Fifty Years of European Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters - Five Years of Croatian Application

Sa？etak The principle of mutual trust and its comprehensive implications for the free movement of judgements are challenging both for the old and new members of the European Union. This paper will outline the European judicial cooperation in civil matters and place it in the context of Croatian circumstances and practice. The paper consists of three major units with the corresponding subchapters. The first part is an introduction to a system that dates back to 1968 when the Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction, Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions in Civil and Commercial Matters was adopted. Three decades later, the Member States entrusted the EU by the Amsterdam Treaty to adopt secondary legislation in cross-border civil matters. This has opened the way for the comprehensive development of private international law in the EU. The Acquis encompasses areas of cross-border contacts and torts, divorce, parental responsibility, maintenance, succession, marital property and property of registered partners. By assuming external powers in these legal matters, the EU complements the system of international agreements with third countries. By interpreting the regulations and agreements, the Court of Justice has developed a rich body of case law over five decades. All these sources of law constitute the acquis communautaire which Croatia has committed itself to comply with. The second part of the paper discusses the Croatian legal system and the rules that regulated this area before the EU accession, as well as the way they have been derogated by the acquis. The existing implementing legislation is cited. The third part analyzes the Croatian legal practice focusing on the application of the acquis in private international law over the last five years. The author analyzes the available case law of Croatian courts and records of public notaries, as well as findings of previous research. The author addresses the underlying problems in the reception of the acquis. As the recent Croatian scientific production is relatively modest, this paper will provide an up-to-date overview of European standards and Croatian practice. The author hopes that these findings will be a source of inspiration for new legal research and education