What is Expropriation?
Expropriation is a legally regulated seizure or restriction of ownership of real estate for compensation in accordance with the market value of the real estate. Expropriation is exclusively used when it comes to the construction of the facilities of public interest, and the facilities of public interest are all those facilities that are legally established to be of public interest, which implies compensation according to the market value of the property.
Determination of public interest
Land or real estate expropriation activities are performed for the purpose of realization of motorway construction projects on Corridor Vc for which the Government of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina determined the public interest, other facilities on the motorway, and facilities for motorway management and maintenance purposes and other facilities.
Purchase of the land is performed in accordance with the Law on Expropriation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of FBiH, number 70/07, 36/10, 25/12, 34/16) and the Law on Motorway on Corridor Vc (Official Gazette of FBiH, number 8/13). The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall decide on the determination of public interest for the construction of the facility or the execution of works on the basis of the submitted proposal of the beneficiaries of the expropriation when it is intended to construct or perform works, in the area of two or more cantons, in accordance with the planning documents of the spatial planning.
Who are the participants in the expropriation process?
The persons who are participants in the process of expropriation are expropriation beneficiary, on whose proposal the expropriation is performed, former real estate owner covered by the expropriation proposal, and municipal authority which is competent for property and legal affairs which conducts the property expropriation process.
The subject of expropriation may be each real estate with the right of ownership, i.e. real estate of natural and legal persons. The expropriation process is initiated on the basis of the expropriation proposal, which is submitted by the expropriation beneficiary to the competent municipal service, which must include the following information:
- who is expropriation beneficiary,
- real estate for which the expropriation is proposed,
- owners of real estate,
- works due to which the expropriation is proposed.
The proposal itself must be accompanied by evidence of determined public interest:
- excerpt from the land registry which contains data of real estate which is proposed for expropriation,
- certificate of title, evidence of attempt of agreement with the owner, prior to the proposal for expropriation,
- evidence that the funds, which secure payment of compensation, have been secured and deposited with the bank.
Expropriation procedure
The expropriation procedure begins with the submission of a proposal for the expropriation of real estate and, during the procedure, the owners were given the opportunity to make a statement of all the relevant facts which are significant for the case, such as factual ownership, inheritance issues, the existence of facilities, plantations, etc. and that statement will be recorded. After that, competent authority of local self-government, more specifically the property and legal department, shall adopt the decision on expropriation. Upon the validity of the decision, the beneficiary of the expropriation shall submit an offer on the amount of compensation, that is, a specific monetary amount representing the market value of the land being expropriated. This market value is determined by the competent tax administration according to the criteria set by law, and the experts involved in the procedure, respecting this market value, adopt finding and opinion on the condition and value of the real estate subject to expropriation. If the party accepts the offered compensation for the expropriated real estate, then the conclusion of the compensation agreement before the municipal administration follows. For the very process of conclusion of the agreement, the party will present the identity card and card of a valid current account. If the party is not the cadastral owner, it is necessary to provide proof of ownership to the authority, i.e. the legal basis on which it claims the ownership (e.g. purchase contract, life care contract, decision on inheritance, deed of gift, etc.). On the other hand, if the party does not accept the compensation offered, then the case shall be forwarded to the municipal court, ex officio, where the amount of compensation for that land will be determined in an out-of-court procedure. In addition, the beneficiary of the expropriation submits a special offer, based on fieldwork and expert assessments made by the experts of agricultural, construction, or forestry professions and their records on expert assessments, depending on whether the subjects of expert assessment were plantings, facilities or forests. This offer may or may not be accepted by the owner, and, in relation with that, the procedure is carried out in the same way as in the case of the land compensation procedure. The compensation agreement itself, which has the force of an executive document, obliges the expropriation beneficiary, usually within thirty days of the conclusion of the agreement, to pay the amount referred to in the agreement, while the party undertakes to hand over the real estate, i.e. the subject of expropriation, to the beneficiary in the property and state immediately upon payment of the compensation.
Documents:
Resettlement Action Plan Section: Počitelj – Zvirovići
Resettlement Action Plan Section: Kakanj- Drivuša
Resettlement Action Plan Section: Vlakovo – Tarčin
Resettlement Action Plan Section: Svilaj – Odžak
Resettlement Action Plan Section: Zvirovići – Bijača
THE CONTENT OF THE EXPROPRIATION ELABORATE
PUBLIC GRIEVANCE FORM – TUNNEL ZENICA
Land Acquisition and Resettlement Framework for Corridor Vc – March 2017