Croatia
ENTRY INTO FORCE of the European Convention on Human Rights
5 November 1997
Number of implemented cases*
385
Examples
Justice for the families of victims of war crimes and disappearances from the conflict in Croatia
Josipa Skendžić waited decades for answers about what happened to her husband. The European court ruled that Croatia failed to properly investigate his disappearance in police custody during the “Homeland War” in 1991. Since the judgment, Croatia has taken steps to ensure that all allegations of war crimes are properly investigated and has intensified the search for missing persons.
Croatia
Children’s court case brings an end to discriminatory Roma-only classes
Fourteen Roma children said their schools had racially discriminated against them. The Croatian courts disagreed, so the children brought their case to the European court, which ruled that their placement in Roma-only classes had violated their human rights. Croatia then took steps to end discrimination against Roma children in primary education, including by abolishing segregated classes.
Justice for family of murdered mother and daughter
M.T. and her infant daughter, V.T., were shot dead by a man who had just been released from prison after making violent threats against them. M.T. and V.T.’s family believed that the authorities had not done enough to protect them. The European court agreed. Its judgment in their case led Croatia to strengthen protections for victims of domestic violence.
New powers for state inspectors after woman wins noise pollution case
For more than a decade, Ljubica Udovičić’s home life was disrupted by excessive noise from a bar directly beneath her apartment. The police were called dozens of times because of drunk and violent customers. The European court found that the Croatian authorities had failed to act and Ljubica’s rights had been breached. This led Croatia to take steps to improve protections against noise pollution.
Fair trial reforms after innocent man was sentenced to 40 years in jail
Neđo Ajdarić was 52 when he was given an unfair trial, wrongly convicted of three murders, and sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was released after winning his case at the European Court of Human Rights, and changes were introduced to help ensure fair trials in the future.
Child unable to discover identity of her father for 5 years – and reforms to protect children’s rights
A child was born outside of marriage. The mother asked the courts to establish who the father was. Due to legal delays and the father’s refusals to have a DNA test, the case lasted over 5 years. The European court ruled that the child's rights were not properly protected. Laws were changed to help prevent the problem from happening again.
* This figure includes all judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights (including friendly settlements) concerning which the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has decided that all necessary follow-up measures have been taken. Source: the database of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the ECHR, HUDOC-EXEC.