The decision to introduce electronic land books was made by Justice Minister Vesna Skare Ozbolt. It marks the start of implementation of European standards and transparent operation of land registries, as well as the introduction of new services and simpler business procedure in public and private sectors, ministry officials have said. The closing of paper land books marks the beginning of one of the most important projects in the reform of the judiciary, which is expected to result in the introduction of electronic land books in the entire country by the end of the year.
Paper land books will be repaired and archived.
Minister Skare Ozbolt said in March that the first electronic land book could be expected in June. She said that electronic land books were expected to be fully sorted by 2007.
The project of modernisation of land books amounts to around 36 million euros. Of that amount, 26 million was secured in the form of a loan granted by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, while the rest of the money was secured from the state budget and donations by the World Bank.