Serbia

The Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: “Directorate”) is the authority in charge of the civil aviation registry. Serbia uses a single–registry system. 

The Serbian Aircraft Registry held by the Directorate (“Registry”) is both an operator registry and owner registry. The data of both, the aircraft’s owner and the aircraft operator (i.e., the lessee) should be registered in the Registry – the aircraft is registered in the name of its owner, but there is a specific field for registration of the operator’s identity as well. 

In case it is intended to lease the aircraft to a local operator, the registration is performed in four steps as described below. Namely, in case of a lease, it would be necessary to obtain a prior approval of the lease agreement from the Directorate. If there is no lease, this step would not be applicable, and the registration would be performed in three steps (B, C, and D).

A. Directorate’s approval on the Lease Agreement

The following documents are required:

• Draft of the lease agreement (which is identical to the lease agreement which the parties will execute);
• Proof of payment of the administrative fee in the amount of RSD 4,330.00 (approx. EUR 37); and
• Written statement made by the lessor and the lessee stating that they acknowledge their rights and obligations under the lease agreement. The statement should be signed by the lessee (it is not necessary for the lessor to sign it as well).

B. Resolution of the Commercial Court

Prior to registration of an aircraft within the Directorate, a resolution approving the registration with the Directorate would have to be obtained from the Commercial Court in Belgrade, irrespective of the fact if the aircraft will be leased to a local operator or not.

The following documents are required:

• Directorate’s approval of the Lease Agreement (please see under A);
• Lease Agreement (if it is intended to lease the aircraft to a local operator);
• Certificate from the foreign register that the aircraft was previously registered in, stating that the aircraft is no longer registered in that registry;
• Certificate from the (foreign) companies register in which the owner of the aircraft is registered;
• Certificate of airworthiness issued by the foreign competent authority or the certificate of airworthiness issued by the Directorate;
• Evidence on aircraft customs clearance;
• Aircraft Sale and Purchase Agreement (or other proof of ownership);
• Court administrative fee in the amount of RSD 400 (approx. EUR 3.5).

C. Airworthiness Certificate

The Directorate determines airworthiness of the aircraft in a separate administrative procedure. The necessary documents are as follows:

1. Application form for determining airworthiness;
2. Proof of payment of the administrative fee;
3. Proof of payment of the fee for the services rendered by the Directorate;
4. Photocopy of the ID card or passport of the person submitting the application;
5. Photocopy of the applicable insurance policy of the aircraft owner against liability for damage caused to third parties and passengers.

D. Registration with the Directorate

Upon the issuance of the Resolution of the Commercial Court and obtaining of the airworthiness certificate, the following documents are submitted to the Directorate:

• Application form for the registration of the aircraft;
• Resolution of the Commercial Court;
• Photocopy of the valid ID card of the passport of the person submitting the request;
• Proof of payment of the Directorate fee for the registration of the aircraft;
• Certificate of airworthiness issued by the Directorate.

The documents must be submitted as either originals or certified copies, alongside translations made by a court-certified interpreter if the documents were issued in a foreign language (not Serbian). Related to step described under B. Please note that even if in practice the court often accepts documents that are not apostilled, our advice is to submit apostilled documents under B. Points 3. 4. and 5. keeping in mind the inconsistent practice of the Commercial Court in this matter.

The fees that are payable to register an aircraft are: 

1. Court administrative fees in the amount of RSD 400 (approx. EUR 3.5); 
2. Administrative fees for registration of the aircraft; and 
3. Directorate fee. 

The amount of administrative fees for registration of aircraft and Directorate fees (two different types of fees) on the type and weight of the aircraft or on the type of the certificates issued or service performed by the Directorate. 

Generally, the administrative fees paid for registration of aircraft range from RSD 2,600 (approx. EUR 22) to RSD 17,220 (approx. EUR 146), while Directorate fees range from RSD 2,000 (approx. EUR 17) to RSD 100,000 (approx. EUR 850). 

There are no weight restrictions to register an aircraft in Serbia. However, depending on the weight of the aircraft, different fees may apply for the registration of the aircraft.

There are no maximum age restrictions to register an aircraft. Please note that if an aircraft has not been granted a certificate of airworthiness for over 10 years, the Directorate will ex officio delete it from the registry.

Yes, it constitutes a proof of ownership under the laws of Serbia. Under Serbian Law, information contained in a public registry is considered true until proven otherwise.

In order to transfer ownership over an aircraft under Serbian law, such transfer must be: i) approved by the Commercial Court and ii) registered with the Directorate.

To obtain the approval of the Commercial court, the following documents are required:

1. Excerpt from the Registry for the aircraft in question;
2. Certificate of airworthiness issued by the Directorate;
3. Agreement on the title transfer of the aircraft in question (no notarisation or apostille required, but agreement must be in written form);
4. Proof of payment of the court administrative fee in the amount of RSD 400 (approx. EUR 3,5).

