OSCE Mission to Croatia concerned returnees may lose homes

ZAGREB, 8 April 2005 - The Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia is concerned that an increasing number of Serb returnees in Croatia may lose their homes due to unfair and incomplete legal regulations and biased decisions by some local courts.

The recent case of Stevo Zabrdac, a Serb refugee living near the town of Daruvar, two hours from the capital city of Zagreb, is the latest of several cases of concern to the Mission.

Daruvar Municipal Court has ordered the sale of Mr. Zabrdac's home in Daruvar at an auction next Thursday.

Mr. Zabrdac, who repossessed his house in September 2003 after a long legal battle, is facing the loss of his home as he is unable to pay court-ordered compensation to the temporary occupant who lived in his home since 1992.

In July 2002, the Daruvar Municipal Court ordered Mr. Zabrdac to compensate the temporary occupant 44,000 HRK (approx. 5,800 euros) for alleged investments made to the house. These investments were made without the consent of Mr. Zabrdac. The Bjelovar County Court later upheld the verdict on appeal.

The Head of the OSCE Mission, Ambassador Peter Semneby, commented that this case highlights the biased decisions taken by courts in repossession cases and emphasised that such court practices should be stopped.

"Stevo Zabrdac's case is not an isolated one," he said.

"The Mission is aware of numerous other such cases, which all highlight the need for urgent change in the current legislation and in court practice."

The OSCE Mission has already proposed amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure aimed at forbidding counterclaims for investments from temporary occupants of private property.