As a part of a joint educational project of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the National School of Judges of Ukraine, a thematic online lecture entitled “Constitutional Review in the Republic of Croatia” was held on 10 September 2026.
The event brought together the Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Vodiannikov and Galyna Yurovska, as well as staff members of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, judges, lawyers, prosecutors, scientist, lecturers, postgraduate students, law students, and the youngest researches – students of the Junior Academy of Science.
The keynote speaker was Maša Marochini Zrinski, Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of Croatia, a scholar and expert in the field of human rights. She highlighted the practical and academic value of the of the Ukrainian educational project and conveyed greetings on behalf of Frane Staničić, President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia (hereinafter, the “Court”), and her Croatian colleagues, expressing their strong support for the people of Ukraine and their hope for a just peace.
During her presentation, the lecturer focused on the establishment of the Court, its status and powers, the procedure for the appointment of judges, and shared her experience of organizing the Court’s internal activities and international cooperation.
Maša Marochini Zrinski emphasized that the Court was established in 1991 following the achievement of independence. It consists of 13 judges elected by Parliament by a majority vote for an eight-year term. The elected judges have broad political support. Judges may be re-elected, but for no more than two consecutive terms. The President of the Court is elected by the judges themselves for a four-year term.
The speaker noted that the Court does not belong to any of the three branches of government (legislative, executive, or judicial). Instead, it exercises legal oversight over them in matters of a constitutional nature and is therefore often referred as the “fourth branch of government”.
The speaker outlined the Court’s key areas of activity. In particular, she addressed the exercise of abstract review, within which the Court examines current law for their conformity with the Constitution. The Court also rules on the constitutionality and legality of normative acts adopted by the President of the Republic, the executive or local authorities.
Croatia has a fully-fledged action popularis mechanism in the field of constitutional adjudication, under which every individual or legal entity has the right to challenge the constitutionality of a law as well as the legality and constitutionality of other normative acts without having to demonstrate a personal legal interest in filing the application.
The lecturer paid particular attention to the mechanism for the individual protection of the individual and legal entities’ rights – constitutional complaint. Filing such a complaint is free of charge and does not require mandatory legal representation. The Court has the power to overturn a decision rendered by any national court in Croatia, including a decision of the Supreme Court of Croatia, as well as any individual act issued by any other competent authority, in case it finds that such act violates the applicant’s constitutional rights. At the same time, she emphasized that all other (prior) legal remedies must be exhausted before a constitutional complaint may be lodged.
The Court is also empowered with a number of specific powers. In particular, it decides on the impeachment of the President of the Republic, adjudicates election disputes, reviews the constitutionality and legality of elections and referendums, as well as examines the constitutionality of the programs and activities of political parties. In addition, the Court considers appeals against decisions of the State (National) Judicial Council concerning the dismissal of judges from office and holding them disciplinarily liable.
The scholar also highlighted international practice, emphasizing the Court’s long-standing cooperation with European courts and organizations. She further provided a detailed overview of the Court’s internal structure and the organization of its work. In particular, she noted that the Court is currently operating with a reduced composition, namely 10 judges instead of the prescribed 13. At the same time, citizens currently perceive the Court as a “last hope” and final domestic legal remedy before applying to the European Court of Human Rights.
Maša Marochini Zrinski also drew particular attention to the issue of the institution’s substantial workload: more than 6,000 cases are received annually, of which 88% are constitutional complaints, approximately 10% concern abstract review and only 1,4% fall within all other categories. Under current circumstances, the judges are doing everything possible to ensure their effective consideration.
Concluding her presentation, the speaker wished success to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, as well as peace, security and prosperity to Ukraine. The Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine expressed their gratitude to Maša Marochini Zrinski for her substantive presentation and for sharing valuable Croatian experience.
