Christophe Vander Eecken

Norway Grants: Strengthening Rule of Law in Croatia

Norway is a partner for Croatia in strengthening the rule of law and enhancing citizens’ confidence in the judicial system. In total, the people of Norway contributes EUR 13 million to four different projects under the Justice and Home Affairs programme for Croatia.

Highlights of expected results

More effective and efficient courts, through better infrastructure and increased use of electronic/web-based services between courts and the public
Mediation reinforced as an alternative to lengthy and expensive court proceedings
New system for evaluation of judges’ performance
Improved correctional services and public safety by introducing electronic monitoring of released prisoners

Projects in details

Reconstruction of the Municipal Court in Split and promotion of e-services

Project promoter: Croatian Ministry of Justice
Project partner: Norwegian Courts Administration
Norway Grants: EUR 9 950 000

The infrastructure of the Municipal Court in Split will be upgraded. The digital services of the courts will be improved and more user-friendly. The aim is to improve the efficiency of the courts and level of user satisfaction. The number of lawyers and citizens communicating electronically with the courts is set to increase by 10% as a result of the project, covering in total 1,620,000 people. Three judges will be seconded to the European Court of Human Rights in Cooperation with the Council of Europe.

Improved correctional services and public safety

Project promoter: Croatian Ministry of Justice (Directorate for Prison System and Probation)
Project partner: Directorate of the Norwegian Correctional Services
Norway Grants: EUR 2 100 000

Croatia will be able introduce electronic monitoring of prisoners on probation. 150 sentenced prisoners will be equipped with electronic bracelets. A new monitoring centre will be established and more than 200 staff members will receive training. The cooperation between the prison and probation services will also be improved based on Norwegian experiences.

New methodology for the evaluation of judges’ performance

Project promoter: Croatian Ministry of Justice (Directorate for Organisation of the Judiciary) in cooperation with State Judicial Council
Project partner: Norwegian Courts Administration
Norway Grants: EUR 1 500 000

The existing system for evaluation of judges will be analysed and compared to similar systems in Norway and two other EU countries. Recommendations for improvement will be implemented in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the courts. Stakeholder/NGOs will be invited to give input during the implementation of the project.

Court-annexed mediation

Project promoter: Croatian Ministry of Justice (Directorate for Civil, Trade and Administrative Law) in cooperation with the Judicial Academy
Project partner: Norwegian Courts Administration
Norway Grants: EUR 1 500 000

The existing mediation system and why it is being underutilised will be examined. Based on analysis and comparisons with other systems in Europe (including Norway) weaknesses will be improved and best-practice introduced. A manual on court mediation will be developed. 500 court staffers will receive training and 1,5 million people will be reached through awareness raising campaigns. The goal is to increase the use of mediation as a conflict resolution mechanism and thus improve the efficiency of the entire Croatian judicial system.

Programme details

Programme Operator: Croatian Ministry of Justice
Norwegian Programme Partner: Norwegian Courts Administration
Norway Grants: EUR 13 000 000
Croatian contribution: EUR 2 294 118
Programme duration: until May 2024

The Justice and Home Affairs programme represents one of six programmes included in the EEA and Norway Grants for Croatia, worth in total EUR 103,4 million.

Relevant documents