The Croatian Legal System and Legal Research

Siniša Žugić is a graduate of Benedictine College, KS (class of 1999). He received an Executive MBA degree from Cotrugli Business School in 2016. He currently serves Intellectio Iuris in an advisory (marketing) role.

Milivoje Žugić is a graduate of the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb (1969). He worked as a judge until 1982, when he entered a private law practice. He lives and works in Zagreb and specializes in land registry law. He is the author of a paper on the legal position of clients of the Bank of Ljubljana (Ljubljanska Banka) after the dissolution of former Yugoslavia.

How did the Republic of Croatia come into being and what is its legal basis? Croatia was established with the dissolution of Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) and it is one of its legal successors. The document that supports its existence as an independent state is the Constitutional Decree of Sovereignty and Independence of Republic of Croatia, published on June 25, 1991. Therein, the Republic of Croatia proclaims its sovereignty and independence from the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia.

The second document that justifies Croatia’s independence is the decision the Parliament made on October 8, 1991 to seek international acceptance as an independent state. In Croatia’s national law, this date is considered to be the first day of the beginning for Croatia as an independent state, although Croatia was not officially recognized as a state until January 15, 1992. That date could be considered its international birthday.

A hierarchy of legal norms characterizes the legal system in Croatia. They are arranged in five levels, and the norms lower in rank have to be congruent with those of higher levels. The highest norm is the Constitution – the fundamental law. The Constitution was originally created on December 22, 1990. It underwent changes in 1997, 2000, and 2001 (Constitution of the Republic of Croatia Official Gazette number 56/90, 135/97, 8/98 – consolidated version, 113/00, 124/00 – consolidated version and 28/01, 41/01, 76/10, 85/10, and 05/14 – consolidated version).

It is based on two important principles: division of power in the government and the rule of law. Ranking in importance after the constitution are constitutional laws (1. Constitutional Act for the implementation of the Constitution, 2. Constitutional Act on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, 3. The Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities, 4. Constitutional Act on the Cooperation of Republic of Croatia with International Criminal Court). Ranked third in importance are international contracts. Fourth in importance are the EU laws since Croatia became a full member of European Union on July 1, 2013, and fifth, Croatian laws and sub-statutory acts.

Croatia has 12 member representatives in the European Parliament who were elected on May 26, 2019 and will serve until 2024. The Parliament of the Republic of Croatia enacts the Constitution, constitutional laws, and regular laws. Laws of the European Union are passed by the Council of the European Union (not to be confused with European Council or Council of Europe), while bodies of executive power (the government and the ministries) pass sub-statutory acts.

2. The Structure of the Croatian Government

Croatia is a parliamentary democracy with a multi-party system based on the principle of three branches of government (system of tripartite authority).

• Legislative
• Executive
• Judicial

Each one of these branches of government has the highest authority in its sphere of competence. The legislative branch has the highest authority in making laws, the executive in executing those laws and the judicial in judging its citizens. The Government of the Republic of Croatia holds the highest executive power. The Government of Croatia has a president who also has certain powers, mainly with regards to protocol.

Court jurisdiction is tightly related to Article 29 of the Constitution and Article 6 of European Convention of Human Rights that guarantees a right to a fair trial. Here, it is necessary to say that Croatia, by becoming a member of Council of Europe on November 5, 1997, accepted the European Convection of Human Rights and jurisdiction of European Court of Human Rights (with its seat in Strasburg) over its Constitutional Court. Some experts argue that considering its power that includes the ability to abolish the decision of executive, judicial and even legislative power, the Constitutional Court could be considered the “forth authority” sui generis. With its accession into the European Union Croatia also recognized the jurisdiction of European Court of Justice (with its seat in Lichtenstein) over its judiciary.

For additional information, please also see the final section in this guide: Online Resources in Croatia.

2.1. The Legislative Branch

The highest organ of the legislative branch is the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia (Sabor Republike Hrvatske). The Parliament has only one house, and its 151 representatives (zastupnici) are elected in direct elections through a secret voting procedure based on the equal right to vote of all adult individuals (men and women) of 18 years and older. A party-list proportional representation method (open list) is used, and the election is held once every four years. Preferential voting was first introduced during European Parliament elections in 2013 and since then it has been a part of the regular voting law. Provisions exist for early elections. Once in Parliament, elected representatives organize into groups made up of representatives of political parties that passed the “electoral brink.” There are independent representatives. All chosen representatives have a free, not imperative, mandate. The election is carried out in twelve electoral units. Ten of those are based on territorial principle. The eleventh electoral unit is made up of members of the Croatian diaspora around the world. The diaspora has an allotted number of representatives in Croatian Parliament. The twelfth electoral unit is secured for national minorities. The election is supervised by the National Electoral Committee (Drzavno izborno povjernstvo (DIP)) headed by the president of the Croatian Supreme Court.

The Parliament has the authority to enact laws in any session where a majority of representatives are present. There are two kinds of laws:

• Ordinary laws – may be declared by the Parliament in any session where more than 1/2 of present representatives vote for their passing
• Essential laws (the Constitution calls them “organic” laws) – concerned with basic rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and must be voted with a qualified (two-thirds) majority.

Entirely different are elections for the local government (municipalities and counties). Laws and consolidated codes can be found on the Zakon website and in the National Gazette.

2.2. The Executive Branch

Croatia is a parliamentary democracy. The executive power is divided between the president (Predsjednik Republike Hrvatske)—currently Zoran Milanović—and the government. The president is elected in direct presidential elections for a period of five years and can serve up to two terms. The president represents the state within the country and abroad, and his powers are essentially those of state protocol. He has the authority to dissolve the Parliament, and he proposes a candidate for a mandate of prime minister.

The government holds the highest executive power in Croatia. According to protocol, the president confers the mandate to the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, who is usually the president of the party that has most votes in the Parliament. The prime minister is confirmed by the Parliament, and he has the power to appoint the members of his cabinet. The Cabinet of the Republic of Croatia is made up of the prime minister (currently Andrej Plenković) and 16 ministers (reduced from 21), four of whom are vice presidents of the government (Tomo Medved, Davor Božinović, Zdravko Marić, and Boris Milošević).

The Government of the Republic of Croatia exercises its power in accordance with the Constitution and law; its internal organization, operational procedures, and decision-making processes are defined by the Law on the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Rules of Procedure of the Government.

The government passes decrees, introduces legislation, proposes the state budget, and enforces laws and other regulations enacted by the Croatian Parliament or by the related ministries. Within the scope of its powers, the government also passes decrees and administrative acts, and orders on appointments and relief of appointed officials and civil servants. The government decides in cases of conflict of jurisdiction between government institutions, gives answers to representatives’ questions, prepares proposals of laws and other regulations, gives opinion on laws and other regulations, and adopts strategies of economic and social development.

