Meeting on property issues in South-Eastern Europe

ZAGREB, 17 October, 2000 - On 16 and 17 October the OSCE Mission to Croatia hosted a meeting of property experts from OSCE missions and offices in South-Eastern Europe. The purpose of the meeting was to identify best practices on how to deal with housing policies and property laws in the region of South-Eastern Europe.

Among the attendees were property experts from OSCE Missions and offices in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as from the Montenegro office of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR). The incoming OSCE Chairmanship, Romania, was also represented.

The participants discussed issues related to property repossession, including restitution of nationalized (expropriated) property and lost occupancy rights to formerly socially-owned property/apartments, (stanarsko pravo).

This meeting was called by the Heads of OSCE Missions in the region since a comparative study on property laws and practices is a major element in the successful implementation of refugee return and respect of human rights.

For more information, please contact Alessandro Fracassetti, Spokesperson, OSCE Mission to Croatia, tel.: +385 1 3096 620; fax: + 385 1 3096 297, e-mail: alessandro.fracassetti@oscecro.org, website: www.osce.org/croatia