On Wednesday, the European Commission published its fifth annual Rule of Law Report, which provides a comprehensive and objective overview of the development of the rule of law in all Member States, including Croatia.

Key developments in Croatia

The report highlights several important developments and ongoing challenges in the Croatian legal and judicial system, the fight against corruption, media freedom and civil society engagement.

Judicial independence and digitalisation

– The perceived independence of the judiciary in Croatia has increased, although it remains relatively low.

– Efforts are being made to improve electronic communication between courts and users in order to close the digitalisation gap in the judicial system.

– Despite measures to shorten the duration of court proceedings, backlogs and prolonged proceedings remain a major problem.

Measures to combat corruption

– Laws on lobbying have been passed and laws on bribery of foreign public officials have been tightened.

– Efforts to improve the investigation and prosecution of corruption offences are ongoing, although the revision of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the law on specialised anti-corruption prosecutors is still pending.

– Investigations, prosecutions and convictions of high-level corruption have continued, with the anti-corruption authorities optimising their resources.

Media freedom and political independence

– The legal framework supports media freedom and pluralism as well as the right to information. However, concerns remain regarding the political independence of the Council for Electronic Media and the public broadcaster HRT.

– HRT has been criticised for possible conflicts of interest, although there have been positive developments with regard to the safety of journalists.

– The transparency of media ownership continues to be problematic and the framework for the fair and transparent allocation of state advertising remains a cause for concern.

Protection of whistleblowers and civil society

– Croatia is raising awareness of the new whistleblower legislation. Measures have been taken to detect and prevent corruption in public procurement, a high-risk area.

– There has been some follow-up to the Ombudsperson’s recommendations, although access to information remains problematic.

– There has been a gradual transition to multi-year funding for civil society organisations, although the new National Plan for the Creation of an Enabling Environment is still pending.

Recommendations and progress

The Rule of Law 2023 report contains specific recommendations and notes Croatia’s progress in various areas:

– Judicial system: significant progress has been made in the remuneration of judges, prosecutors and judicial staff, aligning with European standards for resources and remuneration in the judiciary.

– Lobbying legislation: Croatia has adopted comprehensive legislation in the area of lobbying and established a public register for lobbyists.

– Anti-corruption efforts: Some progress has been made to increase the efficiency of investigations and prosecutions of corruption offences, although important legislative changes are still pending.

– Transparency of government advertising: No progress has been made in strengthening the framework for fair and transparent allocation of government advertising, particularly in terms of clear criteria and monitoring measures.

– SLAPPs against journalists: Efforts continue to address strategic lawsuits against the public (SLAPPs) targeting journalists, including reviewing the legal provisions on defamation and promoting the use of procedural rules to dismiss unfounded lawsuits.

Moving forward

The report recommends Croatia to:

1. Revise the Criminal Procedure Code and the Act on the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime** in line with the Anti-Corruption Strategy to increase the efficiency of corruption investigations and prosecutions.

2. Strengthen the legal framework and oversight mechanisms** for government advertising at all levels to ensure transparency and fairness.

3. Further crack down on SLAPPs targeting journalists** by revising defamation laws and promoting procedural rules that dismiss unfounded claims.

4. Improve the follow-up to the Ombudsperson’s recommendations** and ensure systematic responses to requests for information.

Overall, the report recognises the progress Croatia has made in various areas, but underlines the need for further efforts to address existing challenges and ensure that the rule of law is effectively upheld.

The entire chapter on Croatia can be found here.