Pravno

Pravno is an adjective and adverb used in several South Slavic languages, especially Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian, to denote things related to law or legality. It derives from pravo, meaning law, and forms a common basis for terms in civil and administrative law. In everyday and legal language, pravno modifies nouns to express juridical status, obligations, or processes, and the phrase pravno gledano is used to mean legally speaking.

In legal practice, a key distinction is often drawn between natural persons (fizičko lice) and legal entities (pravna osoba or pravno lice). A legal entity has separate rights and obligations from its members, can own property, enter contracts, and participate in legal proceedings, independent of the individuals who constitute it. This concept is central to corporate law, non-profit organizations, and public institutions across jurisdictions that use the term pravno.

Common terms and constructs include pravna norma (legal norm), pravna sigurnost (legal certainty), pravni status (legal status), and pravna obaveza (legal obligation). The adverbial use pravno is found in phrases such as pravno gledano (legally speaking) to qualify statements from a juridical perspective.

Etymologically, pravno comes from the root prav- related to law and right, common across Slavic languages. While the core meaning is consistent, exact usage and preferred phrases can vary by country and legal tradition.