President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Date of birth: 5 August 1981
Nationality: Croatian
Web: https://usud.hr/en/president
Web: http://www.pravo.unizg.hr/en/frane.stanicic
PROFILE
He graduated from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law in 2006, and he obtained there his PhD in 2011 with the thesis “Development of the Institute of Expropriation in Croatia”. He has been employed at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law, since 2006, progressing from teaching assistant to full professor (2022). From 2021 until his appointment as Judge of the Constitutional Court, he served as President of the Study Centre for Public Administration and Public Finances at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law in the capacity of Vice-Dean.
Since December 2024 he has served as a Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, and has been President of the Court since October 2025.
His main areas of expertise include administrative procedure and litigation, expropriation and other public-law limitations on ownership, regulatory agencies, the legal status of religious communities, and so on. He is the author of four books, including a university textbook, the editor of three books, and the author of several hundred scientific and professional publications. In 2020 he received the Dr Jadranko Crnić Award for the book “The Catholic Church, Religious Communities and the Croatian Legal System”, co-authored with Prof. Dr Marko Petrak. In 2025 he received the Hungarian Officer's Cross of Merit (Magyar Érdemrend tisztikeresztje) for scientific collaboration and his long-standing contribution as a researcher and lecturer at the Central European Academy in Budapest.
He jointly led the Croatian-Slovenian bilateral scientific project “Legal Analysis of Existing Energy Legislation in the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia and Recommendations for Improvement” (2018-2019). He has taken part in many scientific research projects both at home and abroad and, together with colleagues from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law has designed several lifelong learning programmes approved by the Faculty Council.
CURRENT POSITIONS
President, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia — since 13 October 2025.
Justice, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia — since 7 December 2024.
ACADEMIC CAREER
Full Professor, Chair of Administrative Law, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law — 8 May 2022 – 6 December 2024.
Associate Professor, Chair of Administrative Law, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law — 7 March 2017 – 7 May 2022.
Assistant Professor, Chair of Administrative Law, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law — 23 May 2012 – 7 March 2017.
Senior Teaching Assistant, Chair of Administrative Law, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law — 13 July 2011 – 22 May 2012.
Teaching Assistant, Chair of Administrative Law, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law — 12 June 2006 – 12 July 2011.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
PhD in Law, social sciences; administrative law and administration, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law — 2007–2011.
Diploma in Law (dipl. iur.), University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law — 2001–2006.
Studies at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Medicine — 2000–2001 (qualification not awarded).
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Member of the Special Committee for the Enforcement of the Strategy of Education, Science and Technology — since December 2017.
Member of the Executive Committee of the Scientific Council for Government Administration, Judicature and the Rule of Law of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) — since 2017.
Member of the Croatian Academy of Legal Sciences — since 2014.
Member of the Croatian Legal Centre association.
President of the Study Centre for Public Administration and Public Finances at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law in the capacity of Vice Dean — 2021-2024.
Member of the Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System of the Croatian Parliament — 2018-2020.
Member of the Committee on Legislation of the Croatian Parliament — 2021-2024.
Member of working groups for the design of state examination forms for the areas "Basics of the EU" and "Basics of Administrative Procedure and Records Management", and an expert reviewer for the area "The System of State Administration" — 2013.
Member of the examination committee for tax advisors — 2013-2025.
Special adviser to the Minister of Science and Education on legal matters — January - June 2017.
Member of the Secretariat of the Institute of Public Administration— 2013-2025.
Member of the Ethics Committee of the University of Zagreb — 2019-2024.
Secretary of the postdoctoral study "Public Law and Public Administration" at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law — 2011-2015.
Secretary of the Disciplinary Court of the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law — 2008-2016.
PROJECTS
IPA 2008 – Support to the GAPA Implementation — Senior Legal Expert (2012–2013).
Europeanisation of the Croatian Public Administration: Influence on Development and Identity — Researcher (2006–2014).
Protection of Human Rights in Administrative Procedure and in Judicial Procedures — Researcher (2012–2013).
The New Croatian Legal System — Researcher (2006–2019).
Multidisciplinary Research Cluster on Crime in Transition – Trafficking in Human Beings, Corruption and Economic Crime — Researcher (2014–2019).
Verwaltungsrecht in den Staaten Südosteuropas im Vergleich — Researcher (2014–2016).
Legal Framework for Regulating Energy Sector in Croatia and Slovenia, Leader, bilateral Croatian-Slovenian project — Co-leader, bilateral Croatian-Slovenian project (2018–2019).
Freedom of Conscience and Religion in Europe — Researcher (2021).
