The Miko Tripalo Centre for Democracy and Law and the House of Human Rights in Zagreb, in cooperation with the Representation of the European Commission, held the State of the Croatian Judiciary: Report on the Rule of Law – What’s Next?, on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, in the House of Europe. Ul. Augusta Cesarca 4, in Zagreb.
The round table consisted of two parts. The first part presents the results of a survey of public opinion on the judicial system conducted by Ipsos on a representative sample, commissioned by the Miko Tripalo Centre. After the presentation of the results, at the round table in the second part, distinguished experts referred to the findings and recommendations of the latest Report on the rule of law of the European Commission and the opportunities for improving and strengthening the rule of law in the Republic of Croatia.
The round table is part of the project Strengthening the capacity of civil society to protect and improve the rule of law in Croatia, which is being implemented by the Miko Tripalo Centre and the House of Human Rights in Zagreb, with the support of the European Commission – the Impact4Values program. With this project, we want to raise awareness of the importance of the rule of law mechanism and strengthen the advocacy role of civil society organizations to improve the rule of law. You can download the meeting program and recommendations here:
The Miko Tripalo Center organized an online panel discussion “Civil society organizations and the report on the rule of law – good practices in cooperation and advocacy” which was part of the activities within the project “Strengthening the capacity of civil society to protect and improve the rule of law in Croatia”. The project is implemented by the House of Human Rights Zagreb and the Miko Tripalo Center with the aim of strengthening the advocacy and watchdog role of civil society organizations in Croatia for the improvement and promotion of the rule of law as one of the fundamental values of the EU.
The panel took place on Monday, May 27, 2024 at 10 a.m. on the Zoom platform and was in English.
Below you can download the policy document on good European practices of advocating the rule of law based on exchanges of experience with CSOs from other EU countries:
Financed with the funds of the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union or the EACEA can be held responsible for them.
The Impact4Values program is co-financed by the Office for NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
Financed with the funds of the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for it. The positions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the Miko Tripalo Center for Democracy and Law and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The project of the association Center for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo calls “Strengthening the capacity of civil society to protect and improve the rule of law in Croatia” is financed by the European Union within the Impact4Values Program. The project is co-financed by the Office for NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
Below you can download a letter from civil society organizations addressed to the Parliamentary Committee for the Constitution, Rules of Procedure and the Political System, regarding the upcoming candidacy procedure and the nomination of candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court:
The Miko Tripalo Centre and the House of Human Rights implement the project Strengthening the capacity of civil society for the protection and improvement of the rule of law in Croatia, with which we strive to strengthen the advocacy role of civil society organizations in Croatia for the improvement and promotion of the rule of law as one of the fundamental values of the EU. The ultimate goal of the project is to influence policies that cover challenges related to the rule of law in the context of human rights and the functioning of the democratic system as the three inseparable pillars on which the European democratic society rests.
As part of the project, as one of the outputs, we have prepared recommendations for this year’s Report on the Rule of Law, which you can read and download at the following link:
Financed with the funds of the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.
The Impact4Values program is co-financed by the Office for NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
Financed with the funds of the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for it. The positions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the Miko Tripalo Centre for Democracy and Law and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The project of the association Center for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo calls “Strengthening the capacity of civil society to protect and improve the rule of law in Croatia” is financed by the European Union under the Impact4Values Program. The project is co-financed by the Office for NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
The Miko Tripalo Centre for Democracy and Law and the Croatian Journalists’ Association organized the round table Secrecy of the investigation – violation of media freedom and criminal prosecution of victims, defendants and defenders which was held on Monday, October 9, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. in Novinarski dom, Perkovčeva 2 in Zagreb.
The reason for the organization of this round table is the proposal to introduce a new criminal offense called “Unauthorized disclosure of the content of an investigative or evidentiary action”, which is currently in public consultation. The introduction to the topic was presented by Zlata Đurđević, a professor at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb and a member of the Miko Tripalo Centre, who was also the moderator of the Round Table, and Damir Kos, from the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia, also spoke about the topic; Elizabeta Ivičević Karas, from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Law, Dušan Miljuš, journalist and president of the HND branch in Jutarnji list, Igor Martinović, from the University of Rijeka Faculty of Law, lawyer Ljubo Pavasović Visković and Maja Sever, president of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ).
On Wednesday, June 14, 2023, the Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo held a panel discussion on the topic of the Right to a trial within a reasonable time in the Republic of Croatia in the hall of the Association of University Teachers and other Scientists in Zagreb.
After the welcoming words of Vedran Đulabić, the deputy president of the Centre’s Board of Directors, and the opening words of Neven Mates, a member of the Centre, the Centre’s associates, Matija Ninić and Ivana Zeljko, presented an analysis of the situation and gave an overview of the violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time.
Alan Uzelac, member of the Miko Tripalo Centre and professor at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, spoke at the round table; Juraj Brozović, from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, lawyers Lidija Horvat and Renata Dozet Daskal and Nino Radić, president of the Commercial Court in Zagreb, which was followed by a discussion with the participants.
