Documents from regional dimension: With tag Fundamental rights

The reforms conducted under the auspices of the EU negotiations undoubtedly transformed the judiciary accelerated the fight against corruption and improved the system for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. Although these reforms enabled Croatia to become a member of the EU, their results and outcomes were not entirely in line with expectations. Moreover, in the case of Croatia like in many other Central and East European EU member states, it is evident and clearly visible that after the EU conditionality had passed many of the started reforms were not finalised due to changes of political priorities or were reversed (either by changing or choosing not to implement the current policies).

This Report following the implementation of the Strategy is structured in line with the plan for monitoring the implementation and for assessment of the results of the 2017-2022 Strategy for Reform of the Judicial Sector, using citizen-oriented indicators, i.e., indicators facilitating the assessment of the interaction of citizens with justice system institutions, as well as the degree of attainment of strategic goals, guidelines, measures, and activities envisaged under the Strategy. The Project Partnership Justicia: Regaining the Citizens’ Trust introduced citizen-oriented indicators for monitoring and assessing the implementation of the Strategy with a view to promoting the rule of law principle and prompting a greater human rights approach and focus within justice system institutions. Such indicators help measure the results of the 2017-2022 Strategy for Reform of the Judicial Sector from the human rights perspective and from the viewpoint of the Strategy’s effects on citizens, aga

Judicial decisions shall be drafted in an accessible, simple, and clear language. Judges shall issue reasoned decisions, pronounced in public within a reasonable time, based on fair and public hearing. Judges shall use appropriate case management methods. In pursuance with the ECtHR case-law, the reasoning must contain a specific and explicit reply to key importance arguments, submissions and claims, which are decisive for the outcome of the proceedings, i.e., for the adoption of the court decision. The purpose of this analysis is to contribute to improving the quality of court decisions in the civil cases, to improve the procedure itself, as well as to contribute to improving the uniformity of decisions in order to respond to citizens’ expectations with regard to their right to a fair and just trial and access to justice.

This Shadow Report streamlines in a coherent unity all findings, conclusions and recommendations deriving from monitoring the areas covered by Chapter 23 -Judiciary and Fundamental Rights. This is the fifth Shadow Report published by the European Policy Institute-Skopje (EPI) while taking into consideration the comments and opinions of the 23 Network members. The previous four Shadow Reports cover the period from October 2014 to July 2015, then the period from July 2015 to April 2016, the period from May 2016 to January 2018 and the period from June 2018 to March 2019.