My e-Justice space

E-Citizen (e-Građani) is a place where all possible public services are performed online. If you are an EU citizen, or a citizen of a non-EU country who has credentials of any EU Member State you can use the e-Citizens portal like Croatian citizens. Foreign citizens from outside the EU who do not have credentials from any EU country cannot use services in the Republic of Croatia. To use services in the Republic of Croatia, it is necessary to have an OIB (Personal Identification Number), and for EU citizens, a credential that is recognized by all EU Member States for cross-border electronic identification. Foreign citizen assigned an OIB (Personal Identification Number) in Croatia can use e-services in Croatia.

How to log in to the e-Citizens portal?

You can log in to the e-Citizens portal using your credentials, i.e. the means by which you confirm your electronic identity. If the user uses internet banking, is an employee of a health institution or higher education institution, a student or a user of a business certificate, then they already have valid credentials (ePASS with username and password, mToken or ID card) and can use the e-Citizens portal.

How do security levels affect the use of the portal?

Public e-Services are divided by security levels.

The key to accessing e-Citizen services is that the user has an OIB (Personal Identification Number) and can request credentials based on that OIB. Credentials can be requested for the first, second or third level (whether it concerns government credentials or private, e.g. ePASS, OBZ token, Zaba token, mToken, Certilia personal, Fina personal certificate, etc.)

What if the user doesn’t have any credentials?

If the user does not have a credential, they must request its issuance from the credential issuer. In the Republic of Croatia there are 27 credentials of different security levels.

The list of accepted credentials in the Republic of Croatia can be found at the link https://gov.hr/hr/lista-prihvacenih-vjerodajnica/1792.

The e-Citizens system is accessible via the web or via the application for iPhone or Android.

Judicial and extra-judicial mediation

Mediation can be conducted in all regular and specialised first and second instance courts (municipal, county, commercial and the High Commercial Court) in all stages of the proceedings, and therefore for the duration of the appeal proceedings. Mediation is conducted exclusively by a judge of the court concerned who is trained in mediation and who is named on the list of judge mediators determined by the President of the Court by way of an annual assignment of arrangements. A judge mediator shall never conduct mediation in a dispute for which he/she is appointed as a judge.

Extra-judicial mediation has, for many years, been conducted by Mediation Centres at the Croatian Chamber of Economy, Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, the Croatian Mediation Association, the Croatian Bar Association, the Croatian Insurance Bureau and the Office for Social Partnership of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. However, mediation with selected mediators can be conducted outside of these centres.

Pursuant to the Act of peaceful resolution of disputes (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia No. 67/2023), the Ordinance on Mediation Institutions (Official Gazette No. 100/23) and the Ordinance on the Register of Mediators (Official Gazette No. 100/23) Centre for peaceful resolution of disputes maintains the Register of Mediators and the Register of Mediation Institutions. Article 8. regulates that mediation can only be conducted by a mediator who is registered in the Register of Mediators and has obtained a certificate from an accredited Mediation Institution that he has completed basic training for a mediator.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission

The Ministry of Justice established and appointed the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission, the composition of which includes representatives of the courts, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Office for Social Partnership of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Chamber of Economy, the Croatian Employers' Association, the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts and the Ministry of Justice.

The Commission's mandate is to monitor the development of alternative dispute resolution, monitor the implementation of existing programs and propose measures to promote the development of alternative dispute resolution. The Commission's mandate also encompasses providing opinions and responses to inquiries falling within its remit.

At the meeting of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission, held on 26 November 2009, a Code of Ethics for Mediators was adopted.

Legislative Framework

Mediation as a means of resolving disputes was regulated for the first time by special regulation - the Mediation Act (NN, No 163/03, entered into force on 24 October 2003), which has integrated some of the guiding principles contained in the Council of Europe Recommendation on mediation in civil and commercial matters as well as the so-called Green Paper on alternative dispute resolution in civil and commercial law of the European Union. The Act was amended in 2009, and at the beginning of 2011 a new Mediation Act was passed (NN, no 18/11), which entered into force in full on the accession date of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union.

In 2023, a new Act of peaceful resolution of disputes (Official Gazette No. 67/2023) was adopted.

The Act has been prepared in such a way as to preserve, maintain, and additionally improve the existing quality solutions, while at the same time prescribing new ones.

