Access to Justice in Croatia

Croatian war veterans celebrate in central Zagreb after the war crimes tribunal’s decision to reverse two Croatian generals’ convictions for atrocities during a 1995 offensive against Serbs (Associated Press).

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Croatia was lauded for its remarkable progress from an embattled, war-torn region to a full European Union member state. However, a closer look at Croatia’s human rights situation and its ongoing fight against corruption reveal several weakness. This blog post will focus on the country’s failure to provide its citizens with a strong rule of law and easy access to effective legal recourse through the court system.

The judiciary remains Croatia’s weakest institution. Municipal Courts, citizens’ first point of access to the judicial system, are severely backlogged with cases; there is also evidence of bias in both Municipal Court rulings and in rulings of higher courts. The National Courts have yet to address the bulk of war crimes cases, Croatia’s asylum and migration systems remain inadequate, and thousands of people with disabilities continue to be denied the right to make decisions about their lives. The UN Human Rights Committee has also expressed concerns about Croatia’s discrimination against ethnic minorities, especially the Roma and Serb peoples. (A point of interest is that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), established by the UN Security Council in Resolution 827 to address war crimes committed during Croatia’s War of Independence between 1991-1995, has been slow in bringing justice to citizens. Only 18 cases are resolved on average each year, adding to its current backlog of more than 500 cases.)

This chart illustrates the number of cases brought before all courts in Croatia during an official ‘check-up’ on Croatia’s judicial performance in the years following its admission to the EU. As we can see, the number of cases citizens bring to court is in decline, suggesting that the growing backlog is related to judicial inefficiency and not merely an increase in the volume of work. In addition, it indicates citizens’ decreasing faith in the judiciary’s ability to provide recourse and justice.

The judicial system has seen some minor improvements in recent years. In 2014, the Croatian government attempted to reorganize the courts and to amend a flawed bankruptcy law. In addition, Croatia’s anti-corruption campaign (USKOK) was established in 2015 to weed out corrupt officials in the country’s government. The initiative was celebrated for its impressive results, prosecuting more than two thousand defendants with a conviction rate of 95 percent (Foreign Policy). USKOK became a powerful watchdog influence, compared to peer agencies in other Western countries. However, its progress has stalled since Croatia’s EU accession, suggesting that Croatia viewed the anti-corruption campaign more as a means for acceptance into the EU than a genuine initiative.

Despite the high profile arrest of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic in October 2015, the public continues to perceive the ruling elite as deeply corrupt, and the government as self-serving and ineffective. Croatia’s media culture is equally flawed, suffering from a lack of independent, quality outlets with adequate reporting standards. Speaking about recent convictions of Croatian journalists under new, broader defamation penalties in effect since 2013,  Croatia Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic says, “This sends a chilling message which could restrict the free flow of information and hamper reporting on matters of public interest […] Free speech should not be subject to criminal charges of any kind.” Journalists and media watchdogs are concerned that broadly-defined bans on the media will cause self-censorship, further hindering a productive media culture.

Croatia’s Rankings in the 2015 Freedom House Report for Nations in Transit.

A 2014 survey reveals that ninety-four percent of Croatians believe that corruption is widespread in their country (Eurobarometer Survey on Corruption) They have little faith in their leaders, and perceive graft as the most prevalent form of corruption among politicians, the judicial branch, and other public officials.As Croatian citizens have become increasingly disillusioned by government controversy and corruption, there has been an upsurge in independent civic action (Freedom Press 2015).Citizens were involved in shaping electoral legislation in 2014, proposing changes to electoral law that would introduce preferential voting and lower political party thresholds. Nongovernmental organizations, conservative and liberal interest groups, labour unions, religious groups, and other civic organizations participate actively in Croatian political life. Croatia’s active civil society is impressive compared to its Balkan neighbours, and it receives an impressive ranking of 2.75 according to Freedom House. However, the 2013 referendum In the Name of Families, to define marriage in the constitution as a union between a man and a woman, has been viewed as a “neoconservative revolution” in social policy. This suggests that, although Croatian civil society is vibrant, the results are not always in the interest of an open and democratic society.

While Croatia scores relatively well on “Civil Society,” it does not fare well with respect to “Corruption” and “Rule of Law.” For more information, see Croatia’s Country Assessment by the US Department of State.

It is only by changing the fabric of the Croatian system that the country may work towards eradicating corruption and continuing its progress towards a fully-functioning, fully-consolidated democracy. Crackdowns by NGOs must be followed with institutional reform, particularly judicial reform; the judiciary must undergo some changes – better training for judges, or the creation of more specialized courts, for example – to make it a more effective tool for enforcing the rule of law, investigating and prosecuting corruption, and ensuring greater legal security for Croatian citizens.

To end on an optimistic note, according to a new report called ‘Rights, Remedies and Representation,’ released just last week on February 16th by the Child Rights International Network, Croatia ranks 24th in the world on “how effectively children can use the justice system to defend their legal rights.” This ranking is based on a number of indicators, including “whether or not people under the age of 18 can bring lawsuits when their rights are in some way violated,” what kinds of legal resources are available to them in their pursuit of justice, and whether national courts conform with and meet standards set by international children’s rights law. Compared to many other EU countries – Germany, Italy, and Sweden, for instance – Croatia scores surprisingly high. This is a promising sign that Croatians’ access to justice is on the rise.