The government answers to the Croatian Parliament. The prime minister and the members of the government are jointly responsible for decisions passed by the government and individually responsible for their respective portfolios. As stated previously, the Croatian president confers the mandate for the formation of the government (cabinet) to a parson in a political party which has won at least a relative majority on the election. He or she submits the proposed cabinet for Parliament’s approval. At times, this requires the formation of coalitions, as in the most recent election. The term of office of the members of the government shall begin with the date of appointment and terminate with the date of relief.

Recent development: After the initial law on public administration that was passed in 1993, shortly after the nation gained independence, and a transitional law in the same vein passed in 2011, Croatia finally passed a comprehensive law on the makeup of the public administration (Zakon o sustavu državne uprave, National Gazette 66/2019) which completely, and hopefully, finally resolves the problem of organizing the public administration.

This law defines the job of public administration. It structurally divides the public administration into ministries and regulatory organizations (departments, institutes, inspectorates, directorates, etc.) and regulates their internal organization and operation. This law also regulates the involvement of the administration in the process that precedes passing of the laws (the legal initiative) as well as the process that follows the law has been passed (its implementation). Unlike before, it also creates a legal framework for bylaws passed by the regulatory organizations (ordinances, rules of procedure, recommendations, decisions, conclusions, orders, and instructions).

2.2.1. List of Ministries

The following are the names, addresses, and contact information of official Croatian government ministries.

Ministry	Address	Contact Information
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Minister: Gordan Grlić Radman	Trg Nikole Subica Zrinjskog 7-8 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4569 800 Fax: +385 1 455 1795 E-mail: kabinet.ministra@mvep.hr
Ministry of the Interior Minister: Davor Božinović	Ulica grada Vukovara 33 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6122 111 Fax: +385 1 612 2452 E-mail: pitanja@mup.hr
Ministry of Defense Minister: Mario Banožić	Trg kralja Petra Krešimira IV br. 110 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4567 111 Fax: +385 1 4568 109 E-mail: infor@morh.hr
Ministry of Science and Education Minister: Radovan Fuchs	Donje Svetice 38 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 456 9000 Fax: +385 1 4594 301 E-mail: kabinet@mzo.hr
Ministry of Finance Minister: Zdravko Marić	Katanciceva 5 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 459 1300 Fax: +385 1 492 2583 E-mail: kabinet@mfin.hr
Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development Minister: Tomislav Ćorić	Ulica grada Vukovara 78 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 3717 175 Fax: +385 1 3717 149 E-mail: ministar@mingo.hr
Ministry of Culture and Media Minister: Nina Obuljen Koržinek	Runjaninova 2 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 486 6308 Fax: +385 1 4816 755 E-mail: kabinet@min-kulture.hr
Ministry of Justice and Administration Minister: Ivan Malenica	Ulica grada Vukovara 49 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 3714 500 Fax: +385 1 3714 507 E-mail: ministar@mpu.hr
Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Minister: Oleg Butković	Prisavlje 14 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 3784 520 Fax: +385 1 3784 550 E-mail: ministar@mmpi.hr
Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds Minister: Nataša Tramišak	Miramarska cesta 22 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6400 660 Fax: +385 1 6400 664 E-mail: kabinet@mrrfeu.hr
Ministry of Health Minister: Vili Beroš	Ksaver 200 a 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 460 7555 Fax: +385 1 467 7076 E-mail: kabinet@miz.hr
Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Minister: Nada Murganić	Trg Nevenke Topalušić 1 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 5557 111 Fax: +385 1 5557 222 E-mail: ministarstvo@mdomsp.hr
Ministry of Agriculture Minister: Marija Vučković	Ulica grade Vukovara 78 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6106 111 Fax: +385 1 6109 200 E-mail: kabinet@mps.hr
Ministry of Tourism and Sport Minister: Nikolina Brnjac	Prisavlje 14 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6169 180 Fax: +385 1 6169 181 E-mail: ministar@mints.hr
Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Minister: Darko Horvat	Ulica Republike Austrije 20 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 3782 444 Fax: +385 1 3772 822 E-mail: pitanja@mpgi.hr
Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs Minister: Tomo Medved	Trg Nevenke Topalušić 1 10 000 Zagreb	Phone.: +385 1 2308 817 Fax: +385 1 2308 827 E-mail: ministarstvo@branitelji.hr

2.2.2. Offices of the Government

The following are the names, addresses, and contact information of various government offices.

Office	Address	Contact Information
Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia	Trg Sv. Marka 2 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 456 5191 Fax: +385 1 4565 299 E-mail: ured@predsjednik.hr
Government of the Republic of Croatia Prime Minister: mr. sc. Andrej Plenković	Trg sv. Marka 2 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4569 210 Fax: +385 1 6303 019 E-mail: predsjednik@vlada.hr
Public Relations Office Spokeswoman: Marko Milić	Trg Sv. Marka 2 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 456 9239 Fax: +385 1 630 3022 E-mail: press@vlada.hr
Office for Protocol Director: Blanka Jurić Jerbić	Trg svetog Marka 2 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: (01) 6303 081 Fax: (01) 6303 086 E-mail: protokol@vlada.hr
Legislation Office Director: Zdenka Pogarčić	Trg svetog Marka 2 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: (01) 4569 244 Fax: (01) 4569 386 E-mail: zakonodavstvo@vlada.hr E-mail: zdenka.pogarcic@vlada.hr
Office for Internal Audit Director: Karmela Plazibat	Ulica grada Vukovara 72/IV 10000 Zagreb	Phone: (01) 6444 631 E-mail: ured@revizija.vlada.hr
Directorship for the Use of the Official Airplanes Director: Ivan Klanac	Zračna luka Zagreb, Pleso bb 10410 Velika Gorica	Phone: +385 1 6303-150 Fax: +385 1 6224-677 E-mail: direkcija@sabor.hr
Office for NGOs Director: Vesna Lendić Kasalo, Dipl.-Jur.	Opatička 4 10000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4599 810 Fax: +385 1 4599 811 E-mail: info@udruge.vlada.hr
Office for Gender Equality Director: Helena Štimac Radin	Mesnička 23 10000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 630 3090 Fax: +385 1 4569 296 E-mail: ured.ravnopravnost@urs.vlada.hr
Office of the Commission for Relationships with Religious Communities Director: Šime Jarčić	Mesnička 23 10000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4569 557 Fax: +385 1 4569 383 E-mail: ured@ukovz.vlada.hr
Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities Director: Alen Tahiri	Trg Marsala Tita 8/1 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4569 358 Fax: +385 1 4569 324 E-mail: ured@uljppnm.vlada.hr
Office of the Agent of the Republic of Croatia before the European Court Rights Government Agent: Štefica Stažnik	Dalmatinska 1 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4878-100 Fax: +385 1 4878-111 E-mail: ured@zastupnik-esljp.hr