The Act prescribes the scope of application of the Act in a new way by stipulating in Article 1, paragraph 1, that the Act regulates the peaceful resolution of disputes in civil, commercial, labor, family, administrative and other disputes about rights that the parties can freely dispose of. In this way, in addition to the introduction of voluntary mediation in administrative disputes, the area of peaceful dispute resolution is also broadly defined in the sense that it includes mediation, legally regulated negotiations and other alternative dispute resolutions.

Article 9 of the Act prescribes a duty to attempt a peaceful settlement of the dispute before filing a lawsuit in civil proceedings for compensation of damages, except for proceedings for compensation of damages from the employment relationship. If the parties do not try to resolve the dispute amicably, the court will refer the parties to an informative meeting on mediation (Article 10). At the informative meeting, the mediator does not conduct mediation. Purpose of the informative meeting is to familiarize the parties with all the advantages of mediation, to encourage the parties to communicate that did not occur spontaneously before the start of the procedure, to encourage them to peacefully resolve the dispute and participate in the mediation, and to narrow down the disputed issues on which they should be decided in civil proceedings if the attempt to resolve the dispute peacefully is unsuccessful. If the parties voluntarily decide on mediation after the information meeting, it must be completed within 60 days.

Duty to try to settle disputes peacefully before starting civil litigation for compensation of damages does not prevent the parties from exercising their right to access the court. The court will not dismiss the claim if the parties did not try to settle the dispute peacefully before starting litigation.

The costs of mediation and the informative meeting are prescribed in Article 26. Thus, in paragraph 1, it is prescribed that unless the parties have agreed otherwise, each party bears its own costs, and the costs of the mediation and the informative meeting are borne equally by the parties, i.e., in accordance with a special law or rules of institutions for mediation. In paragraph 2, it is expressly stipulated that the costs of the information meeting and mediation that has not been completed by concluding a settlement are included in the litigation costs.

Since in Article 3, paragraph 1, it is prescribed that the purpose of this Act is to create conditions for the amicable resolution of disputes, to avoid the unnecessary initiation of court proceedings, and to ensure a balanced relationship between the peaceful resolution of disputes and court proceedings, and that in paragraph 2 it is also prescribed that to achieve the purpose of this Act, the use of procedures for the peaceful resolution of disputes and training of mediators will be encouraged and encouraged, and information about these procedures, including information about institutions and mediators, will be published through the means of public communication, electronic and other media, the Centre for peaceful resolution of disputes (hereinafter: the Centre) is established.

The Act regulates establishment of Centre and defines its assignments. In Article 6, paragraph 1, it is prescribed that the Centre, to achieve the purpose of this Act:

encourages the development of a culture of peaceful resolution of disputes and the use of procedures established by law
gives and revokes consent to Mediation Institutions
gives consent to education programs for certain types of peaceful dispute resolution
conducts, independently or in cooperation with Mediation Institutions, professional training, and improvement of mediators
decides on the entry and deletion of mediators from the Register of Mediators
maintains the Register of Mediators and the Register of Mediation Institutions and issues certificates from the registers
ensures effective cooperation with judicial authorities and Mediation Institutions
interfere in the assignment of cases to Mediation Institutions
appoints, at the request of the parties, the persons who conduct the informative meeting on mediation and the mediation
conducts an informative meeting on mediation and mediation when an informative meeting on mediation and mediation cannot be conducted by another institution for mediation within a reasonable time and at lower costs
issues a certificate of attempted mediation
systematically collects data on peaceful dispute resolution procedures
publishes information on peaceful resolution of disputes, mediators, and Mediation Institutions, and helps parties in choosing the appropriate method of dispute resolution.

In addition to the Act of peaceful resolution of disputes, there are other laws governing this subject matter in part, as well as implementing regulations ensuring implementation of the law.

Mediation process

The mediation process is initiated by way of a proposal by one party to a dispute which is accepted by the other party, by way of a joint proposal by both sides for amicable resolution of the dispute, or by way of proposal by a third party (e.g. a judge in court proceedings).

Mediators are persons or several persons that based on an agreement between the parties conduct the mediation. Mediators must be trained (the expertise and skill of a mediator is one of the essential components of successful mediation), and continually undergo professional training.

Mediation is to be conducted as agreed by the parties. The mediator, during the course of the mediation, will ensure fair and equal treatment of the parties. The mediator in the mediation procedure may meet with each party separately, and unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the mediator may disclose information and data received from one party to the other party only where permission to do so has been given. The mediator may participate in drafting the settlement and make recommendations as to its contents.

