City of Neglect: Death on Grbavica - When the Chain of Institutional Negligence Starts Killing Citizens

(Patria) - In late November 2025, Sarajevo saw its first snow of the winter. In the Grbavica settlement, on Grbavička and Zagrebačka streets, several trees collapsed under the weight of the snow onto parked cars, causing significant material damage.

Less than two months later, in the same settlement and at almost the same location, a tragedy occurred - a woman in her 40s died on her way to work after a pine tree over 10 meters tall fell on her, writes Istraga.ba.

The competent utility and municipal services claim that the tragedy could not have been prevented. When trees fell under the first Sarajevo snow, not only in Grbavica but also in numerous other settlements, KJKP Park announced that none of the fallen trees had previously been issued a permit for felling or pruning by the competent municipal services.

They added that most of the trees were uprooted along with their roots, indicating that they were not rotten or damaged, but that their mass could not withstand the amount of snow.

Who is Responsible

The Decision on Felling and Pruning of Trees of the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo states that felling and pruning of trees is carried out based on an approval issued by the municipal mayor through the service responsible for utility affairs.

Before felling is approved, the mayor (or in this case, the mayoress - Benjamina Karić) appoints a three-member expert commission that inspects the site and provides an expert opinion. The decision clearly stipulates the conditions under which tree felling is approved.

Article 6 states that tree maintenance is the obligation of the owner or user of the land on which the tree is located, or the building manager, and on public areas, the responsible utility or other company designated by special regulations.

A request for felling or pruning of a tree can be submitted by the owner or user of the land on which the tree is located, the investor of a new building, the building manager, the utility company, and any interested party.



Srđan Srdić, a councilor in the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo, as an “interested party,” has repeatedly warned that the competent city services do not pay enough attention to pruning trees before the start of winter.

- I constantly warn and request that trees in Novo Sarajevo be pruned or that damaged trees be felled. I have requested it multiple times, but nothing! On the other hand, as soon as the discussion starts about removing a tree because it is rotten, infected, or diseased, the counter-argument immediately arises: “Don’t touch the greenery.”

But the reality is simple – every tree in every settlement should be inspected, analyzed, and, if necessary, pruned or removed. This is about safety, not an attack on nature! Likewise, for every tree removed, three new ones should be planted immediately in the spring or autumn. This is how well-managed cities operate. This is not rocket science. Everything is possible if there is a willingness to work and plan on time – emphasizes Srdić.

His colleague from the Municipal Council of Novo Sarajevo, Arslan Dučić, filed a criminal complaint yesterday against the responsible persons in the Municipality, cantonal companies, and other unidentified persons following the tragedy in the Grbavica settlement.

The current government in Sarajevo Canton and some of the public attribute this move by Dučić to political populism. However, is the death of our fellow citizen in Grbavica just a cruel fate, or can and must responsibility be demanded from those in charge?

On the website of the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo, on the list of initiatives and urgencies from local communities, it is stated that the Local Community Grbavica 1 sent numerous requests to the municipal services during December 2025 for pruning branches and arranging tree canopies at several locations. None of these requests were fulfilled.



In Europe and the world, there are numerous cases where local authorities or responsible companies have been fined for negligence in tree maintenance that led to serious injuries or deaths of citizens, especially in legal systems where there is a legal duty of responsible risk management and health and safety laws.

These are most often cases where it has been proven that the responsible authorities knew (or should have known) about the danger and did not take reasonable action for inspection, risk assessment, and tree maintenance.

In Great Britain, based on the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, for deaths or serious injuries of citizens due to falling trees, courts have imposed sanctions on local authorities and private companies responsible for maintenance, ranging from £200,000 to even half a million pounds.

We Have Laws, But No Sanctions

Although the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sarajevo Canton do not have a specific law on citizens' health and safety like the British one, there is a broad legal framework for holding public bodies accountable in such cases.

In this regard, the Law on Obligations of the FBiH is crucial, especially Article 154, which states: “Whoever causes damage to another is obliged to compensate it, unless they prove that the damage occurred through no fault of their own.”

Article 172 of the same Law states that “a legal entity is responsible for damage caused by its organ to a third party in the performance or in connection with the performance of its functions.” Based on this article, responsibility can be sought from the municipality, canton, or public enterprise responsible for tree maintenance.

Legal experts consulted by Istraga state that in this specific case, a lawsuit against the responsible persons in the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo and KJKP “Park” can also be filed based on Article 173 of the Law on Obligations – Responsibility for a dangerous thing or dangerous activity, which reads: “The owner of a dangerous thing or the person engaged in a dangerous activity is responsible for damage caused in connection with it, regardless of fault.”

In legal practice, this article of the Law is extremely important because dilapidated, rotten, or unstable trees in public areas can be treated as “dangerous things,” especially if they are old, have been exposed to severe weather conditions, or have previously been reported as damaged. This means that it is not necessary to prove fault, but only that the tree was under the jurisdiction of the defendants, that it fell, and that it killed a person.

Although the Law provides for exemption from strict liability if it is proven that the damage was caused solely by force majeure or a third party, it is important to note that snow, wind, and winter are generally not considered “force majeure” if they are seasonally expected, and the tree was rotten, old, or unmaintained.

There is also the Law on the Principles of Local Self-Government in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which regulates the responsibility of local self-government units to manage public affairs in the interest of the population, and this includes the obligation to maintain public areas to prevent harmful consequences.

On the same principle, responsibility of the authorities must finally be sought for the collapse of numerous facades in the center of Sarajevo, inadequate removal of icicles and snow from roofs, and the repair of landslides, which have been endangering citizens for years.

Such occurrences, as well as the tragic death of the woman in Grbavica, are neither “unfortunate accidents” nor “force majeure.” This is about the safety of public areas, the responsibility of institutions, and the right of citizens to move freely through city streets without fear of being killed by unmaintained infrastructure.

Until we get a court precedent in which those responsible are severely sanctioned for endangering public safety, we are left only to rely on the warnings of the Civil Protection: do not move under roofs and canopies, and avoid trees from a wide berth!