2.2.3. Central State Administrative Offices

Office	Address	Contact Information
Public Procurement Office State Secretary: Ivan Bubić	Ulica Ivana Lučića 6-8/II 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4599 831 Fax: +385 1 599 844 E-mail: info@sredisnjanabava.hr
State Office for Croats Abroad Head: MSc Daria Krstičević	Trg hrvatskih velikana 6 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 16444 680 Fax: +385 16444 688 E-mail: hrvati.izvanrh@mvep.hr

2.2.4. State Administration Organizations

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Central Bureau of Statistics	Ilica 3 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 480 6295 Fax: +385 1 481 7740 E-mail: ured@dzs.hr
State Institute for Nature Protection	Radnička cesta 80/710 144 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 5502 900 Fax: +385 1 5502 901 E-mail: info@dzzp.hr
State Geodetic Directorate	Gruška 20 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6165 404 Fax: +385 1 6165 484 E-mail: pisarnica_su@dgu.hr
State Office for Metrology	Capraška 6 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 563 00 00 Fax: +385 1 563 00 01 E-mail: pisarnica@dzm.hr
Digital Information and Documentation Office of Croatian Government	Siget 18c 10 020 Zagreb	Phone: +385 (1) 4855 827 Fax: +385 (1) 4855 655 E-mail: ured@rdd.hr
State Intellectual Property Office	Ulica grada Vukovara 78 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 61 06 100 Fax: +385 1 611 2017 E-mail: kabinetravnatelja@dziv.hr
National Civil Protection Directorate	Nehajska 5 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 3650 082 Fax: +385 1 3650 025 E-mail: ured@civilna-zastita.hr

2.2.5. Public Sector

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Agency for Investment and Competitiveness	Prilaz Gjure Deželića 7 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6286 800 Fax: +385 1 6286 829 E-mail: invest@mingor.hr
Croatian Competition Agency	Savska cesta 41/VI 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 617 6448 Fax: +385 1 617 6450 E-mail: agencija.ztn@aztn.hr
Agency for Transaction and Mediation in Immovable Properties	Savska cesta 41/VI 10000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6331 600 Fax: +385 1 6177 045 E-mail: apn@apn.hr
Central Register of Insured Persons (REGOS)	Gajeva 5 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: + 385 1 489 8900 Fax: + 385 1 489 8903 E-mail: regos@regos.hr
Croatian Academic and Research Network CARNet	Josipa Marohnica bb 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1616 5616 Fax: +385 1 616 5615 E-mail: helpdesk@carnet.hr
Croatian Agency for Small Business (HAMAG)	Prilaz Gjure Dezelica 7 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4881 001 Fax: +385 1 4881 009 E-mail: uprava@hamagbicro.hr
Croatian Employment Institute	Radnicka cesta 1 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: 385 1 6444 000 E-mail: burzarada@hzz.hr
Croatian Hydrographic Institute	Zrinsko-Frankopanska 161 21 000 Split	Phone: +385 21 361 840 Fax: +385 21 347242 E-mail: office@hhi.hr
Croatian Institute for Health Insurance	Margaretska 3 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 480 6333 | Fax: +385 1 480 6345 | E-mail: glasnogovornica@hzzo-net.hr
Croatian Pension Insurance Institute	Mihanoviceva 3 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 459 5500 Fax: +385 1 457 5063 E-mail: ravnatelj@mirovinsko.hr
Environment Agency	Radnička cesta 80 10000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4886 840 Fax: +385 1 4826 173 E-mail: info@azo.hr
Financial Agency (FINA)	Ulica grada Vukovara 70 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 612 7111 Fax: +385 1 6128 089 E-mail: info@fina.hr
State Agency for Deposit Insurance and Bank Rehabilitation	Jurisiceva 1 10000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 481 3222 Fax: +385 1 481 9107 E-mail: dab@dab.hr
Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency	Martićeva ulica 14 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4609 000 Fax: +385 1 4609 010 E-mail: azop@azop.hr
Croatian Agency for Supervision of Financial Services (HANFA)	Miramarska 24b 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6173 200 Fax: +385 1 4811 406 E-mail: info@hanfa.hr
Croatian Accreditation Agency	Ulica grada Vukovara 78 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6106 322 Fax: +385 1 6109 322 E-mail: akreditacija@akreditacija.hr
State Audit Office	Tkalciceva 19 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4813 292 Fax: +385 1 4813 304 E-mail: revizija@revizija.hr

2.2.6. Monetary Power

The National Bank of Croatia (Hrvatska Narodna Banka) is the highest organ of monetary power in Croatia. The head of the National Bank of Croatia is a governor chosen by the Parliament, currently Boris Vujičić. Some hold that, in the constitutional sense, he is of the same rank as the prime minister. With Croatia’s entry into the EU, the position of Croatian National Bank will change because of the process of forming a monetary union, at which point the Central European Bank will formally become superordinate to the National Bank of Croatia. Croatia is set to introduce the euro in January 2023.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
National Bank of Croatia	Trg hrvatskih velikana 3 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 456 4555 Fax: +385 1 461 0551 E-mail: info@hnb.hr

2.2.7. Independent Organizations

There are many independent organizations in Croatia. Free Advocacy is the only organization that stems directly from the Constitution.

The Croatian Bar Association: Free advocacy in Croatia has a tradition that is over 100 years old. It is obligatory for lawyers to be part of the Croatian Bar Association. There is only one bar association in Croatia at this moment. The Croatian Bar Association is a member of Union Internationale des Avocats. Today, the bar has over 4,000 members. The position of lawyers is subject to change because Croatia recently became a member of EU.

Croatian Chamber of Notaries: The Croatian Chamber of Notaries is an association of Croatian public notaries. Its seat is in Zagreb, and its function is, with the help of Ministry of Justice, to supervise the work of all public notaries. Public notaries are persons of public trust, and their work consists of assembling and publishing public documents concerning all legal transactions, statements, and facts that are basis for establishing rights between private persons. It witnesses the signatures and certifies the validity of personal identification papers and acts as a safe depository for documents, money, objects, etc. Public notaries are independent proprietors, and notary is their sole occupation.

