Statistical data

Important decisions

I.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 5 January 1994 / e) U-l-144/1993 / f) / g) Narodne novine, No. 6/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - The subject of review - Laws and other rules having the force of law.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Finding of constitutionality or unconstitutionality.
Fundamental Rights - Governing principles - Limits and restrictions.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Right to property.
Fundamental Rights - Economic, social and cultural rights - Commercial and industrial freedom.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - Constitution.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Right of ownership / Freedom of entrepreneurs / Auditing firms.

Summary:

According to the Audit Act, which regulates the procedure in which the financial side of business transactions is audited, the founder's participation in the capital of the auditing firm may not exceed 25% of the total capital of the firm if he is a legal or natural person lacking authority to perform revision.

The motion to review the constitutionality of this Act claimed that it restricts the freedom of entrepreneurs and the right of ownership. The Court did not accept the proposal because it found that according to the Constitution entrepreneurial freedom and property rights may exceptionally be restricted for the purposes of protecting the interests of the Republic. The Court considered this restriction to be in harmony with the rule of law, which comprises legal certainty and business morals.

II.

Identification: a) Croatia/ b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 5 January 1994 / e) U-III-236/1993/ f)/ g) Narodne novine, №6/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Procedural decisions.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Constitutional action.

Summary:

The constitutional action was rejected on the grounds that the notice by which the State Attorney informs a person that it was not justified to lodge an extraordinary legal remedy (claim for protection of legality in a private litigation) is not a judgment of a judicial authority in connection with which constitutional action may be submitted.

III.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 5 January 1994 / e) U-lll-375/1993 / f) / g) not published.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Right to property.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Constitutional action / Land registers / Ownership.

Summary:

The claimant based his right of ownership on the fact that he was recorded as the owner of immovable 'property in the land register. The Court refused the action on the grounds that being recorded in the land register as an owner is not evidence of ownership, but only a legal presumption against which counter-evidence may be submitted.

IV.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 26 January 1994 / e) U-lll-419/1993 / f) / g) Narodne novine, №10/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - Constitutional jurisdiction -Relations with other institutions - Courts.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Procedural decisions.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Constitutional court and other courts.

Summary:

The decision of a municipal court to refer a case to the Constitutional Court as the competent authority to decide it was annulled by a ruling of the Constitutional Court on the grounds that it is not a judicial body to which the decision on the merits of a case may be referred.

V.

Identification:  a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 16 February 1994 / e) U-lll-6/1993 / f) / g) Narodne novine, No. 15/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice -Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a private body or individual - Natural person.
Fundamental Rights - Economic, social and cultural rights - Right to health.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - Constitution.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: General administrative procedure / Opinion of experts.

Summary:

The claimant maintained that his inability to work was due to an occupational disease by chemical substances, particularly monomers of vinyl-chloride, to which he was exposed for many years. He had to retire and his pension was fixed before it was established whether his inability to work was due to exposure to chemicals.

The Court accepted the action and reopening of the procedure having found that the competent authorities had omitted to take into account a provision of the Act regulating general administrative procedure. According to this provision, an administrative authority is obliged to obtain another expert opinion from a scientific institution if the opinions of the experts in the case are opposed on major points.

VI.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 16 February 1994 / e) U-l-231/1990 / f) / g) Narodne novine, No. 25/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - The subject of review - Laws and other rules having the force of law.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a private body or individual - Natural person.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Finding of constitutionality or unconstitutionality.
Fundamental Rights - Governing principles - Limits and restrictions.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Freedom of worship.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - Constitution.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Freedom of religion / Marriage.

Summary:

The decision of the Court annulled a provision of the Act on matrimony and family relations which had prohibited the performance of a religious matrimonial ceremony before matrimony was concluded in a way prescribed by that Act (before a municipal body). Since the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and a religious matrimonial ceremony is a manifestation of freedom of religion, whether concluded before or after civil marriage, the stated prohibition restricted the right guaranteed by the Constitution. Freedoms and rightsmay only be restricted by law to protect the freedoms and rights of other people and the public order, morality and health. In the given case, none of these values was affected by the religious matrimonial ceremony.

VII.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 25 February 1994 / e) U-ll-66/1994 / f) / g) Narodne novine, No. 16/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - The subject of review -Legislative or quasi-legislative regulations.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Finding of constitutionality or unconstitutionality.
Fundamental Rights - Economic, social and cultural rights - Freedom of trade unions.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules-Constitution.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - Other international sources.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Salary / Collective bargaining.

Summary:

Trade unions proposed a review of the constitutionality of a governmental decree concerning salaries, claiming that the issue of salaries was a matter of collective bargaining and that the decree changed collective agreements unilaterally. The Court did not accept the motion having found that the governmental decree did not derogate or terminate collective bargaining. The decree was based on the authority given to the Government by the legislator to regulate temporarily certain issues falling within the competence of the legislator. The decree determined the total amount of money designed for salaries and for reimbursement of costs of material rights, and amounts of basic and minimum salaries. According to the Court, the decree had the nature of an act of intervention designed to stabilise the Croatian economy. The Court also considered that the social partners in collective bargaining had not exhausted means of mediation and arbitration agreed upon in previous agreements.

