Contract law as part of larger law of obligations and civil law in Bosnia and Herzegovina — a positivist and historical analysis

The author in this article analyses, explains, compares, weighs in and provides possible outcomes for the future regarding various legal concepts within the law of obligations and contract law, being part of larger civil law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inter alia, the author explores the historical background of this important branch of law regulating market economy, from the very beginnings to the modern time, providing relevant, succinct and reliable information. This article analyses the following issues: to what legal family BiH law belongs; whether the primacy of legislation is a characteristic of the legal system in BiH; the principle of equity; the interplay between the Act on Obligations and the usages of trade; the position of the judiciary in BiH; the distinction between the public law and private law (administrative contracts); in addition, last but not least, the distinction between civil law and commercial law (commercial contracts). In this paper, the author relied upon a wide range of sources, documents, doctrinal writings as well as extensive case law to substantiate his assertions and conclusions.