Exchange Program Helps Croatian Judges Transform Commercial Law
Croatian commercial courts not only handle case work in bankruptcy, copyright law, and inter-company litigation, they also review business-related documents, including new business registrations. In Zagreb, where economic growth has been strongest, commercial court judges struggle to keep up with the administrative paperwork of nearly 70,000 companies, leaving little time to adjudicate the growing backlog of cases.
To help improve the efficiency of Croatia’s largest commercial court, USAID and the U.S. National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges organized study tours for commercial court judges to Nashville, Tennessee’s Bankruptcy Court. The study tours provided the judges with an up-close view of the U.S. system - specifically, how commercial courts use technology to expedite cases; how courts uphold companies’ rights, but force the burden of proof onto litigant companies in disputes; how companies are registered by the state and not the courts; and how property is legally transferred. Chief Judge George Paine, U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Tennessee’s Middle District donated his time to host the Croatian judges.
“The training in Tennessee was so essential. It gave us a different perspective about the independence of the judiciary and how it should work,” says Judge Vjekoslav Zaninovic of the Zagreb Commercial Court.
Upon their return, Zagreb Commercial Court judges took the lead on developing new enforcement codes that will help separate judicial and administrative work and streamline the bankruptcy process. In addition, the court set out to improve its information technology (IT) system by upgrading computers, creating a case database and digitizing much of the paperwork. USAID also helped them purchase a projector and print judges’ manuals on new legal codes.
With these new tools, the court can now quickly train judges and clerks on code changes and reforms. Judges have quick access to print and electronic information and group training is now possible. The court’s IT and training capacities have become the model for other Croatian commercial courts.
Following a return trip to Nashville, the Zagreb Commercial Court is spearheading a new effort, this time in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Used widely in the U.S. and E.U., the judges hope that ADR will help to further improve the efficiency of the Croatian judiciary and economy.
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| Croatian commercial court judges visited the Bankruptcy Court in
Nashville, Tennessee |
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