I. Core Information on the Establishment of the Institution
Establishing entity: Guozun Law Firm
Time of establishment: March 2024
Location of establishment: Core commercial and business district of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter referred to as “BiH”)
Contact information: 4006661890
Institutional positioning: Guozun’s core cross-border legal service hub for deep cultivation of the Balkan Peninsula and connection with the EU market, focusing on the two-way cross-border legal needs between China and Bosnia and Herzegovina, deeply adapting to the legal systems of the two entities of BiH (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska) and the Brčko District, and relying on local resource advantages to provide professional, localized, and full-chain legal services for market entities and individuals of both countries, helping Chinese-funded enterprises leverage BiH’s advantages as an EU candidate country to expand into the European market and connecting with practical cooperation under the framework of China–Central and Eastern European countries cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative.
II. Core Capabilities of the Institution
Localized professional team: A core bilingual and bicultural lawyer team has been formed, with members who possess both Chinese foreign-related legal service experience and local practice qualifications in BiH. They have cultivated legal practice in BiH for many years and are proficient in the Constitution of BiH, regulations relating to the two entities, and EU regulatory rules, enabling them to efficiently solve issues arising from the interaction between the two-entity legal systems and accurately match the two-way legal service needs between China and BiH.
Full-chain resource integration: By coordinating with official investment institutions, industry associations, and commercial support resources in BiH, the office has built a China-BiH cross-border legal service network, breaking through geographic, legal, and information barriers, realizing localized implementation and full-process follow-up of cross-border legal needs, and at the same time helping clients connect with EU market resources and related subsidy policies.
Customized service capability: Closely aligned with post-war reconstruction and energy transition trends in BiH and combined with the characteristics of bilateral cooperation between China and BiH, the office provides differentiated and customized legal solutions for the needs of different industries and different entities, especially forming core service advantages in infrastructure reconstruction and renewable energy.
EU compliance linkage: Relying on BiH’s position as an EU candidate country, the office deeply interprets relevant EU rules and provides EU compliance linkage services to help Chinese-funded enterprises smoothly align with EU market access standards and avoid cross-border compliance risks.
III. Core Business Scope
(I) Cross-Border Investment and Comprehensive Commercial Legal Services
Chinese investment in BiH: Covering investment structure design, legal due diligence under the dual-entity system, drafting and negotiation of transaction documents, foreign investment filing and approval, closing execution, and post-investment compliance governance, with a focus on advantageous industries such as renewable energy, infrastructure reconstruction, and agriculture, and assisting clients in applying for foreign investment incentives in BiH and EU subsidies.
Investment by BiH entities in China: Providing market access compliance, investment structure setup, transaction implementation follow-up, and compliance system construction, and relying on the strategic partnership between China and BiH and their mutual visa-free policy to help BiH enterprises expand into the Chinese market.
Commercial entity services: Full-process services for the establishment, registration, alteration, and deregistration of local enterprises in BiH, including compliance filing for cross-regional operations under the two-entity system, while also providing services such as corporate governance optimization, shareholder rights protection, annual legal counsel, corporate bankruptcy liquidation, and debt handling.
(II) Compliance and EU-Linkage Legal Services
Local compliance services: Interpretation of laws relating to foreign investment and industry regulation under the two entities of BiH, providing compliance review, risk investigation, compliance system construction, and responses to regulatory inquiries, adapted to BiH’s post-war reconstruction policies and industrial upgrading orientation.
EU compliance linkage: Focusing on data security aligned with GDPR standards, anti-money laundering, anti-monopoly and competition compliance, and tax compliance planning, helping clients adapt to compliance reform requirements arising during BiH’s EU accession process and open a compliant path to EU market access.
Supporting compliance services: Providing compliance training, revision of compliance systems, and issuance of compliance reports, helping clients avoid cross-border operating compliance risks and respond to law enforcement inspections by regulatory authorities under the two entities of BiH.
(III) Intellectual Property and Information Technology Legal Services
Two-way intellectual property layout: Registration applications and full-area layout of trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets in BiH and China, aligned with BiH intellectual property laws and relevant EU rules and adapted to intellectual property protection reforms related to BiH’s EU accession.