Constitutional Framework for the Protection of Future Generations and the Environment — Researcher (2022).
Migration Challenges – Legal Responses — Researcher (2023–2024).
Equality in an Ever-Integrating Europe — Researcher (2024–2025).
LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMMES
In cooperation with the colleagues from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law he developed the following lifelong learning programs, which were approved by the Faculty's Council:
- Administrative procedural law;
- Educational program for the training of officials in public law bodies in the representation of public law bodies in administrative disputes before competent administrative courts and in the application of the of the General Administrative Procedure Act;
- Drafting of legal regulations and acts (general and individual) of scientific organizations - examples of good and bad practices of application of the Scientific Activity and Higher Education Act and other laws and regulations in the field of science and higher education;
- Application of legal regulations and acts (general and individual on advancements in scientific, scientific-teaching, artistic teaching and teaching professions and the organization of workplaces - examples of good and bad practices).
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
The Relation Between EU Law and the Constitutions of Member States in the Context of National Identity — Identity, Law, Identity and Values, 5 (2025), 1, pp. 179–193.
General Principles and Challenges of Public Administration Organization in Croatia — in Hulko, G. (ed.), General Principles and Challenges of Public Administration Organization in Central Europe, 2024, pp. 81–108.
Limitations on the Freedom of Movement of Foreigners and Asylum Seekers in Croatian Law and Practice — Law, Identity and Values, 4 (2024), 1, pp. 229–249.
Schengen Area and Mass Migrations: The End of a Dream? — in Raisz, Anikó (ed.), Migration and Central Europe: Challenges and Legal Responses, 2024, pp. 439–462.
Changes in Attitudes Towards Migrations — in Raisz, Anikó (ed.), Migration and Central Europe: Challenges and Legal Responses, 2024, pp. 285–303.
Catholic Church in Croatia: Legal Framework and Social Frictions — in Cibulka, F.; Irwin, Z. T. (eds.), Liberals, Conservatives, and Mavericks, 2024, pp. 266–285 (co-author Siniša Zrinščak).
Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Croatia — Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Law, 18 (2023), 34, pp. 143–158.
Croatia: Constitutional Protection of the Right to a Healthy Life – Do We Need More in Order to Safeguard the Environment and Future Generations? — in Janos Ede (ed.), Constitutional Protection of the Environment and Future Generations Legislation and Practice in Certain Central European Countries, Miskolc - Budapest: CEA publishing, 2022, pp. 127-160.
Land Consolidation in Croatia – Problems and Perspectives — Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Law, 17 (2022), 32, pp. 112–125.
Christian Values in the Constitutions of Croatia and Slovenia – A Comparative Overview — Central European Journal of Comparative Law, 3 (2022), 1, pp. 203–220.
Ten Years of General Administrative Procedure Act in Croatia — in Duret, P.; Ligugnana, G. (eds.), New Challenges for Administrative Procedure in Europe, 2021, pp. 13–34.
Religious Education in the Public Sphere in Slovenia — Law, Identity and Values, 1 (2021), 2, pp. 143–162.
Religious Symbols in Public Sphere in the Legal Order in Slovenia — in Sobczyk, Pawel (ed.), Religious Symbols in the Public Sphere, Budapest - Miskolc: Ferenc Madl Institute of Comparative Law, CEA Publishing, 2021, pp. 211-243.
Religion in Prison in Croatia: Equal Access in a Predominantly Catholic Society — in Zwilling Anne-Laure, Martinez-Arino, Julia (eds.), Religion in prisons in Europe, A Contemporary Overview, Springer, 2020, pp. 63-78.
A Contribution to the Debate on the Republic of Croatia as a Secular State and on the Terms Secularisation and Secularism — Pravni vjesnik, 35 (2019), 3–4, pp. 7–34.
Does Religious Freedom Warrant Protection as a Fundamental Human Right? — Društvena istraživanja, 28 (2019), 2, pp. 189–206.
Challenges of Aligning the Scope of Regulatory Powers of Regulatory Agencies in the Republic of Croatia with the Acquis Communautaire 3rd International Multidiscliplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences & Arts SGEM 2016 Conference Proceedings, Book 2, Political Sciences, Law, Finance, Economics & Tourism, Volume 1, Vienna : SGEM, 2016, pp. 49-56.
The Legal Status of Religious Communities in Croatian Law, Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu, 64 (2014) 2, pp. 224-259.
LANGUAGES
Croatian — native language.
English - listening C2, reading C1, writing C1, spoken interaction C1.
German - listening B2, reading B2, writing B1, spoken interaction B1.
Spanish - listening B1, reading A1, writing A1, spoken interaction A1.
