This project aims to support the Croatian Ministry of Justice and Public Administration and the judiciary in providing more efficient and transparent services to end-users of the justice system. The project will contribute to increased transparency of the judiciary and consistency of judicial decisions in Croatia by enhancing the publication of judicial decisions and ensuring consistency of judicial practice. The project also aims at contributing to the broader use of IT tools in the Croatian judiciary by widening the scope of users of the e-communication system and its integration with various stakeholders’ workflows.

MAIN OBEJTIVES
  1. Support the Croatian authorities in their ambition to offer high quality digital services to end-users of the justice system and provide advanced judicial tools for judges and judicial clerks
  2. Promote a transparent and user-friendly justice system by publishing all judicial decisions online with the necessary anonymisation of personal data
  3. Expanded use and improved user experience of the e-communication system
EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND RESULTS
  • Improved efficiency of the Croatian Judiciary
  • Enabled automatic anonymisation, publication and searching of judicial decisions
  • Enhanced transparency of justice in Croatia
  • Increased use of the e-communication application for parties to civil, commercial, criminal and administrative proceedings
KEY ACTIVITIES
  • Review on the publication of judicial decisions, with a focus on the assessment of the legal framework for anonymisation, publication criteria, and technical pre-conditions
  • Draft methodology and roadmap for anonymisation and publication of judicial decisions in line with relevant personal data protection rules
  • Draft Terms of Reference for an IT solution with a special anonymisation module, allowing for the publication of court decisions on a publicly accessible and searchable portal
  • Organisation of a study visit
  • Analysis of the legal framework concerning e-communication in different judicial proceedings
  • Organisation of discussions with relevant stakeholders
  • Analysis of the e-communication IT solution with respect to its upgrade and extension to new stakeholders
  • Drafting of reports and studies
  • Organisation of workshops for end-users and collection of their feedback together with the Croatian authorities
  • Organisation of change management training sessions and coaching for stakeholders and supporting the implementation of the existing change management action plans
KEY BENEFICIARIES AND STAKEHOLDERS
  • The Ministry of Justice and Public Administration – key Project beneficiary
  • The Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia
  • The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia
  • The Government Agent of the Republic of Croatia before the European Court of Human Rights
  • Judges, public prosecutors, attorneys, notaries, court experts, court appraisers, court interpreters, bankruptcy administrators, trustees, clerks, registry offices, and the business community in Croatia

Project Information

  • Duration: 20 months (10 May 2022 - 9 January 2024)
  • Country: Croatia
  • Funding: Co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the European Commission.

Project Documentation

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