The law regulating consumer protection in the Republic of Croatia began its intensive development through the process of harmonization of Croatian legislation with EU law. Apart from the ...approximation of Croatian legislation with the acquis, in the pre-accession process, Croatia also undertook obligations to introduce and develop corresponding mechanisms for the efficient enforcement of consumer protection in practice. The development of consumer protection policy was recognized as a priority area in Croatia, and even before full membership, the process of implementing new directives in the area of consumer protection ran almost in parallel to and at the same pace as that of the Member States. Alongside the harmonization of its legislation with the EU consumer acquis, Croatia started developing a regulatory enforcement structure, including a whole series of mechanisms to achieve individual and collective protection of consumer rights. Among other things, the satisfactory development of regulatory enforcement activities in consumer protection was one of the preconditions for the successful completion of the accession negotiations and for signing the accession treaty. At the same time, the article suggests that in the area of both the individual and collective realization of consumer protection, there is a need for further progress through, on the one hand, developing administrative capacities and enhancing access to justice, as well as developing a system of out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes on the other.
U pravnim porecima po čijem je uzoru u Republici Hrvatskoj uređeno etažnovlasništvo u najnovije se vrijeme provode reforme upravljanja nekretninama uetažnom vlasništvu. Uvode se novi modeli ...upravljanja utemeljeni na drugačijimpravilima o odlučivanju etažnih vlasnika. Glavni cilj upravljanja postajeodrživi razvoj stanovanja utemeljen na energetskoj učinkovitosti, korištenjuobnovljivih izvora energije, elektromobilnosti. U Republici Hrvatskojupravljanje nekretninama u etažnom vlasništvu nije se u posljednjih 25 godina,od kad je donesen Zakon o vlasništvu i drugim stvarnim pravima, suštinskimijenjalo. Tradicionalna pravila o upravljanju nekretninama u etažnomvlasništvu ne mogu zadovoljiti sve zahtjeve modernog stanovanja i učinkovitogupravljanja nekretninama, posebno u okviru izvanrednog upravljanja kojise sada u Hrvatskoj temelji na suglasnosti svih etažnih vlasnika. Posebanproblem predstavlja upravljanje starim zgradama čija obnova i modernizacijazahtijevaju poduzimanje brojnih poslova izvanredne uprave. Problemi u vezi sodlučivanjem o poslovima izvanredne uprave u tom su smislu posebno došli doizražaja u postupcima obnove nakon potresa. Upravo zbog toga se sve češće uposebnim zakonima i propisuju iznimke od pravila da se za izvanredne poslovezahtijeva suglasnost svih etažnih vlasnika te se propisuju drugačija pravila ovećini potrebnoj za valjanu odluku o upravljanju. Nedostaje, međutim, cjelovitouređenje pravnih odnosa između etažnih vlasnika u slučajevima kad se većinomglasova (običnom ili kvalificiranom) odlučuje o određenim izvanrednimposlovima. Problemu upravljanja nekretninama u etažnom vlasništvu važno jepristupiti na drugačiji način, a ne samo propisivanjem iznimki od jednoglasnogodlučivanja o izvanrednim poslovima. Cilj je ovog rada definirati mogućepravce cjelovite reforme pravila o upravljanju nekretninama u etažnomvlasništvu u hrvatskom pravu koji bi mogli doprinijeti učinkovitom upravljanjunekretnina.
Legal systems that served as a model for Croatian condominium regulationhave recently reformed their rules on condominium management. Newmanagement models are being introduced that are grounded in a different set ofrules for condominium owners’ decision-making. The main goal of condominiummanagement is moving toward sustainable development of housing based on energyefficiency, use of renewable energy sources, and electromobility. In the Republic ofCroatia condominium management has not fundamentally changed in the last 25years since the passage of the Act on Ownership and Other Property Rights. Thetraditional rules on condominium management cannot meet all of the needs ofmodern housing and efficient real property management, particularly in the area ofextraordinary management that is currently in Croatia based on a unanimous voteby all condominium owners. A particularly vexing issue is the one of managingolder buildings whose reconstruction and modernization require a multitude ofextraordinary management tasks. The problems related to decision making forextraordinary management tasks have thus become apparent in post-earthquakereconstruction proceedings. This is why special legislation often introducesexceptions to the rule requiring a unanimous decision of the condominium ownersfor extraordinary management tasks and introduces a different set of rules onrequired majorities for various management decisions. However, thorough regulationof legal relationships between condominium owners in case a majority vote (simpleor qualified) is used for decisions about certain extraordinary tasks is still missing.It is important to approach the problem of condominium management in a differentway, and not simply by prescribing exceptions to unanimous decision making aboutextraordinary task. The purpose of this paper is to define the possible avenues ofa thorough reform of condominium management rules in Croatian law that maycontribute to efficient real property property management.