The Croatian Chamber of Economy: The Croatian Chamber of Economy (CCE) is an independent professional and business organization of all legal entities engaging in business. It was established in 1852, organized in European tradition and on the so-called continental model of Austrian and German chambers. The Croatian Chamber of Economy consists of the Headquarters in Zagreb and 20 county chambers. Among these, the Zagreb Chamber represents both the City of Zagreb and Zagreb County. Functionally, the CCE consists of eight departments dealing with the respective branch of the economy and also includes 40 professional associations, 87 groups, and 19 affiliations. Apart from this, five business centers operate within the CCE, Permanent Arbitration Court, Conciliation Centre, Court of Honor, and CCE Office for Areas of Special State Concern.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Hrvatska Odvjetnička Komora	Koturaska 53/2 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6165 200 Fax: +385 1 6170 686 E-mail: hok-cba@hok-cba.hr
Hrvatska Javnobilježnička Komora	Radnička cesta 34/II 10000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 455 6566 Fax: +385 1 455 1544 E-mail: hjk@hjk.hr
Hrvatska Gospodarska Komora	Rooseveltov trg 2 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4561 555 Fax: +385 1 4828 380 E-mail: hgk@hgk.hr
Croatian Standards Institute	Ulica grada Vukovara 78 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6106 095 Fax: +385 1 6109 321 E-mail: hzn@hzn.hr

2.3. Judicial Branch

Judicial power in general is regulated through the Law of the Courts and is inspired by the idea of independent courts. State Judiciary Council appoints all judges for life as an independent state institution formed of Parliament members, judicial authorities, well-respected public persons, and members of Croatian Bar Association. The Minister of Justice names the presidents of the courts from among the appointed judges, and the President of the Supreme Court of Croatia is chosen by the Parliament based on the proposition from the Cabinet.

Changes in civil procedure are not systematic (we are still waiting for such a change), but there has been recent change of significance. Croatia uses the Law on Civil Procedure passed in Yugoslavia in 1975. Certain former Yugoslav Republics (Serbia and Slovenia) have since passed new laws on civil procedure. Croatia, however, just recently passed alterations to the now 45-year-old legislation. Some of these alterations have long reaching repercussion. The last of these changes was in 2019 when a new legal remedy was introduced; revision per permission (Revizija po dopuštenju). This is an extraordinary remedy for challenging judicial decisions after they are decided in two judicial instances. The conditions necessary to file this revision are very rigorous, and Croatia attempted to constitute this remedy several times already. This new legal remedy is very similar to American certiorari. The third-instance Supreme Court decision will be made only in the case that there is public interest for a new decision to be made.

Two more significant laws are expected: 1) The Foreclosure Act and 2) The Extra-Judicial Proceedings Act. This would be the third attempt Croatia has made to write a Foreclosure Act since gaining independence. It is expected the act will state that the legislator will regulate enforcement over financial assets and real estate foreclosure. The Extra-Judicial Proceedings Act poses an even greater challenge. The former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia used a law passed during Kingdom of Yugoslavia on June 24, 1934, which has not been changed since. Even worse, this 85-year-old law is a copy of an Austro-Hungarian law (Croatia belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire before becoming a part of Yugoslavia in 1918) that was passed during the middle of the nineteenth century (around 170 years ago). This law regulates many areas, like probate hearings, and often leads to difficulties in legal practice. Croatia models its laws after Austria and Germany, but while Austria passed aa new law in 2005, Germany did not. It is most likely that the Croatian commission for writing the Extra-Judicial Proceedings Act will wait for Germany to pass a new law before they reflect on it and decide to draft its own.

Types of courts:

• Courts of General Jurisdiction
• Commercial Courts
• Police Courts
• Administrative Court
• Labor courts – courts specialized for labor law disputes

2.3.1. Courts of General Jurisdiction

Courts of General Jurisdiction are the cornerstones of judicial practice in Croatia. These courts judge in all disputes, except in those where law explicitly determines jurisdiction of another court. These courts are organized hierarchically in three instances and are divided into regions.

Municipal Courts: Municipal Courts are courts with first-instance jurisdiction in both civil and penal cases. In penal litigation, the courts judge in all cases where the penalty goes up to ten years. The novelty is that legal persons can also be liable for criminal acts. In civil litigation, these courts judge as first-instance courts in all judicial, extra-judicial, and execution procedures, especially in litigation against unlawful actions, and lawsuits for correction of information. Municipal courts hold land registers that are the only legally valid registry service of real rights in Croatia. Reform of the land registry is complete. At the moment, there is discussion that sections of municipal courts that judge land registry disputes be separated out as special courts.

County Courts: County courts are almost exclusively second-instance courts. On occasion, these courts are used as first-instance courts; in penal litigation if the punishment by law surpasses ten years or by special regulations (the court decides in the compensation amount for expropriated real estate, it decides on a right to belong to an association etc.). It is important to recognize that a right to an appeal is a Constitutional right of every citizen and a right of every legal entity (for instance, corporation). Protection of this right, just as all other Constitutional rights, is guaranteed by the Constitutional Court through the institute of constitutional complaint (Ustavna tuzba). Constitution guarantees that every legal entity can appeal against any and all acts of either executive or judicial power, which determine the entities’ legal rights and obligations. As all court decisions are acts of the Judicial branch of the government, the structure allows for an appeal against any decision made by the municipal courts. In that case, district court acts as a court of appeal.

The Supreme Court of Republic of Croatia: The Supreme Court is a court of full jurisdiction with respect to all courts’ decisions, which it may void, confirm, or revise (unlike in France or Italy). The Supreme Court is the highest court in Croatia, and as the last-instance court, it decides on extraordinary legal remedies against valid court decisions of the courts of general jurisdiction (dismissed appeal) and all other courts in Croatia. The Supreme Court is also an appellate court in all cases where county court was the first instance.

We have already mentioned the fundamental rules under which courts rule. Since July 1, 2013, when Croatia joined the EU and even earlier, the case law practice of the European Court of Human Rights and European Court of Justice became formal source of law in a way that, if anyone is damaged by a court’s ruling that is contrary to the practice of aforementioned courts, that person is entitled to a change in said ruling.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia	Trg Nikole Subica Zrinjskog 3 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 486 2222 Fax: +385 1 486 2254 E-mail: vsrh@vsrh.hr

2.3.2. Commercial Courts

Commercial courts keep records of all commercial subjects, they rule in commercial litigation, they also rule in some special cases as stipulated by law and in all cases where the other party in litigation is the Republic of Croatia. All commercial courts that are generally located in county seats are hierarchical and have the following organization.

Appeals from judgments of first-instance commercial courts are filed and resolved at the High Commercial Court level (this is a full-jurisdiction court) with its seat in Zagreb. The Supreme Court of Croatia then decides the extraordinary legal remedies for appeals filed from the High Commercial Court.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
High Commercial Court	Berislaviceva 11 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: + 385 1 489 6888 Fax + 385 1 4872 329 E-mail: ured.predsjednika@vts.pravosudje.hr

2.3.3. Police Courts

Police Courts pass judgments on physical and legal persons for misdemeanor offices. Recently, these courts have been included in the system of ordinary jurisdiction. They are organized in two instances:

First-instance police court organized on municipal level and the Appellate court (High Police Court). Jurisdiction according to extraordinary legal remedies for appeals to the decisions of High Police Court is possible at the Supreme Court of Croatia.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
High Police Court	Dukljanova 3 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4807 510 Fax: + 385 1 4611 291 E-mail: tajnik@vpsrh.pravosudje.hr

2.3.4. Administrative Court

Administrative courts have gone through large changes in the last few years. Now, there are four first-instance administrative courts located in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, and Osijek. Recently, they became courts with full jurisdiction. In the second instance, in case of complaint, the appellate court is the High Administrative Court in Zagreb. The purpose of this courts is to control the regularity in decisions made by executive bodies that make decisions in two instances. The procedure in these courts now allows for a public hearing if parties ask for it. There is also talk of forming financial courts.

