When the competent court receives a foreign judgment, it shall verify that it is accompanied with the certificate and whether the following conditions are met:
1. the sentenced person is a Croatian national and resides or is domiciled in the Republic of Croatia; or
2. the sentenced person is a Croatian national who does not reside or is not domiciled in the Republic of Croatia but has been imposed a measure ordering deportation or expulsion to the Republic of Croatia after he or she is released from the enforcement of the sentence on the basis of a judgment, administrative decision or any other measure taken consequential to the judgment; or
3. in cases not covered by points 1 and 2, the ministry competent for justice affairs has given consent to the issuing State to transmit the judgment imposing a custodial sentence or any measure involving deprivation of liberty to the Republic of Croatia for the purpose of its recognition, and the sentenced person has consented to this.
In the cases covered by point 3, the ministry competent for justice affairs shall, when deciding upon giving consent to transmit the judgment of the executing State imposing a custodial sentence or any measure involving deprivation of liberty to the Republic of Croatia, in particular take into account the purpose of facilitating the social rehabilitation of the sentenced person, and shall determine through the Directorate for Probation whether the sentenced person or members of his or her family have domicile/residence in the Republic of Croatia, whether he or she owns any immovable property in the Republic of Croatia, and what are other personal and social circumstances that connect the sentenced person with the Republic of Croatia.
The competent court may request the issuing State to transmit the judgment brought in that State, accompanied with the certificate, for the purpose of its recognition and execution in the Republic of Croatia.
The court shall adapt a custodial sentence imposed in the received judgment where that sentence, in terms of its duration, exceeds the maximum custodial sentence provided for the same or similar offences under domestic law, in such a manner as to impose the maximum penalty provided for the same or similar offences under domestic law.
The court shall adapt a custodial sentence or other measure involving deprivation of liberty where that sentence or measure is incompatible with domestic law in terms of its nature, in such a manner as to impose the criminal sanction for the same or similar offence under domestic law which corresponds as closely as possible to the sentence imposed by the received judgment, whereby the sentence shall not be converted into a financial penalty.
The court shall not impose a sentence under domestic law which would aggravate the sentence brought in the issuing State in terms of its nature or duration.
The court shall without delay forward a final decision on recognition of the foreign judgment brought as a result of the procedure described above to the executing judge who is competent under the law governing the execution of criminal penalties.
When deciding on the recognition of a foreign judgment imposing a custodial sentence of five years or a more severe punishment, the court shall determine that the person located in the territory of the Republic of Croatia be kept in detention.
Grounds for refusal
The court shall refuse to recognise a judgment if:
1. the certificate is incomplete or manifestly does not correspond to the judgment and has not been completed or corrected by the issuing State within a specified time limit not exceeding seven working days;
2. the criteria set out in Article in points 1 and 2 (above) of this Act are not met;
3. enforcement of the judgment would be contrary to the ne bis in idem principle;
4. the act on which the transmitted judgment is based does not constitute an offence under domestic law. In relation to fiscal offences, the execution of an order shall not be refused solely on the ground that the domestic law does not impose the same kind of tax or duty or does not contain the same provisions as regards taxes, duties, customs and exchange regulations as the law of the issuing State;
5. the sentence has been imposed on a child who has not reached the age of 16.
The court may, guided by the principles of efficient cooperation, expediency and right to a fair trial, refuse to recognise the judgment and enforce the sentence, if:
1. the enforcement of the sentence is statute-barred according to domestic law;
2. the sentenced person benefits from an immunity under the domestic law, which makes it impossible to enforce the sentence;
3. at the time the court received the judgment for the purpose of recognition and enforcement, less than six months of the sentence remain to be served;
4. according to the certificate, the sentenced person did not appear personally at the hearing resulting in the judgment, unless the certificate states that, in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the national law of the issuing State:
a) the sentenced person was, in due time and in person, summoned for the hearing and thereby informed of the time and place of the hearing at which the judgment was rendered or that he or she received official information of the time and place of the hearing in such a manner that it can be unequivocally concluded that he or she was aware of the scheduled hearing, and was warned about the possibility of a decision being rendered in absentia if he or she does not appear for the hearing;
b) the sentenced person was represented at the hearing by a defence counsel authorised by him or her or appointed ex officio by the court;
c) the sentenced person, after being personally served with the judgment rendered in absentia along with an instruction that he or she has the right to a retrial or an appeal, based on which proceedings may be held in which he or she shall have the right to participate and in which the facts found will be reassessed and new evidence presented, which might lead to the judgment being varied, has expressly stated that he or she does not contest the decision rendered in absentia, or has not requested a retrial or submitted an appeal within an appropriate time limit;
5. the issuing State, upon a request made by the Republic of Croatia, does not consent to a criminal sanction being enforced against the sentenced person, in respect of whom it requested recognition and enforcement of its judgment, for an offence committed prior to the transfer other than that for which the forwarded judgment was rendered;
6. the sentence imposed a measure of psychiatric or other therapeutic treatment or another measure involving deprivation of liberty which cannot be executed in the Republic of Croatia in accordance with domestic law;
7. the judgment relates to offences which under domestic law are regarded as having been committed wholly within the Republic of Croatia, or in a place equivalent to its territory, and in relation to offences committed for a major or essential part within this territory, the court shall take into account all the specific circumstances of the case, and in particular whether a major or essential part of the criminal offence in question took place in the issuing State.