Once the Court has rendered the resolution, the resolution should be submitted to the Directorate alongside the photocopy of the valid ID card or passport of the person submitting the request and the proof of payment of the administrative fee in the amount of RSD 4,330 (approx. EUR 37). The Directorate will register the title transfer within approx. five working days from submission of documents.

The following information are reflected in the registration certificate:

A. Registration sheet:

• Number of the Registration sheet;
• Registration mark of the aircraft;
• Type, model and the serial number of the aircraft;
• Manufacturer of the aircraft;

B. Title sheet:

• Name and address of the Owner(s) of the Aircraft;
• Name and address of the Operator of the Aircraft;
• Legal basis of the registration (Date and number of the Resolution of the Commercial Court in Belgrade on the basis of which the registration was performed);

C. Mortgage sheet:

• Name and the address of the mortgagee;
• Legal basis of the mortgage (Date and number of the Resolution of the Commercial Court in Belgrade on the basis of which the mortgage was registered).

The following information is made available to the public on the website of the registry without payment of any fees and without submission any application: 

• Registration mark of the aircraft; 
• Type of the aircraft; 
• Manufacturer of the aircraft; 
• Manufacturer’s mark (assigned to the aircraft by the Manufacturer); 
• Serial number of the aircraft; 
• Name of the Operator; 

The information above is available on the Registry’s website: http://cad.gov.rs/strana/20841/Регистар-ваздухоплова 

10. What kind of aircraft operations can be conducted with aircraft registered in Serbia (i.e., private use, commercial air transport or both)?  

Both, private use and commercial transport can be conducted with aircraft registered in Serbia. If the aircraft is to be used for commercial air transport, the operator must possess a Certificate of the air traffic operator issued by the Directorate.  

Both, private use and commercial transport can be conducted with aircraft registered in Serbia. If the aircraft is to be used for commercial air transport, the operator must possess a Certificate of the air traffic operator issued by the Directorate.

Yes, the Directorate authorises the operation of foreign registered aircraft, provided that Serbia has entered into a bilateral agreement on the basis of article 83-bis of the ICAO Chicago Convention. The only such agreement Serbia has entered at this moment is with the Republic of San Marino.

No, there is no separate mortgage registry. Information on mortgages, leases, security interests is contained in the Registry, which contains a separate mortgage sheet.

In order to register a mortgage over an aircraft under Serbian law, such registration of mortgage must be: i) approved by the Commercial Court and ii) registered with the Directorate.  

To obtain the approval of the Commercial Court, the following documents are required: 

1. Proposal for registration of mortgage, (signed by the owner, operator, and mortgagee, no notarisation or apostille required); 
2. Legal basis of the claim for which the mortgage is registered (no notarisation or apostille required); 
3. Excerpt from the Registry for the aircraft in question; 
4. Proof of payment of the administrative fee (approx. RSD 400, i.e., EUR 3.5) to the Commercial Court in Belgrade. 

Documents should be provided in original or certified copy and submitted in Serbian language (translated by a sworn court translator). 

Once the Court has issued a resolution, it should be submitted the Directorate, along with an excerpt from the Directorate’s registry and the proof of payment of the administrative fee (RSD 4,330, i.e., approx. EUR 37). 

If the mortgage was registered before an aircraft has acquired Serbian nationality (i.e., while it was registered abroad), the Air Traffic Property Law sets forth that such a mortgage will be provisionally registered in the Registry (provided that the mortgage is indicated in the certificate of deregistration from the foreign registry) and will also retain its initial order of priority as registered in the foreign registry. However, in order for this provisional registration to become final, the mortgagee must provide the Registry with the appropriate evidence of the mortgage (the court’s act allowing the registration of the mortgage) within 30 days as of the registration of the provisional mortgage.

Yes, an aircraft mortgage duly registered in the Registry extends to engines and other parts of such aircraft provided that the mortgagor is entered in the register as the owner of engines and all parts of aircraft.

The Air Traffic Property Law sets forth that claims secured by a statutory mortgage are to be settled prior to any other claim and are to be followed by claims for death or bodily injury caused by the aircraft in flight to third parties on the ground. According to the Air Traffic Property Law, the right of statutory mortgage exists on an aircraft with respect to: (i) court expenses made in the common interest of all the creditors during the enforcement or security proceedings for the purposes of guarding the aircraft or conducting the compulsory sale, (ii) claims relating to the payment owed on the basis of the search for the aircraft or its rescue, or (iii) claims relating to extraordinary costs necessary for the preservation of the aircraft. The person who acquires the statutory mortgage is authorized to register it in the Register.

No, laws of Serbia do not provide possessory rights and/or rights of detention over aircraft in favour of third parties.

