Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević
G10, room 6/I, Tue 11:30-12:30
e-mail: miljen.matijasevic@gmail.com
Session 9
Unit 12

the supreme legal act, to which legislation and other regulations must
conform

the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that
determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee
certain rights to the people in it

a written instrument embodying the rules of a political or social
organization

Lays down the key principles on which a society, political and legal system are built

Sets out the organisation of government

Guarantees rights and freedoms of its citizens

Strategic political act of a state and of a people

Legitimizes a democratic state before the international community

Facilitates stability
federal (multilayered)
*
written
*
rigid
unitary
*
unwritten
*
flexible
Unit 12

Promulgated on 22 December 1990, amended in 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2010

Contains the following sections:
1.
Historical foundations
2.
Basic provisions
3.
Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms
4.
Organization of government
5.
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia
6.
Local and regional self-government
7.
International relations
8.
Amending the Constitution
9.
Final provisions
1.


Historical foundations
Outlines the history of the Croatian state, i.e. the political idea
of Croatia as an independent state from the 7th century
onwards
Draws upon the legacy of the rejection of communism and the
political changes in the late 1980s and of the Homeland War
“Respecting the will of the Croatian nation and all citizens, resolutely
expressed in the free elections, the Republic of Croatia is hereby
founded and shall develop as a sovereign and democratic state in which
equality, freedoms and human rights are guaranteed and ensured, and
their economic and cultural progress and social welfare promoted. “
2.


Basic provisions
Define the Republic of Croatia as a unitary and
indivisible, sovereign democratic and social state
Lay down the most fundamental features of the
state: organisation of government, democratic
principles, separation of powers, political parties,
armed forces, the national flag, coat of arms,
anthem, language and script, and the capital city
3.
Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms

Set out the fundamental rights and freedoms of
Croatian citizens

Transpose the provisions of the UN Convention of
Human Rights

equality before the law, presumption of innocence,
right to a fair trial, right to appeal court and
administrative decisions, etc.
3.
Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms

the right to life (prohibits the death penalty),
freedom, freedom of movement, private life,
communication, religion, beliefs, etc.

economic and social rights (work, property, social
security, strike, family relations, education, etc.)
4.

Organization of government
These provisions lay down the organisation, rights,
duties and powers of:
◦ the Croatian Parliament,
◦ the President of the Republic of Croatia,
◦ the Government of the Republic of Croatia,
◦ the Judiciary, and
◦ the State Attorney’s Office
5.
The Constitutional Court of the RC

Consists of 13 judges, appointed by the Croatian
Parliament for an 8-year mandate

Selected from the ranks of reputable jurists, judges,
state attorneys and attorneys

Not an actual court within the RC court system
5.

The Constitutional Court of the RC
The Court’s main tasks are as follows:
◦ to decide on the conformity of laws with the Constitution, and of
other regulations with the law and the Constitution
◦ to decide on constitutional complaints against individual court or
administrative decisions (e.g. If the violate human rights and
fundamental freedoms, etc.)
◦ to decide on jurisdictional disputes between the 3 branches of
government
◦ to decide on the impeachment of the President of the RC
◦ to supervise the constitutionality and legality of elections and
referenda
6.
Local and regional self-government

This section regulates the right to local and regional selfgovernment, the division into local administrative units
(counties, municipalities, cities), local elections

Lays down the scope of competence of local selfgovernment units, such as the organization of housing
and urban planning, public utilities, child care, social
welfare, primary health services, education and
elementary schools, culture, physical education and
sports, etc.
7.
International relations

Concerns the areas of international agreements and
association and secession

IA – regulates competence over and the ratification of
international agreements, according to their content

Association and secession – regulates the procedure of
acceding to alliances with other states – who can initiate
the procedure and the number of votes in Parliament, i.e.
on the referendum are necessary for such a decision to
be passed
8.
Amending the Constitution

This section regulates the procedure of amending the
Constitution

Amendments may be proposed by one fifth of
representatives in the CP, the President and the
Government of the RC

The decision to amend must be approved by the majority
of representatives

Amendments may be adopted only if a two-thirds majority
of all representatives vote in favour
9.

Final provisions
These provisions rescind the former House of the
Counties of the Croatian Parliament and confers to
the CP the obligation to enact a Constitutional Act
implementing the Constitution
Thank you for your attention!