The Constitutional Court awarded 2,805 euros due to eleven years of waiting for probate proceedings

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia has upheld the constitutional complaint of Mirjana Čerin from Zagreb and awarded her appropriate compensation of 2,805.00 euros due to the violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time in the probate proceedings conducted before the Municipal Court in Novi Zagreb under case number O-3447/2021. Decision number U-IIIA-2839/2026 was reached unanimously at the session of the Second Panel held on October 22, 2026, and was published in the Official Gazette (Narodne novine) number 130 of November 11, 2026. The probate proceedings were initiated on September 18, 2015, and at the time of the Constitutional Court’s decision, they were still ongoing before the court of first instance.

The Court established that eleven (11) years, one (1) month, and four (4) days had passed from the initiation of the proceedings to the issuance of the decision, meaning the party has been waiting for a probate ruling for more than a decade. The proceedings remain unresolved, so the Constitutional Court’s decision did not lead to the conclusion of the probate case itself, but only to the determination of the violation and monetary satisfaction.

Prior to the constitutional complaint, the applicant utilized the regular legal remedy for the protection of the right to a trial within a reasonable time. The request was submitted on September 4, 2025, and the County Court in Velika Gorica, by decision number Su-Gzp-71/2025-6 dated November 6, 2025, found it justified and ordered the court of first instance to issue a decision in the shortest possible time, but no longer than twelve (12) months. The Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia, by decision number Gžzp-626/2025-6 dated June 10, 2026, rejected the applicant’s appeal as unfounded and upheld that decision, while supplements to the appeal were dismissed as untimely. The constitutional complaint was filed on July 22, 2026.

Composition of the Panel and Legal Basis

The decision was made by the Second Panel for Deciding on Constitutional Complaints, composed of:

• Ante Galić, President of the Panel
• Biljana Kostadinov, Judge
• Lovorka Kušan, Judge
• Maša Marochini Zrinski, Judge
• Rajko Mlinarić, Judge
• Frane Staničić, Judge

The decision is based on Article 29, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and Article 63, paragraph 3 of the Constitutional Act on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia. In point I of the ruling, the Court upheld the constitutional complaint; in point II, it determined the compensation; in point III, it arranged the method of payment; and in point IV, it ordered publication in the Official Gazette (Narodne novine).

Criteria Guided by the Court

The court assessed the reasonableness of the length of the proceedings according to established criteria: the complexity of the case, the behavior of the applicant, the actions of the competent bodies, and the importance of the case to the party, citing the practice of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Frydlender v. France. In doing so, it took into account that the County Court in Velika Gorica and the Supreme Court had already determined that this was a complex case and that the proceedings were not conducted in a timely and efficient manner, while the Constitutional Court’s assessment is that the applicant did not contribute to the length of the proceedings during the period under consideration. Therefore, it was concluded that her right to have a court decide on her rights and obligations within a reasonable time was violated.

The court specifically notes that in this particular case, there was no need to order the court to render a decision within a specific deadline, as that deadline had already been set by the decision of the County Court and had not yet expired at the time of the ruling. Furthermore, it emphasizes that when setting a deadline, the court is also obliged to determine appropriate compensation, regardless of whether the party requested such compensation. As a reference overview of the development of this legal protection, the court also cites its decision number U-IIIA-2199/2024 dated October 8, 2024.

Payment from the state budget within three months

Compensation in the amount of 2,805.00 euros will be paid from the state budget within three (3) months from the date the applicant submits a request to the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation of the Republic of Croatia. The deadline and amount are specified directly in the ruling, enabling the parties to request the money without a new court proceeding.

• Constitutional complaint case: O-3447/2021
• First-instance court: Municipal Court in Novi Zagreb
• Duration of proceedings: 11 years, 1 month, and 4 days
• Awarded compensation: 2,805.00 euros
• Payment deadline: three months from the request to the ministry

The decision is significant for all parties who have waited years for a resolution in probate and other litigation cases, as it confirms that prolonged duration cannot be justified by the complexity of the case when the courts themselves determine that the proceedings were not conducted in a timely manner. For the applicant Mirjana Čerin, this is the first monetary amount awarded in this case, but the probate proceedings before the Municipal Court in Novi Zagreb are not thereby concluded and must continue.

Source: Narodne novine, number 130 of November 11, 2026, Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia number U-IIIA-2839/2026 dated October 22, 2026 (act published under serial number 1541).