The legal right of pawn and retention in Serbian law

The means of guarantee of the contract fulfillment are traditionally divided into the personal and real means of guarantee. Besides this division, another division takes into account the way how the means of guarantee was created. According to this criterion, the means of guarantee are divided into contractual means of guarantee, those created on the basis of the legal procedure on one, and into the judicial and legislation means of guarantee on the other side. The contractual means of guarantee are considered to be the basic and the most common form, so in the case when nothing is additionally emphasized it is this form of guarantee that is being considered. However, side by side according to their importance are those means of guarantee that arise based on the law. Among the means of execution that arise directly under terms of the law, the right of retention and the right of pawn in the cases of contracts in economy. The creditor is entitled to retention only and extraordinarily when its appliance is in accordance with the conditions predicted by the law and as such it eliminates the misbalance which was created amongst the two sides in the contract and it achieves the balance which both sides desire. The right of pledge in the cases of contracts in economy, due to the assurance it provides for the creditors, contributes the faster and more efficient development of the trade turnover. Well defined means of guarantee of the contract fulfillment which are provided by the law itself amend the contractual ones. Together, contractual and judicial means of guarantee make an important part of the contract law.