All court processes are thoroughly regulated by procedural rules under which legal remedies have an important role. Legal remedies are well-developed means that are available to civil persons in all different levels of judicial decision-making process. Arbitration is a viable option in every instance of the courts because the decisions made by arbiters are accepted by the state.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia	Frankopanska 16 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4807 800 E-mail: Ured.Predsjednika@vusrh.pravosudje.hr

2.3.5. Constitutional Court of Croatia

Although often referred to as a court, the Constitutional Court of Croatia is not technically a court, though it does have some judicial authority. It is certainly not a court with full jurisdiction. The Constitutional Court was conceptualized as a fourth branch of government, and its authority is provided for by the Constitution. It is called the fourth portion of the government because it has some power over all three branches of government. The details of its day-to-day operation are set in a special constitutional act, Constitutional Court Act. The judges of the Constitutional Court are elected to run a term of eight years, and there are provisions for re-election. The purpose of this court is to keep the purity of the legal system. Its primary job is to solve constitutional challenges of laws and sub-statutory acts by performing their constitutional revues (ocjena zakonitosti, ocjena ustavnosti). The court has an authority to abolish laws if it rules that the particular law is unconstitutional (it rarely does so and most of the time the legislative power complies with its requests to modify the existing laws and bring them in accordance with the Constitution).

There are two types of entities that can initiate the procedure before the Constitutional Court:

• Obligatory – their initiative obliges the Constitutional Court to initiate the procedure of challenging constitutionality of the law or lawfulness of a sub-statutory act (Supreme Court, the Cabinet, etc.).
• Facultative – where the Constitutional Court preliminarily decides whether it will initiate the procedure of constitutional revue of laws and lawfulness of a sub-statutory act. This enables ordinary citizens to move forward with the proposition.

In the latter case, the Constitutional Court is not under obligation to start a process, but it has an obligation to rule on each proposition and state if it will or will not start the procedure and why. Judgments of regular courts are called verdicts and writs, while judgments of the Constitutional Court are called decisions and writs.

Decisions of the Constitutional Court are judgment in meritum and writs are judgments non meritum (these are the matters of process). All of the important decisions of the Constitutional Court must be published in Narodne Novine, the official gazette of Republic of Croatia. Writs are published only if the Constitutional Court decides to publish them. It is important to recognize that all of the decisions of the Constitutional Court are considered a precedent (case law), because according to the Constitution, all courts and other governmental bodies must adhere to the opinions and interpretations of the Constitution and laws made by the Constitutional Court. Besides this fundamental jurisdiction, this court helps in execution and control over the elections to the Parliament and solves any questions concerning the conflict of jurisdiction of the legislative, executive, and judicial powers.

The Court decides on appeals against the decisions of State Judiciary Council to impeach judges due to disciplinary violations. Any breaches of human rights guaranteed by the Constitution also fall under its jurisdiction. Only in these matters this court can interfere in particular judicial acts (litigation), and this is the sole reason it was named a court, although it stands completely outside the hierarchy of the judicial branch.

If the rights and freedoms of any individual citizen (or a legal entity) are hurt through any act of judicial or executive power, they have a right to protection, with respect to procedural assumptions (the lawsuit was filed in the allotted time period of 30 days, and all other legal remedies have been exhausted), based on a constitutional complaint (ustavna tuzba), a specific legal action before the Constitutional Court. If it pertains to a judicial act, the Constitutional Court appears to be the court of the fourth instance (an instance above the Supreme Court), but with exclusive jurisdiction to confirm or deny the decision’s validity. This is in accordance with the European tradition and is completely opposed to the practice in the United States of America. At average, this court will accept 1.5 percent of constitutional complaints.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia	Trg Sv. Marka 4 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6400 250 Fax: +385 1 455 1055 E-mail: Ustavni_sud@usud.hr

3. Human Rights in Croatia

Human rights and basic civic freedoms in Croatia are guaranteed by chapters two and three of the Constitution that regulate the basic rights and freedoms of every citizen, non-citizen, and legal entity. A measure of this is provided by the Constitutional Court, which ensures the protection of said rights. Economic, social, political, and cultural rights of individuals are also provided for in other parts of the Constitution.

Croatia is a co-signer of many international conventions and contracts (be it that Croatia signed them itself or accepted them as a legal successor of the SFRY) concerning the human rights and freedoms, in particular: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Final Act of Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Charter of Paris for a New Europe, and most importantly, the European Convention of Basic Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

The European Convention of Basic Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is important because it shows that Croatia has accepted the concept of international protection of human rights and liberties and has therefore accepted the jurisdiction of the European Court for Human Rights in the field of human rights and liberties. This court could then be considered, on occasion, a fifth-instance court. Since becoming a member of the EU, Croatia has also accepted the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Today, the issue of human rights has moved towards social protection. The main objectives now are social security, protection of property, freedom of speech (press and other media), etc. Many organizations for the protection of human rights and liberties act in the territory of Croatia, some of them are:

Organization	Address	Contact Information
UNHCR Hrvatska	Radnička cesta 002041/7 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 3713 555 Fax: +385 1 3713 484 E-mail: hrvza@unhcr.org
Croatian Helsinki Committee	Domagojeva 16 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4613 630 Fax: +385 1 4613 650 E-mail: hho@hho.hr

With the appearance of the Balkan Route for the Syrian refugees two more organizations have gained more prominence:

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Croatian Red Cross	Ulica Crvenog križa 14, P.P.93 10 001 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4655 814 Fax: +385 1 4655 365 E-mail: redcross@hck.hr
Jesuit Refugee Service Croatia	Sarajevska 41 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: + 385 98 99 35 863 E-mail: info@jrs.hr

An important political institution as of late is the Office of the Information Commissioner of Croatia (Povjerenik za informiranje). The job of the commissioner, ranked higher than a minister, is to ensure the access to information of all the citizens of the Republic of Croatia on the level guaranteed by the democratic standards of the European Union.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Povjerenik za informiranje	Jurišićeva 19 10000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4609 041 Fax: +385 1 4609 096 E-mail: ppi@pristupinfo.hr

4. Non-Governmental Organizations in Croatia

All registered associations in the Republic of Croatia are entered into the Register of Associations of the Republic of Croatia. The Register is managed by the Central State Administrative Office for Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia. The Republic of Croatia currently has over 39,000 registered domicile associations. More than 400 of the above-mentioned associations register their main activity as the protection of human rights. Moreover, the Republic of Croatia currently has 134 registered foreign associations.

