Paperless Commercial Courts in Croatia

The European Commission project supported the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation and commercial courts by enabling the transition to digital workflows, thereby increasing efficiency, reducing the length of proceedings and case backlogs, and promoting greater use of digital workflows by judges and court staff.

Context

With the rapid advancement of digital tools and platforms development in Croatia, commercial courts are increasingly embracing the concept of paperless workflow. The digitalisation of judicial processes facilitates operations and has the potential to reduce costs and regulatory burdens for citizens and businesses in Croatia. In this context, the Project supports justice-sector reforms aimed at improving efficiency through paperless workflows, strengthening competitiveness, attracting investment, and enhancing economic and social resilience. The Project is aligned with key EU policy frameworks, including the EU 2030 Digital Compass, the e-Justice Strategies and Action Plans (2019–2023 and 2024–2028), and the Communication on the Digitalisation of Justice in the EU (COM(2020)710), and contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 16 on access to justice.

Support delivered

The project supported Croatia’s commercial courts in their digital transition by providing a clear baseline for reforms in legal, business processes and IT frameworks. Peer-to-peer exchanges with EU Member States offered practical insights for digital case processing and AI readiness. Tailored recommendations, a draft methodology and roadmap for digital case flow, and change-management support for court leadership enabled gradual transition of paperless operations. Capacity building in pilot courts ensured institutional readiness for sustained, scalable digital reform. This project is co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the European Commission.

Results achieved

The Project established a strong foundation for the digital transition of Croatia’s commercial courts, creating the groundwork for pilot testing and broad stakeholder consultations with judges, court staff, lawyers, the business community, and other key actors. By delivering a comprehensive analysis of the existing legal, business‑process, and IT framework, the Project provided a clear baseline for targeted reforms of Croatia’s commercial courts in the field of digital transition. Peer‑to‑peer exchanges with EU Member States offered practical insights into effective methodologies for the transitional phase to fully digital case processing and best practices in digital data collection, supporting Croatia’s future readiness for AI‑enabled tools.