The Legal Issues of Franchising Agreement in Serbia - Enacting the Disclosure Law or Not
The Legal Issues of Franchising Agreement in Serbia - Enacting the Disclosure Law or Not

Summary/Abstract: In this paper the author deals with the legal environment for franchising in Serbia which legislation does not provide specific or explicit provisions dealing with the franchise contract. Despite the fact that franchising continues to grow as a preferred legal instrument to conduct business in the global market business practice in Serbia hasn’t many experiences with franchising. The franchising agreement feature is that arrangement which embraces elements of several types of contracts as well as it is connected with several kinds of law which elements qualified this contract as a contract sui generis. Except the rules regulating commercial contracts which are in Serbia contend in the Law of Obligations (based on the Suisse Law of Obligations) and the law of intellectual property rights which is in Serbia harmonized with the main principles of European intellectual property rights there are significant different branches of law which are essentially connected with franchising. Except the rules of general contract law which in Serbia regulate in the same way commercial and non commercial contracts, there are specific Law on Financial Leasing (2003). Law on Business Entities, taxation law, property law, Law on Consumer Protection and Law on Productor’s Liability, The Investment Law, Competition Law and other different areas of law the majority of which are regulated domestically and at the times domestically. At the international level franchising is object of harmonious regulation enacted in UNIDROIT Guide on International Master Franchise Arrangements and Franchising Disclosure Model Law created in 2002 by the experts under auspices of UNIDROIT. Experiences of number of countries manifested that it is necessary to enact the specific disclosure regulation over franchising in order to protect the economically weaker party in franchising contract - franchisee. Proposal of the author of the article is prompt translation of the UNIDROIT Legal Guide on Franchising and de lege ferenda enacting specific legislation in Serbia which will deal only with the question of disclosure commitment in franchising contract.

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