5. Unions in Croatia

The Constitution guarantees the freedom of syndical organizations and a right to strike. There are syndicates of general type and “branch” syndicates (i.e., Syndicate of Health Workers). The largest union organization in Croatia is the Independent Croatian Union. It consists of 65 smaller unions.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Independent Croatian Union President: Kresimir Sever	Trg Francuske revolucije 9/V 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 3908 620 Fax: +385 1 3908 621 E-mail: nhs@nhs.hr

6. Judicial Reform

Judicial reform is a comprehensive project whose main goal is improving and accelerating the work of all judicial bodies in Croatia, the establishment of the rule of law through the strengthening and updating of the judiciary, greater legal security to citizens, and efficiency in the prosecution of crime and corruption. Up to the date Croatia became part of the European Union, it implemented European Law, especially laws with regards to environmental protection. In this period, more than several thousand laws were modified or passed.

The main requirements for successful implementation of the reforms are training judges and prosecutors, along with the computerization of the entire judicial system and the system of public administration. In order to achieve the best possible expertise of judges, legal advisers, public prosecutors, deputy prosecutors, deputies, and advisers, the Judicial Academy was established with the support of the EU “Support to Judicial Reform” project.

Computerization involves making a network system and application solutions for the monitoring of all processes in the judicial system, as well as the establishment of a central database in which data will be aggregated for entire Croatia. One of the priorities is the founding of a database in which data will be consolidated by combining land records along with real estate cadaster data, in an electronic form. The following is a list of current computerization projects.

e-Komunikacija: A software system used to communicate with the courts and see how the lawsuits are proceeding (CRM-like system for the caseload).

The e-Land-Registry Certificates Project: At the state level, the Land-registry Database of the Republic of Croatia is organizationally and technologically a united body of data which consists of land-registers recorded by electronic data analysis (EDA) and cadaster real property completed by electronic data processing (digital cadaster plan with associated cadaster data). In order to develop a strong and efficient system for land administration, the Real Property Registration and Cadaster Project (RPRCP) was initiated and successfully completed. The main aim of the project is to speed up real estate registration and real estate ownership rights in cadaster offices of the State Geodetic Administration and the land registry offices of Municipal courts.

Today, an online service for digital land registry with access to databases of around 109 courts is accessible to the public. In the most recent development, lawyers and public notaries can report from their computers on contracts that change legally relevant sate of lend registry books (when property exchanges hands) without having to actually go to the land registry office.

The e-Cadaster Project: The Central Office of the State Geodetic Directorate maintains cadaster data for the Republic of Croatia which unifies data from all of the 115 cadaster offices. In November 2005, a browser for cadaster data was established within the e-Cadaster project, thus providing insight via the internet into the central cadaster database of the Republic of Croatia. The cadaster database contains more than 16 million registered land plots which are entirely accessible by using the web browser, that is, the e-Cadaster project.

The e-Cadaster service enables the checking of cadaster plots, authentication of data entries as well as the latest data changes and documentation based on which changes were made. An insight into cadaster data is possible by using the number of the cadaster plot or the number on the ownership document in a chosen cadaster municipality. Data available through the browser show the official situation of cadaster data on a particular day.

Considering that e-Cadaster contains stored information on all cadaster plots in Croatia, which makes it the most complete database on the spatial situation in the Republic of Croatia, e-Cadaster is becoming very important in solving cadaster issues. It increases the security in legal real estate trade, the development of spatial plans and reconstruction and maintenance of land registries. With a complete insight into all cadaster plots in the Republic of Croatia, the main condition for system transparency – as one of the main principles in fighting various injustices in the operations and corruption, is met. This is also important for the ongoing process of land re-parceling.

The e-Court Registry Project: The Court Registry contains all entities that are being founded, including trading companies, co-ops, institutions, etc. The Court Registry contains accurate data on the name, headquarters, activities, board members, company and capital stock. The insight into the Court Registry via the Internet was made possible already in 1995. A simpler registration of business subjects is one of the more important activities of the Ministry of Justice in creating a suitable business enterprise environment.

Changes in the Law on the Court Registry include investments in the information system of court registries of commercial courts, automation of administrative and accounting judicial operations, criminal and minor offence records, simplification procedures when establishing companies, and simpler access to data from the court registry. The aim of the project is a quality and transparent monitoring of the situation of companies and other entities.

The e-Bulletin Board and Court Networking Project: A project for developing a single intranet and internet network for judicial bodies which will create prerequisites for the exchange of documents and information within the judiciary has been initiated. The Ministry of Justice is working on introducing online bulletin boards for its courts across the country. The aim of the project is to become one of the controlling mechanisms in the implementation of the anti-corruption politics, and to reduce the costs of court proceedings.

The e-bulletin boards of Municipal courts announce summons and all rulings (precedents, rulings and conclusions) for parties which are not present or whose place of residence is unknown. The e-bulletin boards of Commercial courts announce filing of bankruptcy and liquidation over companies, as well as rulings of Commercial courts in relation to the defendants who are not present and whose place of residence is unknown. One year back, the Ministry of Justice implemented a new program e-Predmet which allows common citizens to check the state of their case before the courts through Internet by poaching in their case number.

e-Citizan: Since 2014, Croatia started implementing the e-građani service and now offers more than 30 services to its citizens available online.

6.1. Fight Against Corruption and Crime

By adoption, ratification, and publication of the UN Convention against Corruption, provisions of the Convention became part of Croatian legal system. Consequently, there is an obligation to develop plans and programs to combat corruption at the national level. As a major part in the fight against corruption and organized crime, a proposed bill came into power on the first day of 2009—the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC, Official Gazette no. 152/08, 24 December 2008). The new CPC abolishes the institution of investigating judges, and state attorneys take the lead role in investigation. The current investigative judges become judges of the investigation, and their number has been reduced. They now monitor human rights and legality of the procedure, regulate the relationship between defendants and prosecutors, and decide on the rights and the balance between the parties in the proceedings. They also decide on appeals against detention and approve special measures to collect evidence, such as tracking, wiretapping, and searches. In 2009, a special act, the Act on the Office for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime, was passed (USKOK, Official Gazette no. 76/09, 1 July 2009., 76/09, 116/10, 145/10, 57/11 and 136/12) by which special Courts are organized for cases in which corruption and organized crime took place.

