The Development of Judicial Authorities and the Related Legal Framework in Croatia in 1945

Abstract

The organisation of the new government in the immediate aftermath of the war in Croatia encompassed and largely relied on the formation and development of judicial institutions and the accompanying legal regulations. This paper analyses the circumstances and conditions in which the judicial system was established and the tasks set before the post-war judiciary. It was essential to review how the regulations were standardised and how regular (circuit and district) courts and short-lived ‘special’ courts, whose consequences were far-reaching, operated. It is important to highlight the significance of public prosecutors in Croatia. Through analysing archival sources and the available literature, an attempt was made to determine the extent that the legal vacuum that appeared after the severance of all ties with the pre-war laws made it easier to implement the new system, which sought to secure not only its own legality, but also the legitimacy of its authority.