The High Administrative Court has overturned the ban on can…

The High Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia has annulled Article 10, paragraph 1 of the Decision on the Election of Members of Local Boards in the Area of the City of Opatija because the prohibition of candidacy for members of the City Council of the City of Opatija was contrary to the law. The judgment, case number Usoz-9/2024-8 dated September 30, 2026, was published in the Official Gazette (Narodne novine) no. 117/2026 dated October 14, 2026, under item 1403.

The December 2023 Decision and its Disputed Article

The contested Decision was adopted by the City Council of the City of Opatija on December 14, 2023, based on Article 61, paragraph 4 of the Law on Local and Regional Self-Government and Article 78, paragraph 3 of the Statute of the City of Opatija. It was published in the Official Gazette of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County no. 49/23, under class 014-03/23-01/1, urbroj 2170-12-01/01-23-4.

The annulled Article 10, paragraph 1 stipulated that a candidate for a member of the local board council cannot simultaneously be:

the Mayor of the City of Opatija,
the Deputy Mayor of the City of Opatija,
a member of the City Council of the City of Opatija,
the head of an administrative body of the City of Opatija,
a member of the management body of a company owned by the City of Opatija or in which the City of Opatija holds a majority ownership,
the director of an institution for which the City of Opatija is the founder or co-founder,
a civil servant or employee in the administrative bodies of the City of Opatija.

Difference Between Prohibition of Candidacy and Incompatibility of Duties

The Court explained that the Law on Local Elections prescribes incompatible duties, but links the prohibition of candidacy exclusively to certain categories of persons from Article 13 of that law, regardless of whether they hold incompatible duties. The law, therefore, allows candidacy for a person who holds an incompatible duty; if that person is elected, they are obliged to notify the competent body, and the mandate for the previous duty is suspended.

From the above, it follows that prescribing a prohibition of candidacy in elections for members of local board councils for persons outside the circle of persons for whom candidacy is prohibited by law is not in accordance with the law. The Court also assessed that the contested Article 10, paragraph 1 is inconsistent with the Statute of the City of Opatija.

What the Court Confirmed as Permissible

The Court simultaneously rejected part of the petitioner’s allegations: the representative body of a local self-government unit is authorized to prescribe duties incompatible with the duty of a member of a local board council. Local self-government, as a special form of citizen participation in the management of local affairs, has specificities that may justify certain special solutions.

According to the Statute of the City of Opatija, the local board council has, including the president, five to seven members, and the City Council may, upon the proposal of the mayor, dissolve the local board council if it frequently violates the statute, the rules of the local board, or fails to perform the tasks entrusted to it.

Course of Proceedings and Composition of the Judicial Panel

The legality review procedure was initiated following the petitioner’s notice regarding the illegality of the Decision. A statement was submitted by the Mayor of the City of Opatija, stating that a public consultation with interested parties was conducted on the proposed Decision from November 7 to December 7, 2023, and that the Decision was not returned with objections by the competent ministry during the legality supervision.

Council: dr. sc. Sanja Otočan (Council President), Senka Orlić-Zaninović, Blanša Turić, Snježana Horvat-Paliska, and Kristina Senjak Krunić.
Recording Secretary: Senior Specialist Court Advisor Ivana Mamić Vuković.
Council Session: September 30, 2026.
Legal basis of the decision: Article 162, paragraph 3 of the Administrative Disputes Act.

Significance for Local Self-Government and Local Elections

The judgment is directly relevant to all local self-government units that regulate elections for local boards through general acts: the prohibition of candidacy must not extend beyond the circles prescribed by the Local Elections Act, while the incompatibility of duties remains a permissible means of regulating local self-government. For the City of Opatija, this means that members of the City Council may once again run for membership in local board councils, provided their mandate is suspended if elected.

Source: Narodne novine, official gazette of the Republic of Croatia, no. 117/2026 of October 14, 2026, item 1403 – Judgment of the High Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia, case number Usoz-9/2024-8 of September 30, 2026, which annuls Article 10, paragraph 1 of the Decision on the Election of Local Board Members in the Area of the City of Opatija, class 014-03/23-01/1, registry number 2170-12-01/01-23-4 of December 14, 2023 (Official Gazette of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, no. 49/23.).