January 1^st, 2012.

The Law on Endowments and Foundationshas entered into force on the 1.12.2010 (“Official Gazette of Republic of Serbia” no. 88/2010), and the Law shall be applied from the 2.3.2011. With the day of application of the new law, the Law on endowments, foundations and funds (“Official Gazette SRS” no. 59/89) cease to have effect, except in the part which regulates the legal status of Funds founded or co-founded by Republic of Serbia, Autonomous Province, i.e. Local Government.

The Law on Volunteering (hereinafter referred to as the “Law ”), which came into force on June 5^th, 2010 and which has been implemented on December 5^th, 2010, has been enacted due to the need for the regulation of mutual relations based on the volunteering engagement, the protection of participants in the volunteering relationship and the prevention of the abuse of this activity.

Law on Protection of Citizens from Tobacco Smoke Exposure („Official Gazette of the RS“, No.30/10) entered into force on May 15th, 2010, but its application started on November 11th, 2010. The Law prohibits smoking at every work and public indoor space, as well as at every space which is connected with  them or which belongs to them. The same law regulates the restrictions of the tobacco products usage regarding the protection of citizens from tobacco smoke exposure, smoking ban control and the supervision of the Law implementation itself.

Serbian Minister of Health passed the Rulebook on Means of Advertising of Medication and Medical Devices (RS Official Gazette, No. 79/10). This act came into force on November 6, 2010 which invalidated the Rulebook on the Manner and Conditions of Advertising Medications and Medical Devices (“Official Gazette of RS” No. 99/06). 

Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities ( RS Official Gazette, No 36/2009) prescribes the obligation for each employer engaging 20 employees to also engage a precise number of persons with disabilities.

Law on the Prohibition of Abuse at Work (RS Official Gazette, No 36/2010) published on 28 May 2010, regulates the prohibition of abuse at work including all situations which are connected with work, measures for preventing abuse and improving relationships at work, procedure for persons who are exposed to abuse at work including all situations which are connected with work and another questions important for preventing and prohibiting abuse at work.