Zagreb - The Croatian parliamentary opposition had far fewer objections to proposed amendments to the Civil Procedure Act (ZPP) than it had earlier to amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act (ZKP) and was interested in when courtrooms would be ready to introduce the mandatory audio recording of proceedings.
The amendments introduce the obligation for audio recordings of hearings, and minutes will be kept only for the most important actions taken at the hearing, which should shorten the duration of the hearing itself.
That is a long process because each courtroom has to be technically equipped. The plan is to withdraw funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan by 2024, said Josip Salapić, state secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Administration.
The first phase foresees around HRK 50 million and by 2024 that will be much more, Salapić said in response to queries concerning the cost of equipment for the courtrooms.
One of the novelties is specifying deadlines for the completion of civil proceedings. Amendments to the ZPP introduce precise deadlines for the completion of proceedings - three years for first-instance and one year for second-instance (appeal) proceedings.
In cases of small claims, a period of one year is prescribed for first-instance proceedings and six months for appeal.
Deadline for preparatory hearing introduced
A deadline for holding a preparatory hearing is also being introduced - in the future it should be held within three months, and the main hearing within six months at the latest, Salapić stated.
The introduction of a process management plan is another important novelty in the bill. Notably, the court will define the schedule of activities at the first hearing, with the established and disputable facts and legal issues, the state secretary added.
Ante Kujundžić (Bridge) objected because the deadlines for all types of litigation were determined uniformly, although not all proceedings were equally complex and not all courts were equally burdened.
Mišel Jakšić (SDP) said that this was a step forward and a change for the better. However, he would have liked the changes to be much broader. He welcomed the digitisation and the process management plan but is skeptical that this will not be sufficient to accelerate proceedings.