CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT AND JU DI CIAL SYSTEMS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

1. CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL SYSTEMSIN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE Warsaw, Poland June 20 through June 22, 2005 REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

2. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA I. THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ACHIEVEMENTSOF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA IN THE AREA OF JUDICIAL REFORM IN RECENT YEARS, AND THE MAIN FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THAT SUCCESS

3. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA PREFACE • The Republic of Croatia is a country in transition. The first democratically adopted Constitution ( December 22, 1990) introduced the following principles: • A democratic multiparty parliamentary system, • separation of powers between legislative, executive and judicial branches • the rule of law and • The independence of the judiciary; • Legislative solutions are not sufficient and we are fully aware of the necessity to develop the good practice in judicial proceedings and to increase the public’s trust in judiciary.

4. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA INDEPENDENCY AND AUTONOMY OF THE JUDICIARY • Guaranteed by the Constitution, the Courts Act, the Act on the State Judicial Council, etc. • Judges enjoy immunity in accordance with the Constitution and Law.

5. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA SEPARATION OF POWER BETWEEN THE LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL BRANCHES • there is no separate institution of legislative power that would supervise the judiciary; • The executive power has the limited possibility of supervision of the judiciary in a manner that ensures the effective exercising of judicial power. • The executive power has no authority over the process of administering justice itself.

6. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA STATE JUDICIAL COUNCIL(SJC) • a body established to appoint and dismiss judges and for making decisions concerning their disciplinary accountability; • it consists of 11 members: seven judges, two professors of jurisprudence and two lawyers; • judges from all over the country propose judges as candidates for Council members.

7. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA COUNCIL OF JUDGES • they are set up in all courts of higher instance and they assess the performance of judges, give opinions about candidates for judges and for court presidents. TENURE • following the first appointment (for a period of five years), judges are appointed to perform their duty permanently. SALARIES • judges’ salaries are regulated by a special law; • approximately regulated to match the salaries of officials in the executive and legislative powers, except when it comes to retirement pensions that are still considerably lower.

8. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA TRAINING OF JUDGES, IMPROVEMENT OF TECHNICAL STANDARDS IN THE COURTS, TRANSPARENCY OF WORK JUDICIAL ACADEMY • established within the Ministry of Justice with the aim of providing permanent training for the judiciary; • accessibility of Supreme Court decisions on the web-site www.vsrh.hr ; • Constant informing of the public about the Supreme Court’s sessions.

9. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA LAND REGISTRY REFORM • digitalisation of the land registry is currently under way, accompanied by the introduction of an Integral Database; • networking of land registry departments and cadastral offices.

10. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA NEW LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK With the purpose of establishing more effective work in the courts, harmonisation with the acquis communautaire and legal protection of citizens, new legislation has been introduced, such as: • The Act on Property and Other Real Rights, • The Land Registry Act, • The Companies Act, • The Civil Obligations Act, • The Amendments and Supplements to the Act on Litigation, • The Amendments and Supplements to the Enforcement Act, • The Arbitration Act, • The Act on Conciliation, etc.

11. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA THE MAIN REASONS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE REFORM OF JUDICIARY • creating a more effective judicial system; • commitment of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities to implementation; • substantial support from the international community, accompanied by expert and technical assistance from various states and institutions, especially from the European Union.

12. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA II. MAJOR PROBLEMS CROATIA IS CURRENTLY FACING WITH REGARD TO JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE, EFFECTIVENESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY

13. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA THE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED • The huge number of ongoing cases at courts, both the large number of incoming cases and the existing backlogs; • court jurisdiction given too extensively; • nomination of presidents of courts is excessively influenced by the executive and legislative authorities.

14. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA CORELATION BETWEEN THEJUDICIALAND EXECUTIVE POWERS • The Ministry of Justice as the highest bodyof court administration allocates financial resources to the courts and decides on personnel needed for the courts; • The Minister of Justice is in the position to propose the list of persons to be nominated to the State Judicial Council and nominates the presidents of the courts. This fact opens the possibility for the executive power to influence the judicial power.

15. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA COURT ADMINISTRATION and FUNDING Administration • The Courts Act is the basic legal act which regulates the administration of the courts; • The Ministry of Justice has the authority to • abolish every court administration decision, • decide on the number of court employees and approve their employment, • grant the procurement of equipment, etc.

16. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA Funding • Courts have no power to affect the Parliament’s budget decision on the funds envisaged for their needs. The Parliament passes the Budget annually. • The Courts are limited in influencing decisions on the allocation of financial resources for Court needs as this decision is taken by the Ministry of Justice.

17. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA III. TOP PRIORITIES IN THE COMING YEAR FOR IMPROVING THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

18. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA THE CREATION OF APPROPRIATE WORKING CONDITIONS • suitable office premises – Zagreb (Justice Square) and Split • further computerization and networking of judicial bodies and the MOJ – IT Strategy of the MOJ (LAN, WAN, data bases (Supreme Court, Administrative, Court, High Commercial Court, land registry on the Internet), ICMS, electronic signature (Court Register, Criminal Judgements Register)

19. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF JUDICIAL OFFICIALS Judicial Academy • CARDS 2001 – full implementation of the CITS (Court-integrated Training System) – training the trainers • Vocational training (standard and specialised programmes) • Zagreb, Rijeka centres – Osijek, Varaždin and Split to be opened • Web site in English (www.pak.hr in Croatian)

20. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA TOP PRIORITY IN THE COMING YEAR FOR IMPROVING THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM, cont. Promotion of alternative dispute resolution methods (mediation) • existing legislative framework (Mediation Act, Labour Act, Civil Obligations Act, Civil Procedure Act, Criminal Procedure Act, Family Act, Juvenile Courts Act, Arbitration Act, Act on the Chamber of Trades and Crafts Act on the Croatian Chamber of Commerce) – full implementation is needed, raise public awareness • further legislative amendments (Civil Procedural Act) • PHARE 2005 (out of court mediation – regional centres: Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, Croatian Union of Employers)

21. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA Land registry reform • authorised land registry clerks (training) • continue monitoring of court administration (land registry departments) • digitalisation of the land registry books – carried out in co-operation with the State Directorate for Geodetics (so far 30.75% of all land registry files have been transcribed from manually managed to computerised registers) • continuation of the publication of the digitalised land registry data on the Internet (May 12, 2005). At present 54 courts post their data on the Internet, by the end of 2005 all land registry departments; anti-corruptive measures

22. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA Improvement of enforcement judgements and proceedings • Legislative amendments • AIM: simplify procedure, speed up proceedings, further disburdening of courts (notaries public), more transparency and effectiveness (setting up registers for movable and immovable property Monitoring the court administration – full use of judicial inspectors (aim: raise responsibility of the court presidents in performing court administration tasks, solve backlog)

23. REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA Reviewing and rationalising the existing network of courts – WHY (access to justice, excessive length of court proceedings, court management by results) • CARDS 2002 (Twinning project with Finland) – Overall Strategy of the Reform of the Judiciary in Croatia • Too many courts in Croatia? • Municipal courts – 105 • County courts – 21 • Misdemeanour courts – 110 • High Misdemeanour courts – 1 • Commercial Courts – 12 • Administrative Court 1 • High Commercial Court – 1 • Supreme Court 1 • Total 252 COURTS • Closure, merger – detailed analysis based on the CARDS 2002 results with financial implications is needed.