Bosnia-Herzegovina

[DE-BA] Agreement on Co-operation in the Film Industry

IRIS 1995-1:1/50

Esther Harlow

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

The Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina agreed in an exchange of notes on 16 November 1992 that treaties concluded between Germany and the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were to continue apply unless an agreement with deviating provisions was reached. This means that an agreement on co-operation in the film industry concluded on 23 February 1972 is still in force.

Under the agreement, co-produced films are treated as domestic productions subject to the domestic law of the country concerned. A co-produced film requires financial, technical and artistic contributions from the contracting states. Accordingly, a precondition for a film to be regarded as a co-production within the meaning of the agreement is that the technical and artistic staff working on it are nationals of the contracting parties, belong to their cultural community or have their normal residence in the territory of a contracting state. Another requirement is that the producer with the lower financial contribution pays at least 30% of the costs of making the film.

The artistic and technical contributions should be in the same proportion as the financial contribution. Subsidies and other financial benefits granted in the territory of a contracting party will only be given to producers that have their registered office or residence in that territory. The identity of the producer depends on the production contract.