CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE IN CROATIA

This article will provide guidance on the Code of Civil Procedure in Croatia. Civil law is the cornerstone of Croatia's legal system, which emerged following the breakup of the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Croatia's judicial system is based primarily on civil law, the Commercial Code, and administrative laws. 

Private rights of individuals and businesses are defined in the fields of family law, property law, and contract law under Croatia's civil law. The fundamental rights and duties of a person, the rights of contracting parties, the rights of family members, and the rights of workers are all covered by the four main acts that make up Croatian civil law. 

BACKGROUND

Croatian courts resolve disputes involving the fundamental rights and duties of citizens in accordance with the Civil Procedure Act. The Civil Procedure Act addresses issues related to the jurisdiction of civil courts, the structure of trials, and the pleading of claims and allegations

It is a constitutional requirement that the Republic of Croatia adheres to the separation of powers concept. The Constitution, international contracts, individual laws, and sub-statutory actions form a hierarchical structure within the Croatian legal system. The law of the Courts governs the judicial system and is based on the principle of judicial independence. Separate courts hear and rule on commercial, criminal, and administrative law cases.

The court that had jurisdiction when the complaint was filed will retain that jurisdiction even if new facts emerge throughout the case that might otherwise give rise to the jurisdiction of a different regular court of the same type unless the law provides otherwise.

COURT REQUIREMENTS IN CROATIA

The court must, sua sponte, determine whether the settlement of a specific issue fits within the court's jurisdiction before the decision becomes legally effective. The court must declare its lack of jurisdiction, set aside the procedural actions taken, and dismiss the complaint if it determines during the proceedings, before the decision becomes legally effective, that the dispute resolution is not within the court's jurisdiction but within that of another domestic body.

At the earliest opportunity, the court may make a determination that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction at the time of the preliminary hearing or at the time the respondent initiates action on the merits at the first trial hearing if no preliminary hearing is conducted. Only if the respondent objects to the court's subject matter jurisdiction before the trial on the merits begins—either at the preparation hearing or, if neither was conducted, at the first trial hearing—can the court declare that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction.

No appeal may be taken from a decision by a superior court of first instance establishing its subject matter jurisdiction or from a decision by this court determining that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction and remanding the case to a lower court of first instance of the same type. If the preparatory hearing has already taken place, or if one has not after the respondent has begun litigation on the merits of the case at the first trial hearing, a court of one type may only declare itself to lack subject matter jurisdiction for a case from the jurisdictional standpoint, either sua sponte or upon the objection by the respondent submitted after the preparatory hearing, or if one has not been held after the respondent has begun litigation on the merit.

COURT PROCEEDINGS IN CROATIA

If circumstances change or the plaintiff decreases the amount of the claim during the proceedings before a chamber, the dispute will be handled by a single judge. A judgment made by the chamber in a case requiring a single judge's attention cannot be appealed on the grounds that a single judge should have considered the case. A trial before a chamber of the same court will continue when a single judge decides, either on his or her initiative or in response to objections from the parties. There is no further appeals process when just one judge makes a decision.

Suppose the court determines that the civil process is to be handled in accordance with the norms of ex parte procedure. In that case, it will issue a decree staying the proceedings until a determination on the merits can be made. Once the judgment has taken effect, the court with jurisdiction will continue the case in accordance with the ex parte procedures. The fact that the court's actions presiding over the litigation (site inspection, expert witnessing, hearing witnesses, etc.) and the decisions made by this court were taken in the context of civil contentious proceedings does not diminish the significance of those actions or the decisions made.

PRE-TRIAL COMMUNICATIONS IN CROATIA

All pre-trial communications must be sent in writing (submissions). All submissions must be easily understood and include all the information required to proceed with them. If the statement makes an assertion, the party must provide supporting evidence and facts in the submission.

Each party must provide the court and the other with adequate copies of any submissions to be served on the other. The same applies to any supporting materials that may be included with the application. If the opposing party comprises many individuals who share a similar legal representation or agent, only one copy of any submissions or attachments should be submitted.

