PRAVNI ZAPISI • Year XVII • No. 1 • pp. 207-239

THE SURVIVAL OF ACCRUED DELAY PENALTIES AFTER CONTRACT TERMINATION UNDER SERBIAN LAW

Jezik rada:
Engleski

Marija Karanikić Mirić

Professor, University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, Serbia

e-mail: marija@ius.bg.ac.rs 
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4473-1249

Pravni zapisi, No. 1/2026, pp. 207-239
Original Scientific Article
DOI: 10.5937/pravzap17-65174

KEY WORDS

Contractual Penalty, Delay, Termination, Serbian Law on Obliga­tions, Accrued Rights

ABSTRACT

This article examines whether creditors lose the right to an accrued con­tractual penalty for delay upon termination of the contract for breach. The Serbian Law on Obligations (LO) contains no provision extinguishing that right upon ter­mination. Penalties survive termination based on the systematic reading of the LO, legal doctrine, judicial practice, comparative materials, and the role of contractual penalties in commercial practice. A contractual penalty is accessory at inception; once due, however, it becomes an independent right. Delay gives rise to legal conse­quences that termination does not erase retroactively. Just as termination does not affect accrued default interest or damages, it does not affect the accrued amount of a contractual penalty for delay, but only prevents its further increase. The contrary view would force the creditor to choose between terminating the contract to obtain restitution and retaining the right to the penalty.