PRAVO NA SUĐENJE U RAZUMNOM ROKU: O POKUŠAJIMA I PROPUSTIMA POLITIKE UBRZAVANJA SUDSKIH POSTUPAKA U HRVATSKOJ
THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME: ATTEMPTS AND FAILURES OF THE POLICY OF SPEEDING UP COURT PROCEEDINGS IN CROATIA

Author(s): Alan Uzelac
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: court proceedings; judicial reform; reasonable term; fair trial; Croatia
Summary/Abstract: The duration of court proceedings is today considered one of the most important problems of court proceedings in Croatia. This paper initially outlines several aspects that have fueled discussions on the need to speed up proceedings and moved them to the very center of discussions on judicial reform. A brief history of the development of judicial proceedings in the context of the legal and political tradition in which judicial institutions were developed is presented as a background to the problem of the length of the trial. Six strategies for speeding up trials that can be recognized in current reform attempts are analyzed. In short, the intended reforms of court procedures (litigation, enforcement and bankruptcy) and efforts to avoid convictions for violation of the right to a fair trial before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg by introducing national constitutional remedies are presented. In conclusion, doubts are expressed about the possibility of achieving significant progress with the current personnel structure and political readiness for half-hearted reforms. Without an effective judiciary, however, a complete transition towards the model of a democratic liberal state is not possible, and the problem of duration also calls into question the possibility of economic reforms.

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