VIII.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 9 March 1994 / e) U-l-272/1992 / f) / g) Narodne novine, No. 25/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a private body of individual - Natural person.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Finding of constitutionality or unconstitutionality.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights-Right to a fair trial.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - Constitution.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - European Convention on Human Rights.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - Other international sources.

Keywords of the alphabetical order: Criminal procedure / Right of appeal.

Summary:

The decision annulled a povision of the Criminal Procedure Act according to which the time- limit for legal remedies for the accused runs from the day on which the act was delivered or, if it could not be delivered, from the eighth day following publication of the act.

The Court held that the constitutional right to a fair trial, to a defense counsel and to appeal cannot be realised if time limits expire before the accused can communicate with his defense counsel.

IX.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 16 March 1994 e) U-l-197/1992 / f) / g) Narodne novine, No. 25/1994.

Keywords of tiie systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - The subject of review - Laws and other rules having the force of law.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim – Claim by a private body or individual – Natural person
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings – Decisions – Types – Finding of constitutionality or unconstitutionality.
Fundamental Rights – Civil and political rights – Non-retrospective effect of law – Non retrospective effect of criminal law.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules-Constitution.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - European Convention on Human Rights.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - Other international sources.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Criminal procedure / Principle "ne bis in idem".

Summary:

The decision annulled the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act according to which the reopening of a criminal procedure, which could be disadvantageous for the person convicted or acquitted of the charge, was not permissible if more than six month had passed since the day on which the prosecutor obtained knowledge of new facts or evidence. The Court referred to a constitutional principle according to which no criminal proceedings shall be repeated against a person acquitted by a final court judgment. From this principle it followed that a renewal of criminal proceedings against a convicted person is only permissible when in favour of the convicted person.

X.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 16 March 1994 / e) U-lll-428/1993 / f) / g) Narodne novine, No. 26/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice-Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a private body or individual - Natural person.
Fundamental Rights - Governing principles - Entitlement to rights - Nationals and foreigners.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Equality.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Other.
Sources of constitutional law – Categories – Written rules - Constitution

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Citizenship / Right to appeal

Summary:

The constitutional to the Ministry of Interior (the first-instancebody) for a reopening of the procedure. It concerned a case in which a petition for acquisition of citizenship was refused, and the decree on the refusal did not contain the reasons upon which the decision was based.

The Court held that the constitutional right to appeal against individual legal acts made in first-instance proceedings cannot be effective without knowing the facts on which the decision was based. According to the Court, the principle of equality before courts is violated if some persons know the reasons against which a complaint may be lodged and others do not know them.

Supplementary information:

The Court received this case before its decision to repeal a provision of the Law on Croatian Citizenship, according to which the reasons for a decision rejecting a petition for acquisition of citizenship did not have to be stated. According to the Constitutional Act on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, following the publication of this decision, claimants have the right to request the modification of individual judgments, based on the repealed provision. Thus the actions received after the publication of this decision of the Constitutional Court were rejected. Settled case law.

XI.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 16 March 1994 / e) U-lll-90/1993 / f) /g) Narodne novine, No. 27/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of human rights and freedoms.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a private body or individual - Natural person.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Right to property.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories – Written rules – Constitution.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Nationalisation.

Summary:

Decisions by ordinary courts held that the claimant had lost his right of ownership of immovable property although ownership was recorded in the land registers. The previous owner of the property was the grandmother of the claimant, who was a citizen of Yugoslavia until 22 June 1949.

The Court refused the constitutional action having found that decisions of ordinary courts did not violate the constitutional provision which guarantees the right of ownership. The law in force in 1949 stated that a person who had lost the status of citizen of Yugoslavia had also lost the right of ownership of immovable property located in Yugoslavia. This property had become state property ex tege. Thus, at the moment of her death the grandmother of the claimant was not the owner of the property in question, and this property could not be inherited.

Supplementary information:

Dissenting opinion held that the property could not be lost ex lege but only in a procedure in which a constitutive act had to be issued, and such an act did not exist in this case.

XII.

Identification: a) Croatia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia / d) 6 April 1994 / e) U-l-385/1993 / f) /g) Narodne novine, No. 31/1994.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - The subject of review - Laws and other rules having the force of law.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a private body or individual - Non-profit-making corporate body.
Fundamental Rights - Governing principles - Limits and restrictions.
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - Constitution.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Private practice in health-protection.

Summary:

The Court rejected an application to declare certain provisions of the Health Protection Act unconstitutional. The Court examined the provision which specified conditions under which private practice in health-protection is reformed, requiring inter alia an opinion by the chamber of medical professionals (physicians and specialists, stomatologists, pharmacists, medical biochemists). It was claimed that this condition violated the right of ownership, entrepreneurial and market freedom as well as the right to free association. The Court held that according to the Constitution, freedoms and rights may be restricted only to protect the freedoms and rights of other people, the public order, morality and health. The regulation in question was necessary for the protection of the health of citizens.