Original or copies of any documents linked to the submission must be submitted. If an original document is submitted, the court must hold it and give the other side a chance to review it. If the court no longer needs this document, it will return it to the person who submitted it upon request; however, the court may ask the person who submitted it to include a copy of the document for the court's records. If a copy of a document has been submitted, the other side may ask the court to see the original by filing a motion, and the court will honor that request. If the court determines that a deadline for providing or reviewing the evidence is warranted, it will impose such a deadline.

Suppose a submission cannot be understood or does not include all the required information for it to be acted upon. In that case, the court must direct the submitter to revise or supplement it, and it may either have the submitter appear in court or send the submission back to the submitter for revision. If the court sends a submission back to its author for revisions, it will provide a deadline by which the document must be refiled with the requested changes. 

A submission is considered withdrawn if not returned to the court by the deadline. It will be discarded if it is returned without being modified or updated. If a sufficient number of copies are not produced with the submissions or attachments, the court may order that they be copied at the party's cost, subject to the applicable court tax laws.

Service of the complaint and other communications of the court in the proceedings shall be made on the respondent, at the motion of the plaintiff, at a specific address in the Republic of Croatia or through a specific person in the Republic of Croatia if, before filing the complaint with the court, the respondent agrees for service in disputes to which the agreement relates to being effected to that address or through that person. It must be presumed that service has been made on the responder when the communication is served on the person indicated in the agreement.

A party or their legal representative or agent must be personally served with a complaint, an ex parte payment order, a judgment, or a ruling from which an appeal or other legal remedy is available. Service of process or other court documents must be made personally only in the limited circumstances where such service is required or where the court determines that greater caution is warranted due to the presence of original documents or other factors.

REQUIREMENTS OF A SUIT IN CROATIA

Unless a specific court has adopted a different language or script, all proceedings must be in Croatian and written in Latin. Each side must disclose the circumstances behind their allegations and provide proof to back them up. If it thinks that the parties will dispose of claims they may not dispose of, the court may establish facts they have not submitted and hear evidence they have not offered. 

All parties and intervenors appearing before a court are obliged to tell the truth and make honest use of the protections afforded to them. The court must perform the procedures without undue delay, in a fair amount of time, and at the lowest possible expense, and it must also avoid any right abuse.

If a party or intervenor is found liable for a violation of rights, that party or intervenor, or their legal agent, may be subject to monetary penalties. The court of first instance is the one responsible for imposing the fine. The fine must be imposed apart from the trial itself, and it must be done so by a single judge or the chamber president. If the court considering the appropriate remedy has reason to believe that a party to the case has committed a significant abuse of the rights pertaining to that party, it must direct the court of first instance to investigate.

The single judge or the President of the chamber of the first instance court must impose a monetary fine or request proof by finding that no substantial abuse of rights was perpetrated in the situation. The court established must always be provided with a copy of the court's first instance decision. The imposed financial penalty should be collected automatically as a monetary claim in accordance with the norms of the execution process.

If a party does not exercise the rights afforded to them due to a lack of knowledge, the court will inform them of the steps they might take to exercise such rights. When the existence of a right or legal relationship must be determined before a court decision can be made, but this determination has not yet been made by a court or other competent body (preliminary issue), the court may make this determination on its own, unless otherwise provided for in separate regulations. A ruling on a preliminary issue is binding only within the specific case in which it was made. A legally binding decision by the criminal court which finds the defendant guilty shall bind the civil court to the existence of a criminal crime and the perpetrator's criminal obligation.

In the first place, judicial advisers have the authority to preside over civil procedures, evaluate the evidence, and determine the relevant facts. Based on such hearings, the judicial adviser will make a formal recommendation in writing to the judge who has been delegated authority to make a ruling by the court's president. The fact that a judicial advisor's recommendation served as the foundation for the judgment had to be mentioned upfront. If the competent judge rejects the recommendation of the judicial adviser, he or she must oversee the case independently.

