Constitutional Court of Croatia
| Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established |
15 February 1964 (in SR Croatia)[1] 25 July 1990 (in Croatia)[1] |
| Country |
 Croatia |
| Location | Zagreb |
| Composition method | Elected by the Croatian Parliament with qualified majority |
| Authorized by | Constitution of the Republic of Croatia |
| Judge term length | Eight years (renewable once) |
| Number of positions | 13 |
| Website | usud.hr |
| President of the Constitutional Court | |
| Currently | Miroslav Šeparović |
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske) is the interpreter and guardian of the Croatian Constitution which monitors the conformity of laws with the Constitution as well as protection of human rights and freedoms of citizens that are guaranteed by the Constitution. It is considered to be de facto the highest judicial authority because it can overturn Supreme Court decisions on the basis of constitutional breaches. It is not considered as part of the judicial branch but a court sui generis, therefore it is often called "fourth power of Croatia", alongside Government/President (executive), Parliament (legislative) and Supreme Court (judicial).[2][3]
Powers and responsibilities
According to the Articles 126-132 of the Croatian Constitution, Constitutional Court shall:[4]
- decide upon the compliance of laws with the Constitution,
- decide upon the compliance of other regulations with the Constitution and laws,
- decide on the constitutionality of laws and the constitutionality and legality of other regulations which are no longer valid, provided that less than one year has elapsed from the moment of such cessation until the filing of a request or a proposal to institute proceedings,
- decide on constitutional petitions against individual decisions taken by governmental agencies, bodies of local and regional self-government and legal persons vested with public authority where such decisions violate human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as the right to local and regional self-government guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia,
- monitor compliance with the Constitution and laws and shall report to the Croatian Parliament on detected violations thereof,
- decide upon jurisdictional disputes between the legislative, executive and judicial branches,
- decide, in conformity with the Constitution, on the impeachment of the President of the Republic,
- supervise compliance of the platforms and activities of political parties with the Constitution and may, in compliance with the Constitution, ban non-compliant parties,
- monitor whether elections and referendums are conducted in compliance with the Constitution and laws and shall resolve electoral disputes falling outside the jurisdiction of the courts,
- first notify the Government what it finds that a competent body charged with enacting a regulation needed for the application of the Constitution, law or other regulation has failed to do so, and shall notify the Croatian Parliament when the Government has been charged with enacting such regulation and failed to do so,
- repeal a law or annul any other regulation if it finds it to be unconstitutional or illegal,
- perform other duties specified by the Constitution.
Recent influence
A recent ruling by the Constitutional Court was on the legitimacy of the Act of Supplements and Alterations to the Law on Public Gathering (Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama zakona o javnom okupljanju) which added an order that no public gatherings could be held within 100 meters of buildings in which the Sabor, President, the Government or the Constitutional Court are located or are in session (the Parliament, Government and Const. Court are all located at Zagreb's St. Mark's square)
The Constitutional Court ruled that this law, which restricts a Constitutional liberty - the right to free gathering, was not passed by the majority necessary to override the Constitution on that matter. The Court's decision was that the law be put out of effect at a date specified by the Court.
The Court also provided Parliament with the necessary number of representatives which must confirm the Act to make it legitimate.
Composition
The Constitutional Court consists of thirteen judges elected by the Croatian Parliament for a term of eight years from among notable jurists, especially judges, public prosecutors, lawyers and university professors of law. Court elects its President for a term of four years. Before they take the office, judges must take an oath in front of the President of the Republic.
Current composition (as of June 7, 2016)
On June 3, 2016, Croatian Parliament appointed 10 justices in addition to 3 already sitting in the court.[5] Among those ten, two justices were re-appointed and 8 justices were appointed for the first time.
| In office since | Full name | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 14 April 2009 | Miroslav Šeparović | President |
| 7 December 2007 | Snježana Bagić | Vice-President |
| 7 June 2016 | Ingrid Antičević-Marinović | Justice |
| 21 July 2009 | Mato Arlović | Justice |
| 7 June 2016 | Branko Brkić | Justice |
| 27 May 2008 | Mario Jelušić | Justice |
| 7 June 2016 | Lovorka Kušan | Justice |
| 7 June 2016 | Josip Leko | Justice |
| 7 June 2016 | Davorin Mlakar | Justice |
| 7 June 2016 | Rajko Mlinarić | Justice |
| 21 July 2009 | Antun Palarić | Justice |
| 7 June 2016 | Andrej Abramović | Justice |
| 7 June 2016 | Miroslav Šumanović | Justice |
Presidents
| No. | Image | In office | Full name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  |
1991–1999 | Jadranko Crnić |
| 2. |  |
1999–2003 | Smiljko Sokol |
| 3. |  |
2003–2007 | Petar Klarić |
| 4. |  |
2008-2016 | Jasna Omejec |
| 5. |  |
2016-present | Miroslav Šeparović |
See also
- Constitution
- Constitutionalism
- Constitutional economics
- Jurisprudence
- Rule of law
- Judiciary
- Rule of law
- Rule According to Higher Law
References
- 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
- ↑ Čepulo Dalibor, Croatian legal history in the European context from the Middle Ages to modern times, Zagreb, 2012.
- ↑ Margetić Lujo- Sirotković H., History of State and Law of peoples Yugoslavia, Rijeka-Zagreb, 1990;
- ↑ "Hrvatski sabor". Sabor.hr. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ↑ http://www.sabor.hr/fgs.axd?id=46096
Sources
External links
Coordinates: 45°49′00″N 15°58′24″E / 45.81671°N 15.97341°E