How to apply

Any Croatian citizen who believes their constitutional rights have been violated or taken from them can submit a complaint filling it in a specific form.

Form

Your application must be submitted in writing and it can be done through filling in a specific form (Ustavna tužba).

Constitutional complaint form as well as detailed instructions for filling it out are available for download on the website of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia.

Language

The working language of the Constitutional Court is Croatian. All documents have to be submitted in the Croatian language and the Latin script. In local units in which another language/script is introduced into official use, the participant in proceedings who is a resident of that local unit, may also submit the applications to the Constitutional Court in this other language/script.

Content

The constitutional complaint shall contain:

the name and surname
the personal identification number of the citizen
the domicile or temporary residence
respective the firm and the seat of the applicant of the constitutional complaint
the name and surname of his/her representative,
the title of the disputed decision
the title of constitutional right that is claimed to have been violated, with indication of the relevant constitutional provision guaranteeing this right,
the evidence that the legal remedies have been exhausted and that the complaint is
timely submitted as well as the signature of the applicant

Documents

You should add all the documents (especially complaints you have made and the responses you received) that are related to the situation you are complaining about to your application. The disputed act in original ori n a certified transcript shall be enclosed with the constitutional complaint.

Time limits

The application to the Constitutional Court must be sent within 30 days of the last received decision by a state authority about your situation.

Address

Applications must be sent to the following address:

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia (Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske)
Trg svetog Marka 4
10000, Zagreb
Republika Hrvatska

Legal aid

You are not entitled to free legal aid by the Constitutional Court. If you need a lawyer to help you prepare your application or to represent you in the court, you have to pay for the services of the lawyer yourself. If you are not able to afford a lawyer, you have the possibility to apply for In Croatia, free legal aid that is provided by the administrative bodies of the counties and the City of Zagreb, authorised associations, legal clinics and lawyers