A settlement reached by way of mediation is binding on the parties that signed it. If the parties undertook certain obligations under the settlement, they are required to discharge them in a timely manner. A settlement reached by way of mediation is an enforceable document if it contains an obligation due for performance in respect of which the parties may reach a compromise, and if it contains a statement of direct permission to enforce (enforceability clause).

According to the majority of experts in the field of mediation, any dispute relating to rights of which the parties may freely dispose is suitable for mediation and the conflicting parties should almost always be encouraged to resolve the dispute amicably. Mediation is particularly suitable for business disputes (i.e. Commercial disputes), as well as in cross-border disputes (one of the parties is domiciled or habitually resident in a Member State of the European Union) in civil and commercial matters. It should be noted that cross-border disputes do not include customs, tax or administrative proceedings or those disputes relating to state responsibility for acts or omissions in the exercise of power.

Purpose and scope: There are two services available:

e-Company is a service of HITRO.HR that enables the electronic establishment of a limited liability company and a simple limited liability company with share capital in cash from any Notary or HITRO.HR office in the Republic of Croatia to any of the Commercial Courts within 24 hours.
e-Obrt – online website to establish a craft

Competent authority:

Commercial Court/ Trgovački sud – company formation

FINA – financial agency & Court Register/ Sudski registar – access to information

Conditions of access:

Eligibility requirements: Croatian citizens and foreigners
Identification and authentication requirements: identity card or passport to register a company, nothing to access company information
Documents to be provided:

Register a company:

The following documents must be notarized:

application for entry in the court register (form Po)
founding act - company contract (signed by all founders) or statement on the establishment of the company (if the company is founded by only one person)
a statement of the members authorized to represent the company on the acceptance of the appointment
decision on the appointment of members of the management board
signature of the director or signatures of the members of the management board
signatures of members of the supervisory board (if the company has a supervisory board)
decision on the appointment of the company's procurator and his/her signature (if the company has a procurator)
the decision to determine the address of the company.

None for access to information

Legal effects of electronic document: N/A

Possibility to complete the procedure fully online:

Partially, it is necessary to do a preparation and public announcement by a notary.

It is possible to form a business called “obrt” online - https://e-obrt.gov.hr/

Craft (Obrt) is an independent and permanent performance of permitted economic activities in accordance with the Law. The activity is performed by natural persons for the purpose of achieving profit, which is realized by production, trade or provision of services on the market.

Access to information: Yes

Cost:

Access to information is free
Register a company - free service, but: 1) The cost of certification depends on the amount of share capital and averages 331,81 EUR. All documentation in a foreign language must be translated by a court interpreter. 2) There are a lot of agencies which will guide you through the whole process of registering the company and they will charge the service at least 100 euros. That can be a good option for foreigners to make it easier.

Links:

https://e-obrt.gov.hr/ - obrt (Craft)

https://sudreg.pravosudje.hr/registar/f?p=150:1:98708455565 - first step, checking available name for the company

https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2007_06_58_1870.html – picking the activity in which the firm will engage

https://www.virtualni-ured.net/registracija-tvrtke/item/284-osnivanje-tvrtke.html - one of the agencies for registering a company

https://www.fina.hr/informacije-o-racunima-poslovnih-subjekata#pristup-podacima#pristup-podacima - information on the accounts of business entities

https://www.fina.hr/documents/52450/130224/Zahtjev+za+uvid+u+JRR.pdf/6a0235f2-961d-eea7-f78f-63409f787645?t=1610693716143 – request form
https://ospd.fina.hr/ - request for submission of documentation

https://sudreg.pravosudje.hr/registar/f?p=150:1 – access to information for public trading companies (javna trgovačka društva), limited partnerships (komanditna društva), economic interest groupings (gospodarska interesna udruženja), joint-stock companies (dionička društva), limited liability companies (društva s ograničenom odgovornošću), sole traders (trgovci pojedinci), European companies (SEs), European Economic Interest Groupings (EEIGs), European Cooperative Societies (SCEs), institutions (ustanove), communities of institutions (zajednice ustanova), cooperatives (zadruge), unions of cooperatives (savezi zadruga), credit unions (kreditne unije), simple limited liability companies (jednostavna društva s ograničenom odgovornošću (j.d.o.o.)) and other legal persons that have to be registered by law.

Last update: 20/02/2025

Possibility to lodge an application for legal aid

Compensation

Initiation of a civil case online

Electronic service of judicial documents

Participation in judicial auctions

Access to mediation services

Judicial and extra-judicial mediation

Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission

Legislative Framework

Mediation process

Company formation and access to information on companies

Translation services (incl. machine translation and its legal impact)