But please note that the Air traffic control in Serbia (Kontrola letenja Srbije i Crne Gore SMATSA d.o.o.) (hereinafter referred to as the „Air Traffic Control”) could ground the aircraft until payment of outstanding charges. According to the applicable regulations, the Air Traffic Control is authorized to deny further providing of its services towards the airline operator which failed to pay the outstanding charges after receipt of the payment instructions and after expiration of the additionally granted payment term. The Air Traffic Control could suspend its services towards the airline operator temporarily or permanently, partially or in total.

In any case, each third party is entitled to initiate an enforcement proceeding against the debtor in accordance with local regulations for the recovery of outstanding payments.

Yes, foreign law governed security agreements (e.g., mortgages) are recognised in Serbia. It should be noted that any mortgage attached to an aircraft registered in Serbia may only be established in accordance with the Serbian procedural rules, irrespective of the law applicable to the mortgage agreement itself.

Yes, foreign law governed aircraft leases are recognised in Serbia, as long the lease agreement is concluded with a foreign lessor (two Serbian entities would not be allowed to choose foreign law). Also, an aircraft lease agreement needs to be concluded in a written form

Also, for a local operator, it is not allowed to enter into a lease agreement, i.e., to lease an aircraft from an entity, without prior obtained consent of the Directorate. In order to obtain the consent, the local air carrier must submit to the Directorate a non-executed draft of a lease agreement (no verification of any kind is needed). It is acceptable to redact sensitive commercial terms. In practice, the Civil Aviation Directorate issues its consent to the lease agreement within 15-30 days.

No, Serbia has not ratified the Cape Town Convention, so IDERA deregistration process is not applicable in Serbia and IDERA is not recognised as an instrument established by the Cape Town Convention under Serbian law.

The aircraft deregistration procedure in Serbia is conducted by the Civil Aviation Directorate upon a request of either an aircraft’s owner or an aircraft’s operator (or, in certain cases, ex officio), while in both cases an applicant (owner or operator) should submit a written and notarized statement of consent to the aircraft’s deregistration made by every person registered in the owner/operator sheet and mortgage sheet of the Aircraft Register. This means that the lessor/owner would not be able to deregister the aircraft from the Aircraft Register without the consent of the lessee. Such consent should be notarized and, depending on the country of its notarization (i.e., depending on the fact whether that country and Serbia are parties to an agreement or multilateral convention regulating the legalization of foreign decisions), could also be apostilled or fully legalized and translated into Serbian language by a sworn court translator.

The aircraft deregistration procedure in Serbia is conducted by the Directorate, upon a request of either the aircraft’s owner or operator, while in both cases the applicant (owner or operator) should submit a written and notarized statement of consent to the aircraft’s deregistration made by every person registered in the owner/operator sheet and mortgage sheet of the Registry. Therefore, the lessee’s cooperation is necessary for this; in case it fails to cooperate, a complicated and time-consuming court procedure must be conducted in order to effectuate a decision replacing the missing consent. 

Documentation required: 

1. Deregistration application form; 
2. Proof of payment of the administrative fee; 
3. Photocopy of the valid ID card or passport of the person submitting the application; 
4. Valid Certificate of Registration; 
5. Valid Certificate of airworthiness; 
6. Notarized (and depending of country of notarisation apostilled or legalised) written consent of each person registered in the Title sheet; 
7. Notarized (and depending of country of notarisation apostilled or legalised) written statement of agreement with deregistration of the aircraft of each person registered in the Mortgage sheet; 

All documents must be translated into Serbian language by a sworn court translator in not initially provided in Serbian language and submitted in original. 

Fees payable to the Directorate to deregister an aircraft from the Registry amount to RSD 5,160 (approx. EUR 44).

Yes, the consent of the mortgagee / lessor (as the case may be), in fact the consent of each person registered in the owner/operator sheet or the mortgage sheet is necessary in order to deregister the aircraft from the Registry. Such consent should be notarized and, depending on the country of its notarization (i.e., depending on the fact whether that country and Serbia are parties to a bilateral agreement), possibly also apostilled or fully legalized, and translated into Serbian language by a sworn court translator.

N/A

As mentioned above, since the consent from all persons entered into the Registry is necessary for deregistration, mortgagor’s / lessee’s / operator’s cooperation is necessary for this; in case it fails to cooperate, a complicated and time-consuming court procedure must be conducted in order to effectuate a decision replacing the missing consent. Such court proceeding can last up to several years.

Serbia didn’t ratify the Cape Town Convention, and therefore repossession rules prescribed under the said convention are not applicable in Serbia.

Under Serbian national laws, the repossession of an aircraft can be conducted with the consent of the counterparty. Otherwise, if there is no such consent, the competent court should be addressed in regular judicial proceedings in order to repossess the aircraft.

A creditor can submit a request to the Commercial Court to sell the aircraft in a court sale in order to settle the claims secured with the mortgage.