Vesna Živković, Associate at Živković Samardžić, authored an article on Electronic Signatures, Contracts, and Archiving in Serbia, published in the CEE Legal Comparative Guide.

In the article, Vesna explains that certain contracts must be made in writing under Serbian law, such as surety contracts and construction contracts. Contracts that do not meet the required form have no legal effect.

Regarding Serbia, electronic documents are considered to have the same evidentiary value as paper documents. However, the use of electronic documents in court proceedings remains limited in practice.

Electronic documents and signatures in Serbia are regulated by the Law on Electronic Document, Electronic Identification, and Trust Services in Electronic Business ("Official Gazette of the RS", Nos. 94/2017 and 52/21), along with several subordinate laws providing further details. Serbian law recognizes various types of electronic signatures, depending on the level of security they provide.

The full text of the article is available here.

The CEE Legal Matters Comparative Legal Guide: TMT 2022 explores key regulations related to online contracting, digital signatures, and digital archiving, offering a comprehensive overview of the legal landscape in these critical areas across the region. As co-editor Tamas Bereczki from Provaris explains, “How countries regulate digital signatures and digital contracting can significantly impact the digital economy, the supply chain, and international economic cooperation. Poor or inadequate regulation can raise business costs, unlike jurisdictions with well-designed, well-thought-out regulations.”

CEE Legal Matters is both a print and online publication for legal professionals working in Europe’s emerging legal markets. It features news, interviews, analysis, and opinions, serving as a key source of information on lawyers and legal markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

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Vesna Živković joined Živković Samardžić in 2009 after managing a Regulatory Issues Control Department for Reputation Risk at an international bank. She has served as a research assistant at the Institute for Comparative Law and was Vice Chairperson of the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) from July 2006 to July 2007. Vesna teaches Commercial Contracts at the Union University Faculty of Law in Belgrade. Her areas of expertise include financial services, electronic commerce, and intellectual property. Vesna is also a Sworn Court Interpreter for English.