Croatia is bound by the recast Asylum Procedures Directive, the recast Reception Conditions Directive and the Dublin III Regulation and has transposed their provisions through the Law on International and Temporary Protection | Zakon o međunarodnoj i privremenoj zaštiti (LITP).

Croatia transposed the recast Asylum Procedures Directive, the Dublin III Regulation and the recast Reception Conditions by the Law on International and Temporary Protection | Zakon o međunarodnoj i privremenoj zaštiti (LITP).

Relevant national legislation include also:

• The Law on free legal aid
• Ordinance on free legal aid in the procedure of granting international protection
   

The Ministry of the Interior has the responsibility of ensuring that the applicants are provided with information in accordance with the provisions of the LITP. According to Article 59 (2) of the LITP, the ministry shall within 15 days of the expressed intention to apply for international protection, to inform the applicant of the conduct of the proceedings for international protection, their rights and obligations as well as of the possibility of contacting UNHCR, NGOs competent on refugee rights and on the possibility of obtaining legal assistance.

According to Article 52 (1) of the LITP, an applicant has the right to receive information and legal advice and free legal assistance throughout the procedure. The right to free legal aid is not restricted by the right to residence as provided by Article 52 (6) of the LITP.

The LITP specifies under Article 59 (4) that applicants should, at their request, be provided with legal and procedural information on the procedure of international protection, taking into account the circumstances of the specific case, in a language which it may be reasonably be presumed that they understand and in which they are able to communicate.

Civil society organisations are also providing relevant information on legal assistance in international protection procedure:

The Civil Rights Center Sisak – QR code with information on organisations that can provide legal aid and relevant information.
Info stand on the right to free legal aid
 

Second instance determination

Article 4 of the rules on free legal aid in the procedure for granting international protection provides that the Ministry of the Interior must select and establish a list of legal aid providers and which will be published on the official website of the Ministry and posted on the notice boards of Reception Centres, reception centres, police departments and police stations.

Article 5 of the rules on free legal aid provides obligations for the Ministry of the Interior upon notification of the decision on international protection to the applicant to inform him/her of the right to choose a legal aid provider form the list and the consequences for not choosing in a timely manner.

According to Article 42(2) and (3) of the LITP, civil society organisations working on protection of the rights of the refugees and which provide legal aid pursuant to Article 59 (3) of this act based on a contract with the Ministry of the Interior, can have effective access to border crossing points, transit areas of an airport, seaport or inland water port.

However, an authorised representative of an NGO dealing with refugee rights, other than UNHCR, can be restricted access temporarily to an applicant when it is considered absolutely necessary to protect national security or public order of Croatia.

Article 56 (2) of the LITP provides that UNHCR, the red cross and other NGOs working in the field of refugee rights can implement activities and projects in the reception centers related to assistance to refugees. In addition, paragraph 3 stipulates that applicants accommodated in reception centers have the right to be provided with appropriate space for meetings and communication with UNHCR, and other NGOs. Access to reception centers for NGOs can be restricted temporarily for reasons of public health.

An applicant with no financial resources or items of significant value that enable him or her to have an appropriate standard of living shall have the right to legal counselling. The Ordinance on free legal aid in the procedure of granting international protection stipulates under Article 3 (5) that ‘items of significant value’ refer to the applicant’s belongings and to those of members of her/his household, which includes her/his real estate and movable property.

The Law on International and Temporary Protection (LITP) stipulates under Article 59 (6) for free legal counselling and under Article 60 for the right to free legal aid that they can benefit of at their own request if they do not possess sufficient financial resources or goods of significant value. In practice, when lodging the application for international protection, applicant in writing states how much financial resources he/she possesses (source also: Dublin Factsheet Croatia, May 2023).

First instance determination

Free legal counselling is granted upon request made to the Ministry of the Interior as provided pursuant to Article 59 (6) of the LITP.

As for legal aid, the applicants can refer to the civil society organisations who are providing legal aid.

Applicants for international protection can have access to primary legal aid under the general conditions provided by the Law on free legal aid. The primary legal aid can be requested in any legal matter at the request of a person unless legal aid is provided by a special law (such as the Law on international and temporary protection):

• if the person does not have sufficient knowledge and ability to exercise their right,
• if legal aid is not provided to them on the basis of special regulations,
• if the submitted request is not obviously unfounded and if their financial circumstances are such that the payment of professional legal assistance could jeopardise their maintenance and the maintenance of household members – see Article 10 of Law on free legal aid
• In order to receive primary legal aid, the person shall address a request directly to the legal aid provider – pursuant to Article 11 of the Law on free legal aid.

Second instance determination/appeals

Article 5 of the rules on free legal aid stipulates that upon selection of a legal aid provider by the applicant, he/she must personally complete and sign an application for the approval of free legal aid as provided by the ordinance and to provide consent from the applicant and his household to access all the necessary information on income and assets.

The selected provider must be notified immediately in order to be able to communicate with the applicant and make the necessary notifications to the Ministry of the Interior. Legal aid is effective upon provision by the beneficiary of a power of attorney authorizing the legal aid provider to represent him/her in the administrative dispute.

According to Article 5 (5) of the rules on free legal aid, the selected legal aid provider must submit the completed and signed forms to the administrative court for further processing.

According to Article 8 of the rules on free legal aid in the procedure for granting international protection , the administrative court decides on the request for legal aid in appeals and conducts the means test accordingly.

Article 9 of the rules on free legal aid in the procedure for granting international protection provides that the administrative court decides on the amount of legal aid costs and Article 8 (11) stipulates that free legal aid will not be granted if the evidence obtained shows that the beneficiary has sufficient financial resources.

Information is currently not available.

State funded

According to Article 59 (5) of the LITP, the right to counselling should be provided by organisations working to protect the rights of refugees or by attorneys with whom the Ministry shall conclude an agreement on the provision of legal counselling.

Civil society organisations

The Croatian Law Centre (CLC) implemented in 2023 the project "Legal Assistance and Capacity Building for Access to Territory and Asylum in Croatia" and provided legal assistance to applicants for international protection.

Other NGOs providing legal aid are:

• Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) who also has a free legal aid and Info Point.
• Civil Rights Center Sisak – see also the project – the right to primary legal aid
• Jesuit Refugee Service
• Bordersnone
• Legal Clinic of the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb
   

The applicant can also hire a private lawyer at his on expense.

The LITP provides for the possibility of legal information and counselling at first instance procedure before the Ministry of Interior, upon his/her request, by taking into account the circumstances of the specific case, in a language which it may be reasonably be presumed that they understand and in which they are able to communicate.