A SPECIAL COMPENSATION FOR THE CREDITOR'S RECOVERY COSTS INCURRED DUE TO DEBTOR'S LATE PAYMENT IN COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS (LUMP SUM COMPENSATION FOR RECOVERY COSTS)

Abstract

One of the novelties introduced into Croatian law with the Financial Operations and Pre-Bankruptcy Settlement Act of 2012 (ZFPPN) is the introduction of a new legal consequence of late payment in the so-called commercial transactions. On the basis of Art. 13 (1) of the ZFPPN, the creditor of a monetary obligation is ex lege entitled to a
lump sum compensation for recovery costs in Croatian kunas in the amount equivalent of forty euros. This lump sum compensation, designated in the ZFPPN as “a special compensation for the creditor's recovery costs incurred due to debtor's late payment in commercial transactions”, was introduced into Croatian law in order to comply with
the provisions of the Art. 6 Directive 2011/7/EU. The paper discusses the legal nature and functions of the lump sum compensation for recovery costs and analyses the conditions for the arising of the creditor's right to a lump sum compensation, maturity and prescription of the claim to a lump sum compensation. The interpretation of the
provisions of the ZFPPN in this paper is based on a comparative legal analysis and is in line with the Directive 2011/7/EU. In the utilisation of the comparative method, the solutions adopted in Austrian and German law were primarily considered, while the research also included the laws and regulations of all EU Member States that were adopted in the tranposition of the provisions of Art. 6. Directive 2011/7/EU.