The limitation period commences on the first day following the day on which the creditor acquired the right to demand performance of the obligation, unless otherwise provided by law in specific cases. If the obligation consists of refraining from an act, or of tolerating or omitting an act, the limitation period commences on the first day following the day on which the debtor acted contrary to the obligation.
Since the passage of time is an essential element of the institution of limitation, the Obligations Act prescribes limitation periods applicable in the law of obligations. Special statutes may also provide for different limitation periods (e.g. the Companies Act, the Labour Act, etc.).
The general limitation period is five years. Special limitation periods are shorter: three years for mutual claims arising from contracts for the supply of goods or services, rent and lease payments, and compensation for damages; and one year for utility bills (e.g. electricity, gas, water, telephone).
The expiry of the limitation period does not extinguish the creditor’s claim or the debtor’s obligation; rather, the creditor loses the right to enforce the time-barred claim through a court or another competent authority against the debtor’s will.
It is important to note that courts and other competent authorities do not take limitation into account ex officio. The debtor may raise the defence of limitation in judicial proceedings initiated by the creditor for the enforcement of an obligation. If the debtor does not exercise this right, the court will rule in favour of the creditor.
It follows that the debtor may perform their obligation even after the limitation period has expired, and the creditor may accept such performance. If the debtor performs a time-barred obligation, they are not entitled to request restitution of what has been performed, even if they were unaware that the obligation was time-barred.
The institution of limitation in civil law recognizes both the suspension and interruption of the running of the limitation period.
The statute of limitations does not run:
- between spouses;
- between parents and children while parental rights subsist;
- between a ward and their guardian, as well as the competent social welfare authority, during the period of guardianship and until accounts have been rendered;
- between persons living in a non-marital partnership, for as long as that relationship exists;
- during mobilization, in the event of an imminent threat of war or war, for claims of persons performing military service;
- for claims held by persons employed in another person’s household against the employer or members of their family living with them, for as long as that relationship lasts.
If the statute of limitations could not begin to run due to a legal cause, it shall begin to run once that cause ceases. If the statute of limitations began to run before a cause arose that suspended its further course, it shall continue to run once that cause ceases, and the time that elapsed before the suspension shall be counted toward the legally prescribed limitation period.
The statute of limitations is interrupted when the debtor acknowledges the debt, by the filing of a lawsuit, or by any other action taken by the creditor against the debtor before a court or another competent authority for the purpose of establishing, securing, or enforcing the claim.
After the interruption, the limitation period begins to run anew, and the time that elapsed before the interruption is not counted toward the legally prescribed limitation period. The limitation period that begins to run again after the interruption expires once the full statutory period applicable to the interrupted limitation has elapsed.
Ultimately, the institution of limitation serves to promote legal certainty by preventing the indefinite enforcement of claims and encouraging the timely assertion of rights, thereby ensuring a fair balance between the interests of creditors and debtors.
Zagreb, April 2026 Zrinka Grabas, attorney at law
