Review article
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30925/zpfsr.47.2.16
Public Pronouncement of Judgments and the Legal Consequences of Failing to Pronounce a Judgment in Public
Ivan Tironi
; County Court in Split, Croatia
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* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The public pronouncement of a judgment in civil proceedings following the close of the main hearing constitutes a statutory, Convention-based, and constitutional obligation of courts in the Republic of Croatia. This requirement gives effect to the right to a fair trial and promotes transparency in judicial decision-making, thereby fostering public confidence in the judiciary. While certain national civil procedure statutes expressly mandate the public pronouncement of judgments, others do not. This article examines both regulatory approaches. Of particular significance are the legal consequences of non-compliance with rules requiring public pronouncement of judgements. While courts in the Republic of Croatia appear, in practice, able to disregard this statutory, Convention-based, and constitutional obligation without discernible legal consequences, established German case law, supported by prevailing legal scholarship, regards a judgment that has not been publicly pronounced in accordance with the law as legally non-existent. The aim of this article is to highlight the systemic problem of the non-public pronouncement of judgments and to propose a doctrinal framework for protecting litigants against such unlawful judicial conduct.
Keywords
principle of publicity; public pronouncement of judgments; nonexistent judgment; apparent judgment; legal challenge.
Hrčak ID:
350955
URI
Publication date:
15.9.2026.
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