Government session: Increased mobility of lawyers and involvement of retired professors in legal counselling

Minister Habijan presented amendments to the Act on the Legal Profession and a Proposal for a Decree on Court Fee Rates at today’s Government session 
 

At the outset, the Minister stressed that, in order to comply with the acquis communautaire, amendments to the Act on the Legal Profession were required.

‘First of all, it is necessary to delete the provision stipulating that a lawyer may practice in only one organisational form at a time. Furthermore, it is necessary to introduce a special provision that will explicitly stipulate that law firms from EU Member States may establish other law firms in the Republic of Croatia’, said the Minister.

According to the current law, professors and assistant professors of legal subjects at universities in Croatia may provide legal advice and opinions for a fee, subject to prior application to the Croatian Bar Association.

‘This draft law extends this power to retired professors of law faculties in Croatia. It is considered that they can significantly contribute with their professional expertise to the resolution of outstanding issues in certain legal areas and thus to the development of the law itself. In the light of the above, it is proposed to the Government of the Republic of Croatia to confirm the above-mentioned legislative proposal and to refer it to the parliamentary procedure’, the Minister said.

During the presentation on the Proposal for a Decree on Court Fee Rates, the Minister made a comparison of court fees in other countries. 

‘Court fees in Hungary amount to an average of 110 euros, in Serbia 145 euros, while the average in the member states of the Council of Europe is 146.48 euros. It is important to point out that the fee rates in Croatia have not significantly changed in the past 30 years. The amount of 76 euros, mentioned in the previous example, is far below the average of the countries of the Council of Europe, as well as the countries in the region’, he said.

It is for this reason that this decree proposal entails a certain increase in fees in proceedings before courts.

‘In connection with the proposed increase, please note that the Court Fees Act as well as other regulations provide for numerous exemptions for certain categories of obliged entities. The right to exemption also applies in cases where the payment of the fee would jeopardise the material circumstances or the maintenance of the parties and their family members. The above system fully and effectively ensures the protection of constitutional equality of all before the law, so the increase in fee rates will not adversely affect the right of access to court’, concluded the Minister.

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