Croatia And The Supranationalization Of The Rule Of Law

Croatia And The Supranationalization Of The Rule Of Law Presented by: Prof. Dr. SOKANOVIĆ Date: 11 – 12 January 2025 Introduction - 1. Once upon a time - 2. Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia - 3. Croatian Supreme Court (Case Perkovic) - 4. Ultra vires - 5. Constitutional Identity - 6. Conclusion Once Upon A Time … - Zagreb Summit 2000 negotiations for the Stabilization and Association Agreement - December 2011 the European Parliament approved Croatia's accession - December 2011 Croatia signed the Agreement on the Accession - January 2012 a referendum on Croatia's accession was held - March 2012 the Croatian Parliament ratified the Treaty on the Accession - 1st July 2013 the Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union entered into force - Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia in 2010 which, among others, regulate the legal status of the European Union in national legal order - Based on Article 152 of the Constitution, amendments in the new chapter VIII of the Constitution titled European Union entered into force on the date of Croatia's accession to the European Union. - The new chapter regulated the legal basis of membership in the EU and the transfer of constitutional powers to its institutions (Article 143), the participation of Croatian citizens and institutions in EU institutions (Article 144), the relationship between national law and EU law (Article 145), and the rights of EU citizens (Article 146). The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia - Constituted on 5th December 1991 - The constitutional position of the Constitutional Court follows the Kelsenian, continental European tradition - it is designed as an intermediate branch which controls all three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial - Article 141.c Para 2: the obligation of national courts to apply the law in a manner consistent with European Union law: all the legal acts and decisions accepted by the Republic of Croatia in European Union institutions shall be applied in the Republic of Croatia in accordance with the European Union acquis Communautaire - Rodin: "In short, the norm of EU law will have a direct effect in Croatian law when it derives from the norm of EU law itself, it will be superior to Croatian law because this is its general feature. Therefore Article 145 Para 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia can be understood as a norm that implicitly prescribes direct effect and supremacy of EU law over Croatian law. These principles are embedded in the very foundations of EU law and constitute its legal order as original and autonomous. Therefore, Article 145 Para 2 should not be understood in a banal way as a mere conflict rule, but as a constitutional declaration of the fundamental principles on which EU law is based. These principles permeate the national legal systems of the member states and without theirs acceptance the EU membership is not possible." The Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia - The highest court of law - Ensures uniform application of law and equality of all in its application - Decides on regular legal remedies when prescribed by a special law - Decides on extraordinary legal remedies against final decisions - Decides on a conflict of jurisdiction when it is prescribed by a special law - Considers current issues of judicial practice and suggests areas for professional training of judges,… Case Perković - Alarmed national and European expert and national public - Request of the German court: surrender of Mr. Perković through a European arrest warrant in order to conduct criminal proceedings for aggravated murder - The Framework decision on the European Arrest Warrant - transposed: the Law on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters with EU MS - Croatian law? German law? - Statute of limitations: mandatory reason for refusing surrender due the way in which Croatia chose to implementing - Three courts in Croatian refused to request preliminary ruling on the interpretation of the FDEAW to the CJEU - CJEU cannot have any role in ruling because the interpretation of the Law on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters with EU MS, as a national law is the competence of the Croatian courts - “…There is a strict division of the role of the CJEU and national courts as prescribed by Article 220 of the TFEU, on the basis of which the CJEU is competent for the interpretation of Community and Union law and, a contrario, the highest national courts for the interpretation of national law…” Ultra Vires - Croatian Constitutional Court could Arts 129 CRC and 104 CA on the Constitutional court declare a CJEU judgement ultra vires in a hypothetical case in which human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the CRC would be violated - Provide for the competence to monitor the implementation of constitutionality and legality and to report to the Croatian Parliament on observed instances The Same Applies For The Violation Of Constitutional Identity - Such decision should result in submission reports to the Croatian Parliament on perceived unconstitutionality or legality - Croatian Constitutional Court should initiate the procedure from Art 267 of the TFEU - Only recently discussed - First decision: 2011, principle of equality of members of national minorities with citizens of Croatian nationality: recognized as a part of Croatian Constitutional identity Conclusion - Relationship between the national constitutional courts, national supreme courts of the EU MS and CJEU is not conceived as relation of subordination, but of communication and dialogue - The ultimate goal - harmonization of the Aquis of the EU MS and legal security for all its citizens, while respecting the specificities of each MS