6.2. Education of Judges

An important role in the judicial reform has the permanent education of judges, judges’ clerks, and state attorneys. This obligation for judges is written in the Court Act (2005), Articles 85-93. For such purposes, Ministry of Justice instituted the Law Academy.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Law Academy	Ulica grada Vukovara 49 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 371 4732 E-mail: pravosudna.akademija@pravosudje.hr

The E-Case Law Database Project: By providing an important insight to the Case law in Croatia and more transparency in the work of Courtssince December 2003, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia has been issuing texts of court rulings on the Internet (with the protection of privacy). The e-Case Law Database portal provides an insight into the case-law published in printed versions of the Supreme Court under the heading “Selection of Rulings” and also gives access to complete texts on the rulings of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia from 1993 to the present day. In addition to the above, at this portal hosts a selection of the decisions of other courts in the Republic of Croatia (for now, mostly the Municipal and County Courts and the High Commercial Court of Croatia).

The Supreme Court publishes a printed collection of its judgements under the title “Selection of the Decisions of the Supreme Court” twice a year. The High Administrative Court also publishes its decisions in printed form once a year, while the High Commercial Court publishes its decisions twice a year but is late in publishing its decisions by two years.

6.3. Information Society

A very significant branch of law has been developing in Croatia since year 2000. It is connected to the goal of the Government to transform the Croatian society into an “information society” due to the development of Internet, online legal transfers, and information protection. Since then, the following acts have been adopted:

• Law on Electronic Documents (2005)
• The Electronic Signature Act (2002)
• Electronic Commerce Act (2003)
• Convention on Cybercrime (2003)
• Telecommunications Act (2005)
• Media Act (2004)
• Electronic Media Act (2003)
• Croatian Radio-Television Act (2003)
• Personal identification number Act (2008)

7. Legal Education in Croatia

In Croatia, there are four law schools (faculties of law). Croatian law faculties successfully met the challenges of the Bologna Process (Convention on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications in Areas of Europe, Official Gazette, International Agreements, 9/02, 15/02) and extended the four-year undergraduate studies in law with a five-year integrated Graduate Program and Graduate Studies, which lead to one academic degree, the Master of Law. The four Croatian faculties of law are:

Law Faculty of the University of Zagreb, established in 1776, annually enrolls 860 students, and it offers postgraduate studies in commercial law, civil law sciences, international public law, administrative law, punitive procedural law, fiscal systems and fiscal politics, and European law. The faculty has published its own magazine, Zbornik pravnog fakulteta Zagreb,since 1948.

Law Faculty of the University of Rijeka, established in 1973, annually enrolls 250 students, and it offers postgraduate studies in the law of European integration and international commerce law. The faculty publishes its own magazine, Zbornik pravnog fakulteta Sveucilista u Rijeci.

Law Faculty of the University of Split, established in 1961, annually enrolls 270 students, and it offers postgraduate studies in maritime law and the. law of the sea. The faculty has published its own magazine, Zbornik pravnog fakulteta u Splitu, since 1963.

Law Faculty of the University of Osijek, established in 1975, annually enrolls 392 students, and it offers postgraduate studies in governing and the development of local and regional self-governing. The Faculty has published its own magazine, Pravni vjesnik, since 1985.

The magazines these faculties publish often publish articles in foreign languages (English, French, German and Italian) and if the articles are published in Croatian, a summary is provided in one of the before-mentioned foreign languages. All of the faculties also publish textbooks. See below for contact information.

Organization	Address	Contact Information
Law Faculty of the University of Zagreb Dean: Prof. Dr. sc. Dubravka Hrabar	Trg Marsala Tita 14 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 45 64 302 Fax: +385 1 45 64 372 E-mail: dekanat@pravo.hr
Law Faculty of the University of Rijeka	Hahlic 6 51000 Rijeka	Phone: +385 51 359 500 Fax: +385 51 359 593 E-mail: dekanat@pravri.hr
Law Faculty of the University of Split	Domovinskog rata 8 21 000 Split	Phone: +385 21 393 500 Fax: +385 21 393 597 E-mail: dekanat@pravst.hr
Law Faculty of the University of Osijek	Stjepana Radica 13 31 000 Osijek	Phone: +385 31 224 500 Fax: +385 31 224 540 E-mail: ured@pravos.hr

8. Publishers in Croatia

There are several publishing houses in Croatia that specialize in publishing legal literature:

Publisher	Address	Contact Information
Informator Novi	Kneza Mislava 7/1 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 455 5454 Fax: +385 1 461 2553 E-mail: info@informator.hr
Organizator	Kralja Zvonimira 26 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 461 1900 Fax: +385 1 461 1901 E-mail: organizator@zg.htnet.hr
Inženjerski Biro	Heinzelova 4a 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 460 0888 Fax: +385 1 465 0366 E-mail: ingbiro@ingbiro.hr
RRiF plus	Vlaska 68 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 469 9700 Fax: +385 1 469 9703 E-mail: rrif@rrif.hr
Narodne Novine (official gazette of Republic of Croatia)	Ivana Sibla 1 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 665 2777 Fax: +385 1 665 2770 E-mail: webmaster@nn.hr
Zgombić & Partneri	Koranska 16 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4817 125 Fax: +385 1 4558 467 E-mail: darija.dominkovic@zgombic.hr
Institut za javne financije	Smiciklasova 21 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4886-444 Fax: +385 1 4819-365 E-mail: ured@ijf.hr

9. Legal Journals in Croatia

This is the list of law magazines that are published in Croatia:

Magazine	Address	Contact Information	Publication
Narodne Novine (official gazette of Republic of Croatia)	Ivana Sibla 1 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 665 2777 Fax: +385 1 665 2770 E-mail: webmaster@nn.hr	Published once a week + according to need
Hrvatska pravna revija	Heinzelova 4a 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 460 0888 Fax: +385 1 465 0366 E-mail: ingbiro@ingbiro.hr	Published 12 times a year
RRiF plus	Vlaška 68 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 469 9777 Fax: +385 1 469 9766 E-mail: rrif@rrif.hr	Published 12 times a year.
Novi Informator	Kneza Mislava 7/1 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 455 5454 Fax: +385 1 461 2553 E-mail: info@informator.hr	Published on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Porezni Vjesnik	Smičiklasova 21 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4886 444 Fax: +385 1 4819 365 E-mail: ured@ijf.hr	Published 12 times a year.
Osiguranje	Miramarska 22 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 633 2503 Fax: +385 1 633 2050 E-mail: casopis.osiguranje@crosig.hr	Published ten times a year.
Pravo u Gospodarstvu	Krizaniceva 16/4 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 461 4890 Fax: +385 1 461 4890 E-mail: pravnici.u.gospodarstvu@hi.t-com.hr	Published six times a year.
Pravo i Porezi – casopis za pravnu i ekonomsku teoriju i praksu	Vlaska 68 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 469 9777 Fax: +385 1 469 9766 E-mail: rrif@rrif.hr	Published 12 times a year.
Carinski Vjesnik	Smicciklasova 21 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4886 444 Fax: +385 1 4819 365 E-mail: ured@ijf.hr	Published 10 times a year.
Odvjetnik	Koturaska 53/II 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 6165 200 Fax: +385 1 617 0686 E-mail: hok-cba@hok-cba.hr
Radno Pravo	Ilica 51 10 000 Zagreb	Phone: +385 1 4829 841 Fax: +385 1 4829 842 E-mail: radno-pravo@radno-pravo.hr

10. Online Resources in Croatia of Primary and Secondary Legal Materials

The number of online law resources in Croatia continues to increase.