Intellectual property operation and enforcement: Legal support for transactions involving intellectual property licensing, transfer, and pledge, as well as services such as cross-border infringement investigation, litigation representation, and dispute mediation, relying on the judicial systems of the two entities in BiH to comprehensively protect clients’ intellectual property rights and interests.
Information technology specialization: Providing compliant operational support for China-BiH cross-border IT enterprises, covering data security compliance, resolution of commercial cooperation disputes, and other matters, adapted to the development needs of BiH’s information technology industry and EU regulatory requirements.
(IV) Real Estate and Construction Legal Services
Real estate services: Compliance guidance for personal cross-border home purchases, commercial real estate investment, and industrial land leasing in BiH, including transaction review, title registration and confirmation, and property lease management, adapted to differences in real estate regulation between the two entities.
Construction services: Covering compliance in project bidding and tendering, contract management, and supervision of construction quality and schedule, with a focus on post-war infrastructure reconstruction and renewable energy power stations, and providing support for construction dispute handling and project compliance risk control.
Supporting project services: Assisting clients in handling project approvals and filings, environmental compliance review, acquisition of land use rights, and construction qualification applications, while connecting with EU infrastructure-related subsidy policies to ensure lawful and efficient project advancement.
(V) Cross-Border Dispute Resolution Legal Services
Litigation and arbitration representation: Local litigation in BiH and international arbitration representation for China-BiH cross-border civil and commercial disputes, including contracts, investment, and intellectual property, relying on deep mastery of the dual-entity judicial system to efficiently advance dispute resolution.
Diversified dispute resolution: Providing dispute mediation and settlement design to reduce dispute resolution costs, linking with the court systems and administrative relief channels of the two entities of BiH and resolving coordination difficulties in enforcement of awards and judgments.
Dispute prevention and response: Providing enterprises engaged in cross-border operations with dispute risk assessments and preventive scheme design, specifically addressing potential dispute risks arising from differences in the two-entity legal systems and policy changes.
(VI) Immigration and Cross-Border Trade and Logistics Legal Services
Immigration and status planning: Relying on the mutual visa-free policy between China and BiH, providing compliance services for various BiH visa applications such as work, study, and family reunification, document review, refusal appeals, and residence permit applications, in line with the requirements of the Law on Movement, Stay and Asylum of Aliens of BiH.
Protection of individual rights and interests: Providing services in cross-border marriage and family matters, inheritance, and compliance in personal asset allocation, taking into account the laws of the two entities and relevant Chinese regulations, and addressing problems in protecting rights arising from regional legal differences.
Trade and logistics services: Review of China-BiH cross-border trade contracts, customs declaration compliance, tariff planning, responses to trade barriers, as well as compliance in port operations in BiH, logistics contract review, and cross-border logistics risk prevention, linking with the EU logistics network to facilitate trade.
Cross-border agricultural services: Compliance guidance for cultivation, processing, and export to China of BiH specialty agricultural products and alignment of trade contracts, adapted to EU agricultural inspection and quarantine standards and deepening China-BiH agricultural cooperation.
IV. Significance of the Institution’s Establishment
The establishment of Guozun Law Firm’s Bosnia and Herzegovina Office is an important move in Guozun’s global legal service strategy in the Balkan Peninsula, further improving Guozun’s cross-border legal service network in Europe and particularly strengthening its service capacity for EU candidate country markets. Relying on its localized professional team and resource integration advantages, the institution precisely meets the legal service needs arising from bilateral economic, trade, and cultural exchanges between China and BiH. It not only safeguards Chinese-funded enterprises in expanding into the European and Balkan markets by leveraging BiH’s advantages, but also builds an efficient legal bridge for BiH enterprises entering the Chinese market. In the future, the institution will continue to deeply cultivate the field of China-BiH cross-border legal services, help improve the quality and efficiency of practical cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and the China–Central and Eastern European countries cooperation framework, provide professional legal support for BiH’s EU accession process and post-war reconstruction, and promote the continued deepening of bilateral relations between China and BiH.