Croatia

Migration

The Croatian Constitution, which came into force on 22^nd December 1990, includes numerous provisions which would apply to migrants. Article 32 states that persons lawfully within the territory of the Republic of Croatia shall enjoy the liberty of movement and freedom to choose their own residence. This right would extend to migrants with lawful status in the Republic of Croatia. Article 33 guarantees foreign citizens and stateless persons the right to obtain asylum in the Republic of Croatia. In relation to expulsion and extradition Article 33 states that migrants lawfully within the territory of Croatia shall only be expelled or extradited to other states in pursuance of decisions made in accordance with a treaty and law. Article 9 of the Constitution, states that the law shall regulate the acquisition and termination of Croatian citizenship and that no Croatian citizen shall be exiled from the Republic of Croatia, deprived of their citizenship, or extradited to another state. Article 10 provides that the state shall protect the rights and interests of its citizens living or residing abroad, and promote their links with Croatia.

The Act on Movement and Stay of Aliens of 1991 is the main piece of legislation in use at the time of writing on the rights of migrants in Croatia. Chapter IV sets out the position on the Stay of Aliens. Article 22 states that migrants in Croatia fall into the categories of: temporary stay; extended stay; stay with the business visa; stay on the basis of permission to permanently settle; and stay on the basis of refugee status. The new Law on Aliens, which will supersede the 1991 Act, came into force in July 2003 and will come into use in January 2004. Article 33 sets out the types of stay migrants may be allowed in Croatia. These are stay for up to 90 days, temporary stay and permanent stay. Under Article 47 of the new Law persons may apply for permanent settlement if they have had 5 years unbroken temporary stay in Croatia, if they have been married for 3 years to a Croatian citizen or an alien with approved permanent settlement, and have approved temporary stay or exceptionally because of humanitarian reasons or if it is in the interests of the Republic of Croatia. In order to obtain permanent settlement, or temporary settlement migrants must prove that they have the means to live, including accommodation and the right to state healthcare.

Asylum will be covered by the new Law on Asylum, which will come into force in July 2004. Article 2 states that refugees are persons who come within the definition under the 1951 Convention of Refugees and the accompanying Protocol of 1967. A person granted asylum is defined as a person whose refugee status is recognised under the Law. Under Article 39 asylum seekers are accommodated in reception centres during the processing of their claims, unless they have the financial means for their own accommodation.

A number of provisions of the Croatian Constitution prohibit discrimination, Article 14 states that everyone in Croatia shall enjoy rights and freedoms, regardless of their race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other belief, national or social origin, property, birth, education, social status or any other characteristics and guarantees equality before the law. Article 26 protects the rights of “citizens and aliens” to equality before the courts, government bodies and other bodies vested with public authority. Article 15 of the Constitution covers equal rights and protection for national minorities. In December 2002 the Croatian Parliament adopted a Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities. Under Article 5 the Law defines a national minority as a “group of Croatian citizens whose members traditionally live in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, and whose members have ethnic, linguistic, cultural and/or religious features different from other citizens”. Article 4(4) prohibits all discriminatory actions based on belonging to a national minority, and guarantees equal rights before the law and equal protection of the law.

According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees there are around 19,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Croatia. This is a smaller number in comparison to other countries in the region, which amount to over 1 million persons . Provisions of the Croatian Constitution which protect fundamental rights would protect IDPs. The government has also introduced legislative and administrative reforms to ensure reconstruction and repossession of property. An amendment was made in July 2002 to the Law on Areas of Special State Concern on repossession, which places responsibility on the Ministry for Public Works Reconstruction and Construction to administer property repossession. The Law also introduces a category of temporary accommodation to be granted to returnees until permanent accommodation is available.

As part of South Eastern Europe Croatia, along with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, is involved in a range of international organisations, initiatives and projects, mostly concerned with economic assistance and European Union (EU) integration. The main international initiatives, which are being undertaken in the region, are the EU-coordinated Stabilisation and Association Process, EU CARDS Assistance Programme to the Western Balkans and the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (SP). The SP agreements and initiatives on migration, such as capacity building, harmonisation of legislation on asylum procedures and managing migration flows and tackling illegal migration, were incorporated into the single Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI), in December 2002.

Analysis provided by: Anisa Niaz LLM (Public Law), United Kingdom.

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