Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia

The judiciary of Croatia is a branch of the

Government of Croatia The Government of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Hrvatske), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government ( hr, hrvatska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government ...

that interprets and applies the laws of Croatia, to ensure

equal justice under law Equal justice under law is a phrase engraved on the West Pediment, above the front entrance of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. It is also a societal ideal that has influenced the American legal system. The phrase was ...

, and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The legal system of Croatia is a

civil law system Civil law is a legal system originating in mainland Europe and adopted in much of the world. The civil law system is intellectualized within the framework of Roman law, and with core principles codified into a referable system, which serves as t ...

, historically influenced by

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

, Hungarian and Yugoslav law, but during the

accession of Croatia to the European Union The most recent enlargement of the European Union saw Croatia become the European Union's 28th member state on 1 July 2013. The country applied for EU membership in 2003, and the Europ ...

, the legal system was almost completely harmonised with

European Union law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

. The

Constitution of Croatia The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Ustav Republike Hrvatske) is promulgated by the Croatian Parliament. History While it was part of the socialist Yugoslavia, the Socialist Republic of Croatia had its own Constitution under the ...

provides for an independent judiciary, led by a

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and a

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

. The

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

handles the administration of courts and judiciary, including paying salaries and constructing new courthouses. It also administers the prison system.

Structure

The judiciary is a three-tiered system of courts, at the highest tier of which is the

(''Vrhovni sud'') which is the highest

court of appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

and

court of cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...

. The president of the Supreme Court is appointed for a four-year term by the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor ...

, upon the motion of the President of the Republic and following a prior opinion of the Parliament's Justice Committee and the Plenary Session of the

. The lower two levels of the judiciary consist of 15 county courts (''županijski sudovi'') as

courts of first instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

for serious

criminal offence In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

s (

felonies A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

) and

courts of appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

for decisions of the lower (municipal) courts and 32 municipal courts (''općinski sudovi'') as courts of first instance for

misdemeanour A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

s and minor criminal offences and courts of

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the Sup ...

(

first instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

) in

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

(including

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

and

labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

)

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

s (county courts and municipal courts are knowns as general or ordinary courts), as well as specialized courts: 9 commercial courts (''trgovački sudovi'') and the High Commercial Court (''Visoki trgovački sud''); 4 administrative courts (''upravni sudovi'') and the High Administrative Court (''Visoki upravni sud''), the High Criminal Court (''Visoki kazneni sud'') and the High Misdemeanour Court (''Visoki prekršajni sud''). Municipal courts are established for the territory of one or more

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, one or more towns/cities or parts of an urban area, and the county, commercial and administrative courts are established for the territory of one or more

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. The High Commercial Court, the High Administrative Court, the High Criminal Court, the High Misdemeanour Court and the Supreme Court are established for the territory of the Republic of Croatia. Judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council (''Državno sudbeno vijeće'') and hold office until the age of seventy.

Constitutional Court

The

(''Ustavni sud'') rules on matters regarding compliance of legislation with the constitution, repeals unconstitutional legislation, reports any breaches of provisions of the constitution to the government and the parliament, declares the speaker of the parliament acting president upon petition from the government in the event the country's president becomes incapacitated, issues consent for commencement of criminal procedures against or arrest of the president, and hears appeals against decisions of the National Judicial Council. It also resolves jurisdictional disputes between the legislative, executive and judicial branches, supervises the constitutionality of the programmes and activities of political parties and supervises the constitutionality and legality of elections, state referendums, etc. The court consists of thirteen judges elected by members of the parliament for an eight-year term (by two thirds majority of all MPs). The president of the Constitutional Court is elected by the court judges for a four-year term. Even considered to be ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' the highest judicial authority because it can overturn

decisions on the basis of constitutional breaches, it is not part of the judicial branch of government, but rather a court ''

sui generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...

'', and it is therefore often colloquially referred to as a "fourth branch of government", alongside the traditional model of tripartite

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

into the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

and the

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...

branches.

National Judicial Council

The National Judicial Council (''Državno sudbeno vijeće'', also: the State Judicial Council) consists of eleven members, specifically seven

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s, nominated and elected by judges of the courts of all instances; two

university professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

s of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

, nominated and elected by the law schools of all Croatian universities and two MPs (one of whom must be from the opposition parties), nominated and elected by the Parliament, for four-year terms, and serving no more than two terms. It appoints all judges and court presidents, except for the president of the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges. The National Judicial Council decides also on disciplinary proceedings concerning all judges.

State Attorneys

The State Attorney's Office (''Državno odvjetništvo'') represents the state in legal procedures (criminal, civil, administrative). The office is led by the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

(''Glavni državni odvjetnik Republike Hrvatske''), and assisted by twenty-three deputies in the central office and lower-ranking State Attorneys and deputies at fifteen county and twenty-two municipal State Attorney's Offices. The Attorney General is appointed for a four-year term by the

upon the motion of the

Croatian Government The Government of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Hrvatske), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government ( hr, hrvatska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government ...

and following a prior opinion of the Parliament's Justice Committee. A special State Attorney's Office dedicated to combatting corruption and organised crime,

USKOK The Uskoks ( hr, Uskoci, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought ...

, was set up in late 2001. The Attorney General is not a member of the

Croatian government The Government of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Hrvatske), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government ( hr, hrvatska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government ...

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

, since the office is part of the European continental legal system, based on the

. County and Municipal State's Attorneys and Deputy state's attorneys (in the Office of the Attorney General, in the county and municipal state's attorney offices, ''zamjenici državnog odvjetnika'') are appointed for a four-year term by the National State's Attorney Council consisting of seven deputy state's attorneys (elected among and by them from the Office of Attorney General, from county and municipal offices), two university professors of law (chosen by the Croatian universities) and two MPs (one of whom must be from the opposition parties); with a prior opinion issued by the Minister of Justice and the Collegiate Body of the State's Attorney Office. The National State's Attorney Council decides also on disciplinary proceedings concerning state's attorney and deputy state's attorneys (except the Attorney General).

References

{{Judiciaries of Europe Government of Croatia Law of Croatia