Fiches Belges: Croatia

Is this measure possible in your Member State under International Judicial Cooperation?

Search may be carried out by the State Attorney, investigator or police, without the court warrant, when they carry out an on-site investigation of the site where a criminal offence was committed which is subject to public prosecution. Search may be carried out immediately or within eight hours since the criminal offence was discovered. Exceptions are searches of flats or other premises that may be carried out only in accordance with the special law regulating special conditions for the search of those places. On-site investigation is carried out in instances where direct observation is necessary for establishing or clarifying a fact material to criminal proceedings.

International legal framework applicable for this measure in your Member State

European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters is a 1959

* receive the request/decision for judicial cooperation

Ministry of Justice

* execute/recognise the measure (if other than the receiving authority)

County courts

Accepted languages for the request/decision

Letters rogatory for mutual assistance and annexed documents shall be accompanied by a translation into the Croatian language or, if not possible, into the English language.

Deadlines for the execution of the request/decision (where applicable)

N/A

a. Special requirements

In certain cases a decision (eg. order, warrant...) issued by the competent judicial body of the requesting state is required in order to enable domestic judicial body to issue its own decision.  When affording mutual legal assistance, domestic judicial authority shall comply with the formalities and procedures expressly indicated in the request as necessary pursuant to the law of the requesting state, unless provided otherwise by an international treaty and provided that such formalities and procedures are not contrary to the principles of the domestic legal order. 

b. Other useful information

Upon explicit request of a foreign judicial authority, the domestic judicial authority may allow presence of a foreign official during the execution of the request for mutual legal assistance.A request shall not be refused if this would likely avoid the need for supplementary requests for assistance.