Croatia - National Report - World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition
Alan Uzelac is Professor of Law at the Zagreb University, where he teaches civil procedure, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. His past engagements include discharging the office of the Secretary General at the Permanent Arbitration Court of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Zagreb (1992-2002). He is currently also active as arbitrator in a number of administered and ad hoc arbitration, mainly international ones. As an arbitration expert he was actively involved in the reform of Croatian laws on arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, where he used his experiences as national delegate in the UNCITRAL Working Group on Arbitration and Conciliation. He is author of a great number of books, papers and national reports on the issues of arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.
Originally from World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition
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I. INTRODUCTION: ARBITRATION IN CROATIA–HISTORY AND INFRASTRUCTURE
A. History and Current Legislation on Arbitration
1. Historical evolution of law relating to arbitration
The tradition of arbitration in Croatia is long, although the practice was suppressed or reduced at certain stages in history. The use of arbitration was prevalent in the nineteenth century. In 1852, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce had an arbitration court that ruled primarily on smaller commercial and merchant disputes. In the first decades of the twentieth century, this court heard several hundred new arbitration cases annually, primarily relating to disputes between chamber members.
After World War II, the first years of the socialist regime led to the temporary discontinuation of arbitration practice. Following Soviet patterns, private dispute resolution mechanisms were abolished, and the term “arbitration” referred to the use of a state tribunal for commercial disputes involving socialist enterprises. However, this period did not last as long as it did in other Eastern Block countries. Due to political differences between the Yugoslav Communist Party and Stalin’s Soviet Union, both in Yugoslavia and in Croatia as its constituent part, Soviet influence began to wane in the 1960s. Soviet-type “arbitration” courts were transformed into commercial courts and into courts of general jurisdiction. A slight economic liberalization introduced by the doctrine of Yugoslav self-management made not only arbitration with a “foreign element” possible, but also made arbitration among domestic economic players possible (the relatively autonomous “socially owned” state enterprises). Starting in the 1950s, Yugoslavia pursued the policy of the non-aligned countries. The country therefore never became a member of the Moscow Convention. Even in the socialist period arbitration was generally perceived as a voluntary method of dispute settlement, one based on the parties’ agreement. At certain times there was a significant number of arbitration cases involving Croatian parties—not only at the national institution of international arbitration, but also under the auspices of foreign arbitral institutions, particularly the ICC Court of International Arbitration.
D. Arbitrability 1. Notion and functions of arbitrability 2. Applicable law 3. Subjective arbitrability a) Natural persons b) Legal persons c) State / state enterprises 4. Objective arbitrability a) Examples of restrictions to objective arbitrability at law b) Cases restricting objective arbitrability E. Arbitral Tribunal 1. Status and qualifications of arbitrators a) Number of arbitrators b) Legal Status c) Qualification and accreditation requirements d) Arbitrators’ rights and duties e) Relevant codes of ethics 2. Appointment of arbitrators a) Methods of appointment b) Appointing authorities c) Payment agreements d) Resignation and its consequences 3. Challenge and removal a) Grounds for challenge b) Procedure for challenge c) Removal procedure d) Replacement of arbitrators 4. Arbitrator liability and immunity F. Conducting the Arbitration 1. Law governing procedure a) Determination of law and rules governing procedure b) Notion and role of the seat of arbitration c) Methods for selection of seat absent party choice d) Mandatory rules of procedure 2. Conduct of arbitration a) Basic procedural principles b) Party autonomy and arbitrators’ power to determine procedure c) Style and characteristics of the oral hearing d) Documents only arbitrations e) Submissions and notifications f) Deadlines and methods for their extension g) Legal representation h) Default proceedings 3. Taking evidence a) Admissibility b) Burden of proof c) Standards of proof d) Evidentiary means- in general e) Documentary evidence and privilege f) Production of documents g) Witnesses h) Tribunal-appointed experts i) Party-appointed experts 4. Interim measures of protection a) Jurisdiction for granting interim measures b) Availability of preliminary or ex parte orders c) Types of measures d) Form of measures e) Security for costs f) Enforcement mechanisms 5. Interaction between national courts and arbitration tribunals a) Court assistance before the arbitration begins b) Court assistance during the arbitration c) Court assistance after the arbitration d) Case law examples of best and worst practices 6. Multiparty, multi-action and multi-contract arbitration a) Consolidation of arbitrations b) Joinder of third parties c) Parallel and concurrent proceedings 7. Law and rules of law applicable to the merits a) Determining the applicable law and rules b) Party autonomy c) Determination by arbitrators d) Non-national substantive rules, general principles of law and transnational rules e) Mandatory rules 8. Costs a) Arbitration Costs b) Legal costs c) Security for costs G. Arbitration Award 1. Types of awards a) Partial awards b) Final awards c) Interim awards d) Default awards e) Consent awards f) Awards and other decisions of the tribunal 2. Form requirements a) Essential content b) Reasons c) Time limits for making award d) Notification to parties and registration 3. Remedies a) Damages b) Specific-performance c) Other typical remedies d) Interest 4. Decision making a) Deliberations b) Majority or consensus? c) Dissenting and concurring opinions d) Signature 5. Settlement a) Settlement recorded in an award b) Settlement without an award c) Use of settlement techniques by arbitrators 6. Effects of award a) Effects between parties b) Effects against third parties c) Res judicata 7. Correction, supplementation, and amendment a) Correcting the award b) Additional award c) Interpretation of the award H. Challenge and Other Actions against the Award 1. Setting aside a) Grounds b) Time limits c) Procedure d) Limiting judicial review of awards by contract 2. Appeal on the merits a) Is it allowed? b) Grounds c) Excluding the right to appeal by agreement III. RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF AWARDS A. Domestic Awards 1. Statutory or other regime a) Distinction between recognition and enforcement b) Grounds for refusing recognition and enforcement c) Formal requirements for enforcement of awards d) Enforcement procedure e) Execution B. Foreign Awards 1. Various regulatory regimes a) Domestic rules i. Requirements to be fulfilled by the applicant (procedure, time limits) b) New York Convention c) Other international conventions d) Court practice applying regimes other than the New York Convention 2. Distinction between recognition and enforcement 3. Application of New York Convention by local courts a) Grounds for refusing recognition and enforcement b) Enforcement procedure c) Public policy as a ground to refuse enforcement d) Examples from practice IV. APPENDICES AND RELEVANT INSTRUMENTS A. National Legislation (See CD-ROM B. Arbitration Institutions C. Cases D. Bibliography