 CROSS-BORDER JURISDICTION IN CROATIA

When the law or an international agreement grants a Croatian court jurisdiction over a case involving an international element, that court will have the authority to hear the case. The court in the Republic of Croatia will also have jurisdiction over trials in this type of dispute when its jurisdiction originates in the provisions on the territorial jurisdiction of courts in the Republic of Croatia, even if the law or international agreement does not contain any explicit provision on the jurisdiction of a court in the Republic of Croatia over specific types of disputes.

If the defendant is a citizen or legal resident of the Republic of Croatia, the courts in that country have exclusive jurisdiction over any marital dispute. A court in the Republic of Croatia will have jurisdiction if the respondent has a permanent or temporary residence there, even if neither party is a citizen of that country. A court in the Republic of Croatia would have exclusive jurisdiction over any case involving a minor who is a citizen of and a permanent or temporary resident of that country.

When there are multiple municipal courts within the jurisdiction of a county court, the law may specify that only some of the municipal courts within that county court's jurisdiction shall adjudicate certain types of disputes from the competence of municipal courts within that jurisdiction. If no other mechanism is established by law, municipal courts shall carry out legal aid functions.

First instance jurisdiction means [A.]  deciding cases as the law requires; [B.]  resolving conflicts of jurisdiction between municipal courts; and [C.]  hearing and deciding appeals from municipal court decisions; and fourth, performing other duties as required by law. In civil proceedings, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia  hears and rules on appeals from lower courts (county courts, the High Commercial Court of the Republic of Croatia, and its first-instance rulings, unless the law specifies otherwise.) The court also hears and rules on motions for revision on points of law and rules on motions for resolution of jurisdictional disputes between courts within the territory of the Republic of Croatia.

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Sources

1.  In particular, they must include the following information: the subject matter in dispute, the name of the court hearing the case, the names, occupations, and addresses of all parties, witnesses, and attorneys involved, the contents of the statement, and the submitter's signature.

2. If both sides haven't had a chance to comment on the evidence and facts, the court can't base its ruling on them.

3. Unless otherwise provided for in this Act, the court shall penalize any individual who seeks to abuse their rights in the proceedings with a monetary penalty of 500.00 to 10,000.00 kunas and any legal entity with a fine of 2,500.00 to 50,000.00 kunas.

4. In disputes involving the payment of monetary claims or business disputes involving a value of not more than 50,000.00 kunas or 500,000.00 kunas, respectively, judicial advisers are entitled to conduct procedures and submit a conclusion to the judge in civil proceedings.

Judicial consultants must report on the status of the case file and write a draught judgment in procedures at the second instance and in proceedings based upon exceptional legal remedies.

5. When a plaintiff has either a permanent or temporary residence in the Republic of Croatia, Article 28 establishes that the courts in that country have jurisdiction over any disputes involving statutory maintenance in which the plaintiff is the person seeking such maintenance.

6. If at least one party is a citizen of the Republic of Croatia, the courts have jurisdiction over any disputes involving establishing or denying paternity or maternity.

7. In civil proceedings, the High Commercial Court of the Republic of Croatia is responsible for the following: 1. making initial rulings in cases where this is required by law; 2. hearing appeals from initial rulings made by lower commercial courts; 3. resolving disputes over territorial jurisdiction between lower commercial courts; 4. performing other duties as required by law.

8. First-instance civil disputes heard by commercial courts include disputes arising out of commercial contracts, including disputes over payment of damages arising out of these contracts;  disputes arising out of the formation, operation, and dissolution of trading companies, including the sale of membership and membership rights in trading companies; and disputes arising out of member disputes within trading companies and between members of trading companies.

9. The amount of the subject of the dispute shall be deemed to include only the amount of the principal claim whenever the amount of the subject of the dispute is relevant for establishing subject matter jurisdiction, the composition of the court, the right to lodge a request for revision on points of law, and in other cases provided for in this Act.

Only the principal claim will be considered, and any interest, litigation costs, penalty charges, or other subordinate claims will be ignored.