Island Registry: new regulation prescribes methodology for maintaining and linking records

The Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds has adopted the Ordinance on the Methodology for the Establishment and Maintenance of the Register of Islands, published in Official Gazette No. 100/2026 on September 9, 2026. The Ordinance prescribes the method of maintenance and the data recorded in the Register, as well as the procedure, methodology for establishment, and the linking of the Register with other official records.

The Ordinance was adopted by Minister Nataša Mikuš Žigman based on Article 12, paragraph 3 of the Islands Act (“Official Gazette”, No. 13/26). The document bears the classification mark Class: 304-01/26-04/14 and the filing number Urbroj: 538-08-1-1-1/660-26-13, and was signed in Zagreb on September 3, 2026. It enters into force on the eighth day from the date of publication.

The Register as a Fundamental State Register

The Register of Islands is defined as a fundamental register in the Republic of Croatia with a unique code list of islands and data and cartographic records for the island areas. It serves as a tool for efficient management, strategic planning, and the guidance of island development policy, as well as for linking with other official records of state administration bodies and public law bodies.

The Register is an official electronic record established and maintained by the Ministry, and it consists of two entities:

• The Basic Register of Islands – with mandatory data categories;
• The Integrated Information System of Island Indicators – which covers inhabited islands and displays the values of island development indicators.

Within the meaning of the Ordinance, the term “islands” includes islands and islets in the Republic of Croatia, including the Pelješac peninsula, which has the status of an island.

Data in the Basic Register of Islands

The Basic Register of Islands contains mandatory data categories which include:

• identification data;
• data on the classification of islands according to the Islands Act;
• geographical data;
• data on territorial jurisdiction;
• demographic data;
• land and spatial planning data;
• data on the transport network;
• data on nature and environmental protection and the management of natural resources;
• data on cultural assets and cultural infrastructure;
• data on healthcare;
• data on social and educational services;
• economic data;
• data on communal infrastructure;
• graphic representations and geospatial data.

The Register may also contain other data relating to islands. Data is updated periodically, in accordance with the update dynamics of the original official records from which they are retrieved, and changes are implemented computationally via electronic network services.

Linking, Permanence of Records, and Public Availability

The Ministry, in cooperation with state administration bodies and public law bodies, is establishing data models for island development. If the data required for the Register are not included in the national data infrastructure or cannot be retrieved at the requested spatial level (island, settlement, or other appropriate level), the competent bodies are obliged, upon the Ministry’s request, to provide the requested data in the form and within the deadlines determined by the Ministry.

Every entry, modification, or deletion of data remains permanently recorded in the Register, which also allows for the review of the history of recorded changes. Data from Article 5 of the Ordinance are considered publicly available, and the name of the body that possesses the data or from which the data are retrieved must be stated in the Basic Register of Islands.

The new Ordinance, published under number 1203 in Narodne novine No. 100/2026, establishes the institutional framework for the uniform monitoring of the status of the islands and Pelješac, thereby creating a reliable data basis for island development policy, investment planning, and the assessment of the development of Croatian islands in the years to come.

Ordinance on the methodology of organizing and maintaining the Register of Islands, »Narodne novine« No. 100/2026, Zagreb, September 9, 2026, Class: 304-01/26-04/14, Registry No: 538-08-1-1-1/660-26-13.