Fiches Belges: Croacia

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

If access to data considered to be a bank secret is denied, the court may issue a ruling on disclosure of such data upon the reasoned motion of the State Attorney. When it is probable that a certain person receives, holds or disposes in any other way of income arising from a criminal offence on his bank account and this income is important for the investigation of that criminal offence or it underlies forceful seizure, the State Attorney shall, by a request with a statement of reasons, propose to the court to order the bank to hand over data on that account and income to the State Attorney. A description of income must include the currency designation, but not its exact amount if it is not known. The investigating judge may upon the motion with a statement of reasons of the State Attorney order the bank or any other legal entity to follow up on money transfer and transactions on the account of a certain person and to regularly inform the State Attorney thereof during the term stipulated in the ruling. Measures of the follow-up on money transfer may be applied for a year at longest. Upon the reasoned motion of the State Attorney, the court may order by a ruling a legal entity or a physical person to suspend temporarily the execution of a financial transaction if the suspicion exists that it represents an offence or that it serves to conceal an offence or to conceal the benefit obtained in consequence of the commission of an offence. Such financial means and cash amounts of domestic and foreign currency temporarily seized shall be deposited in a special account and be kept safe until the termination of the proceedings, or until the conditions are met for their recovery, but not longer than two years. After the indictment becomes final, the court may prolong the duration of safekeeping to two years at longest.

International legal framework applicable for this measure in your Member State

European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters signed in 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

Additionally - see articles 261 - 271 of Criminal Procedure Code