Acknowledgement of Debt Which Leads to the Interruption of the Limitation Period

U ovom radu razmatraju se pravna narav i pretpostavke priznanja duga kojim se prekida zastara (čl. 240. ZOO-a). Njegova pravna narav proizlazi iz zaštite vjerovnikova povjerenja da će dužnik ispuniti svoju obvezu. Zbog povjerenja u dužnikovo ispunjenje vjerovnik može propustiti pravodobno poduzeti radnje pred nadležnim tijelima i spriječiti nastup zastare. Pretpostavke takvog priznanja duga su da je dužnik očitovao vjerovniku svoju svijest o postojanju određenog ili odredivog duga, bez dodatnih kvalifikacija koje bi ispunjenje dovele u sumnju. Takvo priznanje dovodi do prekida zastare te može poslužiti kao dokaz u sudskom postupku.This paper deals with the purpose and requirements of a unilateral acknowledgement of debt (Art. 240 Obligations Act). The purpose of the acknowledgement of debt is to protect a creditor’s reliance that the debtor will perform his obligation. Reliance on debtor’s performance can lead the creditor to fail to initiate proceedings before a competent body and, thus, prevent the lapse of the limitation period. The requirements for acknowledgement of debt are that a debtor manifests to his creditor his awareness of the existence of a determinable debt, without additional qualifiers which would cast doubt on his performance. Such acknowledgement leads to the interruption of the limitation period and it can serve as evidence in the court proceedings