29 September 2023
The first dissemination event took place on 29 September, 2023. It was held in the form of a hybrid round table entitled “Challenges in migration law and practice – case of Croatia”. It was held at the premises of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Law and online via the Google Meet platform. The Round table was announced at the Faculty’s webpage (https://www.pravo.unizg.hr/plus/novosti/naslovna_stranica?@=8wv2#news_77687), the flyer was sent to various stakeholders and students.
Among the attendees (live and online) were the representative of the ombudsman’s office, representative of the UNHCR office in Croatia, representatives of the Croatian Legal Centre (an association which deals with migrants and asylum seekers since 1994), teachers at the Faculty and students.
The round table was opened by Frane Staničić, Ph.D., Full Professor, University of Zagreb Faculty of Law, who gave an introduction to the round table, explaining its part in the international scientific project “Migration Challenges – Legal Responses” governed by the Central European Academy.
The opening presentation was given by Lana Ofak, Ph.D., Full Professor, University of Zagreb Faculty of Law with the title: The case law of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia concerning migration and asylum seekers. Professor Ofak showed that the Constitutional Court regularly refers to the case law of ECtHR regardless of the state against which the application was lodged. By applying the standards of protection guaranteed by the European Convention concerning the principle of ex nunc evaluation of the circumstances and the duty to ensure that the receiving third country is safe, the Constitutional Court provided higher standard of protection of the rights of asylum seekers in conformity with the relevant case law of the ECtHR. The Constitutional Court also demonstrated the willingness to apply the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and secondary EU law on its motion. Unfortunately, cases against Croatia that are initiated before the ECtHR and other international bodies for protection of human rights indicate that there are still deficiencies in respecting the rights of seekers of international protection pursuant to international human rights conventions.
The second presentation was given by Goranka Lalić Novak, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law with the title: Return policies for irregular migrants and rejected asylum seekers in Croatia. Professor Lalić Novak gave an overview of the measures for the return of irregular migrants and rejected asylum seekers in Croatia. In addition to the most relevant legislation regulating returns policies, she provided available statistical data on the work of the relevant Croatian authorities (Ministry of Interior and courts). She also provided an analysis of the existing practices of administrative and constitutional courts, as well as of some practices of the European Court of Human Rights against Croatia.
The third presentation was given by Teo Giljević, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Zagreb Faculty of Law with the title: Border management and migration controls in Croatia. Professor Giljević provided an overview of the border management and migration controls in Croatia. In addition to the most relevant legislation regulating migration governance, he provided available statistical data on the activities of the Croatian authorities: the Ministry of Interior and the courts. He also provided an analysis of the practices of the Administrative Courts and the Constitutional Court and of some of the practices of the European Court of Human Rights against Croatia. He also discussed the findings and offered some concluding remarks regarding border management and migration controls in Croatia.
The fourth and final presentation was given by Frane Staničić, Ph.D., Full Professor, University of Zagreb Faculty of Law with the title: Detention of foreigners in Croatian law and practice. Professor Staničić discussed numerous reasons because of which a foreigner can be detained in the Reception Centre for Foreigners. This is why a scrutinous control of decisions to detain a foreigner must be established. Therefore, every decision of detention is controlled by an administrative court ex officio. This represents a quasi-administrative dispute instigated ex officio to ensure the conformity of such decisions with the law.
After the presentations, a brief discussion followed. There were several questions posed – on the procedure regarding asylum seekers and the possibility to refuse giving of fingerprints, on the migrations and their influence on national labour market and on the procedures regarding unaccompanied minors.
The round table lasted from 12:30 to 14:10 and can be deemed as a successful dissemination event.