This paper presents two important aspects of the structural transformation of the agricultural sector of the Republic of Croatia. First, there is an analysis of the legal regulation of the ...acquisition of agricultural land by foreigners by which Croatia has aligned its rules on the acquisition of real property with EU law. In particular, attention is drawn to the differences in the legal position of foreigners depending on whether they are nationals or legal persons of EU Member States or from third countries, as well as on the grounds on which they acquire agricultural land in Croatia. Second, the author points to the new regulation of family agricultural holdings of 2018 (Family Agricultural Holdings Act) and highlights the importance of the separate regulation of family agricultural holdings for the development of Croatian agriculture, particularly with regard to the existing structure of agricultural holdings and the structure of the farm labour force.
The process of adjustment of Croatian property law to the law of the European Union started long before the Republic of Croatia formally became the 28th Member State of the EU became the 28th Member ...State of the EU1, even a long time before Croatia began negotiations on EU accession2 and signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU.3 Property law reform started with the adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic of Croatia4 in 1990 which, in terms of property law regulation, was a real “Copernican Revolution” compared
to the collectivistic and pluralistic regulation of ownership in the former socialist Croatia.5 The Constitution proclaimed only one type of ownership – private ownership based on the individualistic concept and on the doctrine of the social component of ownership. Private ownership was proclaimed as one of the highest values of the constitutional order of the
Republic of Croatia (Article 3) protected as one of the fundamental rights in the Croatian constitutional order (Article 48(1)).6 The constitutional proclamation of only one type of ownership right and the inviolability of ownership was the basis for the property law reform set forth in the Act on Ownership and Other Property Rights (hereinafter: Property Act/ PA) which entered into force on 1 January 1997.
The aim of this article is to present the harmonization of the Republic of Croatia in connection with its land acquisition rules. This paper presents the gradual adjustment of Croatian land ...acquisition rules to EU laws and the final results of the process upon the expiry of the EU moratorium on the acquisition of agricultural land. The paper aims to analyse how the accession to the EU has impacted the development of Croatian land acquisition rules, the development of legal transactions of real property, and the entire economic development of the country.
The digital transformation of the EU single market actualizes numerous issues regarding the regulation of private law relations in the digital market. The key issue is whether the digital ...transformation requires a complex reform of the existing rules brought by the European legislator to provide for individual rights in various private law relations in the offline market (e.g., consumer contracts, labor contracts, and contracts on the provision of services in individual economic sectors), and if that is the case, how this reform must be implemented. An answer to this question mostly depends on whether, by the existing legal instruments in the digital market, namely efficient protection and enforcement of fundamental rights, EU market freedoms and individual rights can be ensured in the same way they are protected in the offline market. This paper deals with the changes in the regulation of EU private law relations caused by the establishment of the Digital Single Market. The main aim is to consider the perspectives of the EU private law in the digital transition, and whether a different approach to the regulation of private law relations in the digital market is necessary.
In Croatian law, the nullity of contracts is prescribed for the gravest and most serious breaches of the fundamental principles of social order originating from the Constitution, the mandatory laws, ...and the morals of the society, as well as for the most serious breaches by the parties to a contract. Null and void contracts do not produce the legal effects they produce if valid. In the cases of nullity, each contractual party is obligated to effect restitution to the other party for anything received under the void contract. The enforcement of restitution claims after null and void contracts became a topical question for legalpractitioners, academics, as well as wider public after a final decision had been issued by the Croatian courts regarding a consumer collective action, declaring the contract terms containing CHF foreign currency clauses and variable interest rates in consumer credit contracts as unfair. A question that was raised was how collective actions affect the statute of limitations applied to individual restitution claims for the amounts overpaid under such unfair contract terms. On the other hand, it was a matter of dispute how the limitation period was calculated and when it started to run for individual restitution claims. The courts altered the existing opinions concerning the calculation of the limitation periods for the restitution claims after null and void contracts. This paper presents the most recent opinions by the highest Croatian courts on the pursuance of restitution claims after null and void contracts. The paper also analyses their effects on the protection of the contractual parties, as well as on legal security in general.
