CHILD’S GUARDIAN UNDER THE CROATIAN AND GERMAN LEGAL SYSTEM

Abstract

In 2014 and 2015, Croatian family law went through a big reform which resulted
in a new family law statute. It mostly concerns children’s rights, divorce proceedings,
custody proceedings as well as regulation of family proceedings. The new Croatian
Family Act fulfils international obligations and also implements the legal opinions of
the European Court of Justice. The modification of the institution of guardian ad litem
(child’s attorney), whose role is now further enhanced due to the above amendments,
has led to the fact that the child is provided with a broader scope of rights with respect
to active participate in the proceedings where his interests need to be represented.
The importance of the institution of guardian ad litem is growing in response to
the increasing concerns about the child’s welfare. The duties, qualifications and
authority of a guardian ad litem require precise determination. In order to depict and
demonstrate the importance of this independent child counsellor, it is necessary to
highlight the appertaining changes that have been made throughout the history of the
Croatian family legal system and compare them with those having occurred in the
German legal system.