Published 29.04.2026. | Tena Mur
Following the meeting with representatives of the European Commission in January, during their visit to Croatia as part of the preparation of the Rule of Law Report, we contributed to the preparation of this report both through our input and by participating in the drafting of the contribution.
The contribution was prepared under the coordination of the Miko Tripalo Centre and the House of Human Rights, in collaboration with several other civil society organisations from Croatia.
As in previous years, we informed the European Commission about our findings, which we collected directly on the ground by monitoring the work of the judiciary, providing free legal aid, and analysing court practice in proceedings for criminal offences involving elements of corruption at the four largest county courts.
During 2025, the focus of our work was on monitoring the judiciary, the fight against corruption, and the protection of citizens' rights. This clearly showed that the system continues to have serious structural weaknesses. Our ongoing monitoring of war crimes trials reveals that 11 proceedings against a total of 20 defendants were conducted before the County Court in Osijek, the majority of whom remain unavailable to Croatian justice. Such circumstances further hinder the achievement of justice and point to the need for stronger regional cooperation and more effective prosecution mechanisms.
The analysis shows that the majority of proceedings were conducted in absentia, as 13 defendants were not available to Croatian justice, while 7 defendants were present and held in investigative custody during the proceedings. All defendants involved were members of Serbian paramilitary and parapolice formations. The proceedings related to multiple locations of suffering, including areas of eastern Slavonia and other parts of Croatia. During the same year, the State Attorney’s Office in Osijek issued one decision to open an investigation and raised one indictment against three defendants, with noted cases of defendants being unavailable and one completed proceeding ending in an acquittal.
In addition to monitoring war crimes, the Centre for Peace also monitored the criminal proceedings in the case of the murder of a student from Osijek, which attracted significant public attention. In March 2025, the County Court in Osijek delivered a non-final judgment in which the defendant was found guilty of the criminal offence of murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison. The court established the existence of direct intent and rejected the defendant’s defence.
The Centre for Peace monitored this proceeding as an independent observer, with the court’s approval, given that the trial was closed to the public. This case raised important questions about the conduct of institutions, communication with the public, and accountability within the system, particularly when it involves officials who are supposed to protect citizens.
The system of free legal aid is also facing numerous challenges. Although certain progress is visible, such as the introduction of multi-annual financing, problems with delays in the allocation of funds and poor availability of services persist, especially in rural areas. This situation calls into question equal access to justice, which particularly affects our poorest citizens.
A doctor who was convicted (non-final judgment) of raping a patient during a gynaecological examination continued to work and see patients undisturbed for nearly three years after committing the criminal offence.
All competent institutions (the hospital, the chamber, the ministry, and judicial institutions) in this case shifted responsibility onto one another, citing lack of competence or the absence of a legal basis for suspending the doctor from his position during the criminal proceedings.
Following the Osijek case, the public was made aware of another case involving a doctor from the Vukovar hospital, against whom criminal proceedings were conducted for attempted rape and commission of lewd acts against nine patients and students. The offences were committed in 2014 and 2015, and the doctor continued to work undisturbed for more than ten years. Only after a warning was he reassigned to work without contact with patients, and he was finally convicted in September 2025, after which he received an extraordinary dismissal.
Although amendments to the Health Care Act were supposed to enable faster suspension of healthcare workers during criminal proceedings, in practice these provisions were not applied retroactively, so the system did not provide timely protection for patients. Due to the length of the proceedings, some criminal offences became statute-barred, while others were reclassified as less serious offences.
It was established that healthcare institutions did not initiate disciplinary proceedings, nor did judicial authorities use the existing suspension mechanisms. The patient complaint system proved to be non-transparent and ineffective, while the oversight by the Ministry of Health was assessed as weak and inconsistent.
These cases point to serious systemic failures: delayed reactions by institutions, insufficient protection of victims, ineffective control mechanisms, and the absence of clear accountability, all of which undermine patient safety and trust in the healthcare system.
The analysis of court practice in criminal cases involving elements of corruption, conducted at the four largest county courts in Croatia (Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, and Osijek) for the period 2019–2024, revealed a series of structural problems in the prosecution of corruption-related offences. The findings indicate inconsistent court practice, lengthy proceedings, and insufficient effectiveness in prosecuting corruption. Problems were also noted in the quality and availability of data, which hinders the monitoring and analysis of court practice at the national level. The analysis also highlights shortcomings in the transparency of certain courts’ work and inconsistent methods of record-keeping and statistics, which make it difficult to compare data and gain a comprehensive insight into the state of the judiciary. An important finding is the perception that lenient sentences and ineffective prosecution contribute to low public trust in the judicial system. At the same time, there is a lack of available and detailed data per individual court in official reports. The analysis confirms the need to strengthen transparency, harmonise court practice, and increase effectiveness in prosecuting corruption-related criminal offences in order to improve the functioning of the judiciary and citizens’ trust.
The law-making process in a democratic society should be transparent and include public participation. In the case of amendments to the Social Welfare Act, although 1,173 comments were received during e-Consultation, the law was sent to urgent parliamentary procedure without the publication of the Consultation Report and responses to the received remarks. Such conduct is contrary to the applicable regulations, which require the publication of the report and reasoned responses, thereby ensuring genuine transparency and meaningful public participation. The absence of the report is not merely a procedural omission, but undermines citizens’ right to information and trust in institutions.
For this reason, we addressed the Commissioner for Information, who accepted our objection and ordered the urgent preparation of the report.
The findings indicate the existence of structural weaknesses in the judiciary, the healthcare system, and the legislative process, as well as the need to strengthen transparency in the work of institutions, increase the accountability of public office holders, and establish more effective mechanisms that provide citizens with real, timely, and equal protection of their rights.
You can download the joint report of the informal network of civil society organisations for the 2026 Rule of Law Report here: https://tripalo.hr/doprinos-neformalne-mreze-organizacija-civilnog-drustva-izvjescu-o-vladavini-prava-za-2026-godinu/