Rad problematizira zaštitu osobnih podataka u zemljišnoknjižnom sustavu u kontekstu funkcija zemljišnih knjiga u pravnom prometu nekretninama. U Republici Hrvatskoj je zemljišna knjiga neograničeno ...javna, pa svi imaju pravo na uvid u podatke, uključujući i osobne podatke, koji su u njoj publicirani. Članak brani tezu da je postojeći sustav adekvatan i nužan za ispravno funkcioniranje pravnog prometa nekretninama, u bitnome budući da bi ograničenje javnosti zemljišnih knjiga dovelo do smanjenja postojeće razine zaštite pravne sigurnosti u kojem ni publicitetna ni akvizitivna funkcija zemljišnih knjiga, a pogotovo zaštita povjerenja ne bi više mogle funkcionirati na odgovarajući način. Navedeno je poduprto analizom postojećeg europskog zakonodavstva, kao i prakse Europskog suda. Rad je strukturiran u tri temeljna dijela. U prvom dijelu općenito se objašnjava načelo publiciteta i funkcije zemljišne knjige, a posebno publicitetna funkcija, akvizitivna funkcija te zaštita povjerenja. Drugi dio rada uspoređuje neograničenu i ograničenu javnost zemljišne knjige, pri čemu se kao primjer ograničene javnosti uzima njemačko pravo, koje međutim pokazuje nedostatke koji zbog toga nisu primjereni model za hrvatsko pravo. Pored toga se analizira i recentna praksa Europskog suda o neograničenoj javnosti drugih registara, koja pokazuje da europsko pravo nije prepreka neograničenoj javnosti zemljišne knjige. U trećem dijelu rada razmatraju se opća pravila o zaštiti osobnih podataka iz Opće uredbe o zaštiti osobnih podataka konkretno primijenjena na hrvatski zemljišnoknjižni sustav, uključujući temeljna načela, a posebno zakonitost obrade. Rad poziva na očuvanje postojećeg sustava javnosti zemljišnih knjiga koji je jedini efikasan za pružanje odgovarajuće pravne sigurnosti u pravnom prometu nekretnina, i to bez ugrožavanja pravila o zaštiti osobnih podataka, iako uz određene modifikacije slabih točaka aktualnog uređenja koje su kritički razmotrene u radu.
The paper addresses personal data protection in the land registration system in the context of the role of land registers play in real property transactions. In the Republic of Croatia, the land register is unrestrictedly public, granting everyone the right to access data published therein, including personal data. The paper defends the thesis that the current system is adequate and necessary for the proper functioning of real property transactions, essentially because restricting public access to land registers would lead to a reduction of the current level of protection of legal certainty, wherein neither the acquisitive nor the publicity functions of the land register could function properly, let alone the protection of good faith. This is supported by an analysis of current European legislation, as well as the case law of the European court of justice. The paper is structured into three fundamental parts. The first part generally explains the principle of publicity and the functions of land registers, particularly the acquisitive function, the function of publicity, and the protection of good faith. The second part of the paper compares unrestricted and restricted publicity of land registers, using German law as an example for restricted publicity, which however exhibits disadvantages making it an inappropriate model for Croatian law. In addition, the paper also analyses ECJ case law on unrestricted publicity of other registers which demonstrates that European law is not an obstacle to unrestricted publicity of land registers. The third part discusses general rules on personal data protection under the General Data Protection Regulation as applied to the Croatian land registration system, including fundamental principles, particularly the lawfulness of processing. The paper calls for the preservation of the current system of publicity of land registers, which is the only one efficient for providing the appropriate level of legal certainty in real property transactions, without jeopardizing personal data protection rules, although with certain modifications to address the weaknesses of the current system that are critically assessed in the paper.
PDF
