Information on the implementation of Annex B of the Agreement on Succession Issues

29. Sep 2022.
Succession of common property of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is carried out in accordance with the Law on Confirmation of the Agreement on Succession Issues, published in the Official Gazette of the FRY – International Contracts, No. 6/2002.

The Agreement on Succession Issues was reached between the five successor states of the SFRY (five former republics) and signed in Vienna on 29 June, 2001.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia is responsible for the implementation of only one part of the Agreement - Annex B (out of a total of seven annexes) Diplomatic and Consular Properties of the former common state.

The implementation of the Agreement is a complex process led by the authorized representatives of the successor states through the Joint Committee for the Distribution of Diplomatic and Consular Property from Annex B.

Annex B defines quota for each successor state, and Serbia's quota is 39.5%. The appendix to Annex B lists 123 immovable properties that are the subject of succession. Serbia has so far received 40 immovable properties in 25 countries, while 16 buildings in 11 countries remain to be allocated.

This process takes time because as its dynamics are influenced by bilateral relations, political circumstances, as well as access to land registers in the countries where properties are located, especially in countries where none of the successor states has diplomatic or consular representation.

A purchase agreement with Bosnia and Herzegovina was signed on 24 February, 2022, by which Serbia has acquired the embassy and residence of the former SFRY in Bern. In 2017, the canton of Bern included this building in the list of protected cultural assets in Switzerland. The building was built by Energoprojekt in 1978.

The final agreement on joint sale of the real estate of the former SFRY Mission to the United Nations, used by the FRY and then by the Republic of Serbia for the needs of the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the UN in New York, was signed on 27 September, 2022. The property was sold for 50 million US dollars.

The last meeting of the Joint Committee for the issue of succession was held in Sarajevo, and the next one should take place in Zagreb.

Sukcesija Srbija, do 2022. godine.pdf (228.88 KB)