The role of notaries in enforcement proceedings in the Republic of Croatia with special reference to the ECJ's judgements in cases Zulfikarpašić and Pula parking

Zakonom o izmjenama i dopunama Ovršnoga zakona (Narodne novine, br. 88/05) uvedeno je i regulirano sudjelovanje javnih bilježnika u ovršnim postupcima na temelju vjerodostojne isprave. U ovom radu se razmatra položaj i uloga hrvatskih javnih bilježnika u spomenutim postupcima te odnos između javnih bilježnika i sudskog sustava. Također, omogućen je praktičan pregled istaknutih presuda Europskog suda pravde u predmetima Zulfikarpašić i Pula parking. Posebna pažnja je posvećena činjenici da je Europski sud pravde odlučio kako se hrvatski javni bilježnici ne mogu smatrati 'sudom' u kontekstu Uredbe br. 805/2004 i Uredbe Bruxelles I bis. Mnoga pitanja su analizirana, kao primjerice problematika tumačenja pojma 'sud', problematika osiguranja minimalnog standarda zaštite u pogledu dužnikovih prava i još mnoga druga. Kako je i istaknuto u završnom dijelu rada, zakonodavac bi trebao biti svjestan potrebe da se problemi na koje je ukazao sud riješe u što kraćem roku.Croatian law on amendments to the Execution Act (Gazette/ 88/05) introduces and regulates the participation of notaries in the enforcement proceedings based on authentic instruments or in Croatian law, so called trustworthy documents. This final thesis paper is about the position and role of Croatian notaries in aforementioned proceedings and their relationship between the notary public and the court system. Furthermore, it provides a practical overview of the relevant judgements of the Court of Justice in cases Zulfikarpašić and Pula parking. Special attention is devoted to the fact that the ECJ has ruled that Croatian notaries cannot be considered as a court within the meaning of Regulation No. 805/2004 or Regulation Brussels I bis. Numerous questions are being discussed, e.g. the issue of the interpretation the term 'court', the issue of provision of the minimum standards for protection of a debtor's rights etc. As it was pointed out in the final part of the paper, Croatian legislator should be mindful of a necessity to resolve the problems pointed out by the court as soon as possible