Naumović & Partners Featured in LIR Serbia: Software UAT Dispute in a UN-Backed Justice Project
Our team has been featured in the second edition of The Legal Industry Reviews Serbia, in the Featured Cases section, through a case that shows how a precisely defined acceptance process can be decisive in IT contracts.
About the case: What is UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and why does it matter in IT contracts?
Naumović & Partners advised a regional IT company engaged to develop a case-management subsystem for courts in South-East Europe, implemented under a justice sector project funded by an international organisation. The contract provided for phased delivery and user acceptance testing (UAT) as the main mechanism for approving the implementation phase.
After a contract amendment that reset deadlines and strengthened the project team, the supplier notified completion of the implementation phase. The organisation and the end-user court council, however, considered that a significant number of functionalities remained outstanding. The core disagreement concerned the UAT framework: which party had to prepare detailed test cases and whether a contractual ‘deemed acceptance’ clause was triggered when the client’s feedback was delayed or limited to requesting a live demonstration.
The parties exchanged formal notices of breach and detailed position papers. Our client argued that, without agreed test scenarios, UAT could not be completed properly and that the contractual response period had lapsed. The organisation relied on broader project documentation and maintained that any timely reaction prevented acceptance from being presumed. Instead of commencing international arbitration, the parties, with our support, reached a settlement providing for a compromise payment, a full waiver of further claims and no admission of liability, thereby closing a complex UAT-driven dispute in a commercially efficient manner.
The case was handled by Zoran Naumović, Attorney at Law and Managing Partner.
Why does this case matter?
- It shows how important it is to precisely define the UAT process and deemed acceptance clauses at the contract negotiation stage.
- It illustrates how complex international IT disputes can be resolved through negotiation and settlement, avoiding costly and lengthy arbitration.
- It confirms the firm’s expertise in representing IT companies in disputes tied to large infrastructure and justice-sector projects funded by international organisations.
The case was published in the ‘Serbia | Featured Cases’ section of the second edition of The Legal Industry Reviews Serbia.
Follow for more legal insights:
