Original scientific paper

Habitual Residence in the Croatian Conflict of Laws

Vilim Bouček ; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

This paper discusses “habitual residence” as a connecting factor (point of contact) from the historic point of view and on the level of national autonomous sources of law, and as part of international agreements, i.e. the Hague Conventions in force in the Republic of Croatia, and in the provisions of EU regulations within EU private international law.
“Habitual residence” as a connecting factor is not contained in the Croatian Private International Law Act of 1991 because it had not been included in the former Yugoslav PIL Act of 1982, which Croatia transposed into its legislation upon gaining independence in 1991. Although previously discussed and affirmed by Croatian scholars and implied in many Hague PIL Conventions as an important part of the Croatian PIL, after 1991 “habitual residence” appeared in several Croatian acts, such as the Arbitration Act of 2001 and the Maritime Law Act of 2004. The most thorough transformation of the Croatian PIL system took place on 1 July 2013 when Croatia became a member state of the EU, when all EU regulations containing the connecting factor of “habitual residence” started to apply directly.
In the third part of the paper, the author analyses the notion of “habitual residence” as featuring in the case law of the ECJ and several national tribunals in EU member states in terms of its structural elements. In the absence of a general definition of the notion of “habitual residence” the author points out that the problem of legal uncertainty in future EU PIL still remains. What’s more, in the absence of a formal statutory provision and definition of the notion of “habitual residence”, the supplementary legislative function of the ECJ has (re-)emerged.

Keywords

habitual residence; Croatian private international law; European private international law (conflict of laws)

Hrčak ID:

153015

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/153015

Publication date:

30.12.2015.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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