MenuWorking hours of the Croatian Parliament for public are from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Parliament does not open for public on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays. During the parliamentary sessions there are several running services functioning as well. Summer and winter recess is staff vacation time. At that time there are duty hours.
Twice a year: between 15th January and 15th July, and between 15th September and 15th December. However, the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister or the majority of MPs can call an emergency session. The Speaker of the Parliament can, given the prior opinion of the Deputy Clubs, call an emergency session, too.
The internal constitution of the Croatian Parliament is regulated by the Standing Orders.
Speaker of the Croatian Parliament is Mr. Gordan Jandroković.
The rights and duties of the Speaker of the Parliament are regulated by the Standing Orders in the chapters “General Rights and Duties of Members of Parliament” and “Speaker, Deputy Speakers, Presidency, Secretary and Staff Service of Parliament”.
The Speaker is elected among the MPs, and usually from the parliamentary majority. The Speaker is elected at the first meeting when the majority of MPs is present.
There are 151 MPs. During the Parliament, due to changes in the deputies’ structure, there can be less active deputy mandates temporarily.
The mandate is four years and it can be prolonged only in the case of war, direct threat to sovereignty, unity and existence of the State, or big natural catastrophes.
The working bodies of the Parliament are committees. There are 30 working bodies functioning in the Croatian Parliament at present. The working bodies of the Parliament discuss and debate motions and initiatives for the enactment of laws and other regulations and other matters within the authority of the Parliament. Besides the working bodies formed according the Standing Orders, the Croatian Parliament can form other working bodies as well, giving them the name, structure, working obligations and methods.
Any MP, Deputy Club or working body of the Croatian Parliament, as well as the Government of the Republic of Croatia, can motion a law.
The citizens cannot motion a law, however, they can give an initiative for the law motion by organizing themselves and contacting their local MP.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs to ask the Prime minister and government ministers questions. It is held at the beginning of each parliamentary sitting after deciding on the Agenda, and before the first issue of the Agenda.
Interpellation is the formal right of the Parliament to submit formal questions to the Government on their decisions if there are some deviations from the general opinion of the Government or ministries concerning laws and policies regulated before. Interpellation has to be submitted to the Speaker of the Parliament by at least one tenth of MPs.
According the decision of the Presidency of the Croatian Parliament, the Visitors' Gallery in the Chamber is reserved for citizens who wish to follow the debates at parliamentary plenary sessions. Written requests to attend the debates are submitted to the parliamentary Citizens Service at least three days in advance.
Croatian Parliament does not work on holidays – designated as non-working days by law; the Parliament works regularly on memorial days – not designated as non-working days.
Holidays – non-working days in the Republic of Croatia – are:
1 January – New Year’s Day (Nova godina)
6 January – Epiphany or Three Kings' Day (Bogojavljenje ili Sveta tri kralja)
31 March in 2024 - Easter Sunday (Uskrs)
1 April in 2024 - Easter Monday (Uskrsni ponedjeljak)
1 May – International Workers' Day (Praznik rada)
30 May – Statehood Day (Dan državnosti)
30 May in 2024 - The Feast of Corpus Christi (Tijelovo)
22 June – Anti-Fascist Struggle Day (Dan antifašističke borbe)
5 August – Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Croatian Veterans Day (Dan pobjede i domovinske zahvalnosti i Dan hrvatskih branitelja)
15 August – Assumption of Mary (Velika Gospa)
1 November – All Saints' Day (Svi sveti)
18 November – Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Homeland War and the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Vukovar and Škabrnja (Dan sjećanja na žrtve Domovinskog rata i Dan sjećanja na žrtvu Vukovara i Škabrnje)
25 and 26 December – Christmas Day and St. Stephen's Day (Božić i Sv. Stjepan)
Observances – working days in the Republic of Croatia – are:
9 January – Day of Međimurje’s Reintegration into Motherland Croatia (Dan sjedinjenja Međimurja s maticom zemljom Hrvatskom)
15 January – Day of International Recognition of Croatia and Day of Peaceful Reintegration of the Danube Region into Croatia (Dan međunarodnog priznanja Republike Hrvatske i Dan mirne reintegracije hrvatskog Podunavlja)
15 March – National Protection Day (Dan osnivanja Narodne zaštite)
30 April – Zrinski and Frankopan Death Anniversary (Dan pogibije Zrinskog i Frankopana)
9 May – Europe Day and Victory Day (Dan Europe i Dan pobjede)
Saturday or Sunday closest to May 15th – Day of Remembrance of the Victims in the Fight for Freedom and Independence (Dan spomena na hrvatske žrtve u borbi za slobodu i nezavisnost)
25 June – Independence Day (Dan neovisnosti)
23 August – Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the Victims of all Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes – Nazism, Fascism and Communism (Black Ribbon Day) (Europski dan sjećanja na žrtve totalitarnih i autoritarnih režima – nacizma, fašizma i komunizma)
30 August – Day of Remembrance of the Missing Persons of Homeland War (Dan sjećanja na nestale osobe u Domovinskom ratu)
25 September – The Day of Adopting the Decision to Reintegrate Istria, Rijeka, Zadar and the Islands with Motherland Croatia (Dan donošenja Odluke o sjedinjenu Istre, Rijeke, Zadra i otoka s maticom zemljom Hrvatskom)
8 October – Croatian Parliament Day (Dan Hrvatskoga sabora).