Zakon provides free-of-charge laws and consolidated laws of Croatia in vernacular.

Narodne Novine is the primary source of online laws is Narodne Novine, which is Croatia’s official gazette. The database provides documents in HTML format and is freely accessible to all.

Korektor is a private company that provides laws through email. For a fee, they will email you the text of the law.

Intellectio Iuris is Croatia’s largest database, hosted by the Centre for Law Research and Documentation, also called Intellectio Iuris. The database is typically updated twice a month since its internet publication on March 15, 2002. An ever-growing commercial database covering all branches of law, it could be considered a group of databases. The information it provides is taken directly from the official sources and is reflected objectively. The database contains all the relevant Croatian legal publications and is not partial to any one publisher. The Centre’s library contains all the literature, and all the literature is indexed in the database. Now, Intellectio Iuris is the only online database in Croatia that covers all types of law. The database contains two categories of entries. The first category of entries is judicial decisions. The second category is made up of mono-graphic scientific papers. At this moment, there are over 65,000 entries. 18,500 of these are indexes of mono-graphic works while 46,500 entries cover court practices and opinions of different Ministries, law book revues etc.

The database contains its own search engine using Boolean logic and allows to search through different types of information, including domestic court practice, foreign court practice, ministry opinions, expert papers, and regulations. The database is able to then cross searches with ten search fields: keywords, branch of law, source of decision (name of the court, decisions’ number), regulation article number, regulation, author, publication, year/number of publication, title of author’s paper and additions to paper. These fields could be searched individually or simultaneously. The database contains a built-in thesaurus allowing searches in Croatian, Serbian, and Slovenian. There are projects in the works that will enable searches in Macedonian and English.

Croatia, and all the republics of the former Yugoslavia, have posted their laws on the Internet and have made them available free of charge. This is why the Centre found the entry of laws in the database unnecessary. It is important to mention that every judicial decision and every scientific article points out specifically, in the field “Napomena” (notes), to which regulation or law it refers. In the field title, judicial decision and scientific articles even list which article of law they refer to. Using key terms (keywords), which are abundant for each of the entries, the user can immediately unite both categories of entries for full and complete information on the subject.

In the scientific works, themselves the practice of the courts is often quoted. The database is organized in the manner that if a paper quotes any judgments of the courts, the user can bring it up by entering keyword of the paper in the search field keywords. This is an authentic and highly valuable feature of the database. This is because the judicial decisions offer objective view of the content of a paper, as opposed to excerpts, which may be subjective. In addition, this allows for access to the judicial decisions that are not commonly available in official publications of the courts and are only known to the authors of the scientific papers. Often these authors are judges of the highest courts and have passed some of these verdicts themselves.

Through analysis and systematization of Croatian judicial practice, incongruities were discovered. Wherever this was spotted, it was carefully entered “suprotna odluka” (opposing decision) in the notes search field of each of the entries. As all of the entries are unified by the keyword criteria by entering the corresponding keywords, both of the decisions will turn out in the search.

Another authentic and highly valuable feature of the database is that it contains opinions of law experts on certain judicial decisions. If an expert, in his discussion of a legal problem, confirms the validity of a particular decision, it has no comment in the notes field. If the expert questions the validity of a decision in an article he is writing, it will be marked in the notes field by entering the word “upitno” (questionable).

The final goal is to increase the security of legal practice in Croatia, to help Croatian judicial practice and legislation in achieving congruency with European and worldwide standards. Considering that the law systems of all former Yugoslav republics are almost identical, the goal of this database is to provide the information from all of the former republics. The common history of these countries dictates this, and so does the inevitable cooperation between the countries in the future.

The following is a list of government databases

• Supreme Court of Croatia: Croatia is preparing to join the European Union, and as a part of these preparations, the Supreme Court of Croatia developed a project website where it publishes its own practice. The website offers a full-text search of 181,966 court decisions in HTML format, but only in Croatian. On the same site, you can find some expert papers written by the judges of the Supreme Court and links to other courts in Croatia and ECHR.
• Constitutional Court of Croatia: The Constitutional Court has its own database with decisions, rulings, and reports (hereinafter: decisions) made since January 1, 2000 and shown on the official web page of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia. They were selected according to several criteria (especially according to several addressees and according to the type of Constitutional Court proceedings).
• Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia: Offers free-of-charge search through decisions of Administrative Court. It collects decisions made since 1994, although not all of them are in the database.
• Catalogue of Official Documentation of Republic of Croatia: Regulations, international contracts, public documents, publications, and other official documentation of the Republic of Croatia; documents from sittings of Government of Croatia; documents from sittings of Croatian Parliament; and Virtual collection of online sources of information and services for citizens.
• Land Registry Database: (This website may look like phishing but it is not. FINA insists on issuing digital certificates not congruent with the rest of the internet.) This is a database of all land registry certificates. Reform of judiciary included better organization and modernization of Land Registry records. This database is a result. It is still incomplete, but most of the records are entered and it improved transparency of land registry records significantly.
• Court Register of Companies in the Republic of Croatia: This is a database of Court Register certificates of all companies registered in the Republic of Croatia. It contains basic information on company and is updated daily.

11. Conclusion

The Croatian judicial system has gone through many changes in the process of accession to the European Union. Many laws have changed, and Croatia has changed as a result of these laws imposed upon them by the EU. The biggest influence Croatia has experienced is the adaptation to the European Convention of Human Rights, specifically Article 6, the right to a fair trial.

Croatia must still resolve outstanding problems remaining from the SFRJ. In the meantime, the problem of 135,000 depositors of Ljubljanska banka has been solved more or less successfully. A remaining challenge is a complete and congruous application of the Agreement on Secession Issues signed in Vienna on June 26, 2001, which came into force in 2004. Provisions of Annex G that relate to the protection of private property of individuals and companies have not, even now (13 years later), been fulfilled.

Further development will include the development of internet resources, especially online legal databases. Availability of more information through the internet will ultimately bring about the improvements in efficiency, expertise, and judicial security.