The focus of the gathering was on issues related to the duration of court proceedings, violations of the right to a trial within a reasonable time, and deficiencies in the means for speeding up the proceedings and achieving fair compensation.
You can download an analysis of the situation and a review of the violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time, prepared by the Centre’s associates, Matija Ninić and Ivana Zeljko, at the following link:
On October 25, 2021, the Miko Tripalo Centre for Democracy and Law organized a round table on the topic What does the new Law on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest bring?
During the discussion, we wanted to emphasize the key changes brought about by the Law and how the legal changes will affect the position of the Commission for deciding on conflicts of interest.
This meeting brought together anti-corruption and legal experts, representatives of political parties, the Ministry of Administration and Justice and the Commission for deciding on conflicts of interest, as well as the interested public. At the beginning of the round table, the participants briefly presented their opinions and proposals on the new legal regulation of conflicts of interest, followed by a discussion.
At the round table, the following participated:
Vedran Đulabić, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, member of the Gong Council and deputy president of the Miko Tripalo Center’s Board of Directors
Viktor Gotovac, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb and President of the Assembly of the Center Miko Tripalo
Nikola Grmoja, Most
Davorin Ivanjek, Commission for deciding on conflicts of interest
Mirjana Juričić, judge of the High Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia
Neven Mates, Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo
Nataša Novaković, Commission for deciding on conflicts of interest
Ivan Obadić, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb
Dalija Orešković, Party with first and last name
Sunčana Roksandić Vidlička, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb,
member of the Gong Council
Maja Vitaljić, Ministry of Justice and Administration of the Republic of Croatia
Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo, on October 18, 2022, in hall 7 of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, held a round table on the topic How are cases assigned to work in the judiciary in the Republic of Croatia?
Random assignment of cases to judges is one of the basic instruments for ensuring the impartiality and objectivity of trials. This prompted us to analyze the legal and sub-legal provisions on the allocation procedure. We were interested in whether the regulations ensure that cases are really assigned to judges at random or leave room for court presidents, court administration or even the Ministry of Justice to influence this assignment.
The introduction to the round table was given by Mr. Neven Mates, which you can read below:
After the introductory presentation, the gathering was addressed by Ivana Zeljko and Matija Ninić, students of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb and volunteers at the Miko Tripalo Centre, who presented the results of the conducted research:
Then the presenters, Srđan Gavranić, from the Commercial Court in Dubrovnik, Sanja Grgurić Hojski, from the Municipal Civil Court in Zagreb, and Alan Uzelac, from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, presented their considerations and opened the discussion for all present.
Several judges pointed out in the discussion that the eSpis brought a number of positive changes and that it represents a very useful tool from the perspective of court presidents, which increased transparency and removed suspicions of favoritism. Criticism of legal solutions was expressed, but it was also pointed out that eSpis brought transparency and acceleration of procedures. With manual allocation, there was a greater possibility of influencing the allocation. With the introduction of automatic allocation, there is almost no such possibility.
The party has insight into the work of the case, and the exceptions to the award originate from the request for exemption, but they must be publicly justified and explained. Every action and use of the system is visible in eSpis.
At the same time, some participants warned that eSpis is completely kept by the Ministry of Justice and Administration, and the courts apply it, while they have no structural input into that system. On the other hand, the annual work schedule is the basic tool of the president of the court.
Although the infrastructure occasionally gets stuck, eSpis has saved a lot of time through e-communication because it has significantly reduced the delivery time.
There is a certain misunderstanding of IT terms, and confusion appears.
eSpis has difficulties (often of a technical nature), it is constantly updated in accordance with changes in laws and by-laws. The process has certainly been speeded up and there is no manual allocation. A lot of parameters are put in place to prevent possible prediction of who the item will come to.
Part of the participants think that the balancing of subjects every three months is very little used because everything is equalized anyway by the end of the year. The group that was less burdened will be the first to receive new items. During the year, corrections refer to cases such as longer sick leave, correction of mistakes, etc.
Some participants see circular allocation as a corrective to random allocation.
The gathering warned of cases of deviations from the norms in the past, when cases were assigned outside of the regulations, without being sanctioned. Sanctions for violation of regulations on the assignment of cases are not applied, disciplinary procedures have not been initiated. Randomization is most important in the most prominent subjects. Then, the rules that are applied are from by-laws, not from the law. They are treated as a technical act, and not as something that should guarantee the impartiality of the judiciary. Digitization must not be an excuse to move those things that should be widely discussed into the technical sphere. The permanent verification body designs the eSpis system and proposes changes to the Code, but the eSpis is something that should be widely discussed.
Regarding the framework standards, part of the participants believes that they are not perfect, but that they must exist. However, the second part believed that the criteria prescribed by the Minister of Justice and Administration are a relic of the past, and that the developed systems do not know this. They meet the current expectations of the Minister, but do not encourage judges to be efficient and achieve better results. Framework standards are an instrument of the unfortunate present evil or necessary evil. Instead, part of the participants advocated a system for real valuation. It was warned that the system creates more administrative work for judges, and that the norms are constantly increasing.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
