Recommendations for Increasing the Efficiency of the Court Register

Recommendations for Increasing the Efficiency of the Court Register

The Croatian court register is defined as a public book and an information system linked with various state institutions.

It is regulated by the Court Register Act and has been amended several times to align with EU legislation and enable digitalization (e-Company service, online company formation, public disclosure of data). Despite these improvements, the system remains slow, complex, and inconsistent, with burdensome procedures, uneven practices among courts and clerks, and unnecessary bureaucracy. Key issues include lengthy and complicated company registration and liquidation, inconsistent interpretation of rules, lack of data synchronization between institutions, limited office hours, and unclear criteria for rejecting applications. AmCham proposes further digitalization through e-Company, redistribution of caseloads among courts, clearer and harmonized criteria, automation of minor data changes, simplified handling of clerical errors, reduced administrative burdens for businesses, making notary involvement optional, and stronger alignment with EU best practices. These reforms would bring faster and more efficient procedures, ease the workload of courts, increase public trust, and improve Croatia’s competitiveness internationally.