THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO A COURT AS AN ASPECT OF THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL

Tema rada je pravo na pristup sudu, kao aspekt prava na pravično suđenje, kojem Ustavni sud pruža zaštitu u ustavnosudskim postupcima pokrenutim ustavnim tužbama, kojima se osporavaju odluke sudova donesene u razno- vrsnim sudskim postupcima. U radu se naglašava temeljni značaj konvencijske zaštite, a to je stvaranje i primjenjivanje standarda zaštite ljudskih prava u okviru pravnog prostora Europe te se, kroz stajališta Europskog suda za ljudska prava, koja je Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske prihvatio i razradio kroz konkretne predmete. Ističe se značaj ustavnosudskog aktivizma za zaštitu ljudskih prava. te se nalašava stajalište da je svrha članka 29. Ustava odnosno članka 6. Konvnencije u osiguranju poštenog postupanja, a ne u provjeri ispravnosti ishoda postupka. Tu tezu autori dokazuju kroz ovaj rad. Temeljni interes ovog rada, pravo na pristup sudu, autori prepoznaju kao izuzetno važan aspekt ustavnog prava na pravično suđenje. U prvom dijelu rada pristupa se općenito pravu na pravično suđenje i njegovim aspektima, daje se pogled prakse Europskog suda za ljudska prava i njezin utjecaj na praksu Ustavnog suda u konkretnom aspektu te se navode stajališta drugih država. U nastavku rada detaljno se analiziraju stajališta Ustavnog suda Republike Hrvatske vezana uz pravo na pristup sudu i, posebno, tijek promjena stajališta u ovom području zaštite. Stajališta Ustavnog suda i traženje sadržaja prava na pristup sudu autori prikazuju i kroz apstraktnu i konkretnu nadležnost Ustavnog suda. Tumačenje sadržaja ustavnih prava, koje Ustavni sud daje kroz svoje odluke i rješenja, autori smatraju najznačajnijim doprinosom razvoju ustavnog sudovanja u Republici Hrvatskoj.The topic of this paper is the right of access to a court, as an aspect of the right to a fair trial guaranteed by Article 29 of the Constitution and Article 6 of the Convention. The paper highlights the fundamental significance of the protection offered by the Convention, which concerns the drawing up and implementation of standards for the protection of human rights within the territory of Europe, and, through the positions of the European Court of Human Rights, which the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia has accepted and elaborated in its adjudication. The paper also emphasises the importance of the Constitutional Court’s activism concerning the protection of human rights. It stresses the view that the purpose of Article 29 of the Constitution and of Article 6 of the Convention is to secure fair proceedings, and not to examine the correct outcome of proceedings. The authors prove this thesis in this paper. The basic theme of the paper, the right of access to a court, is recognised by the authors as the key aspect of the constitutional right to a fair trial. The first part of the paper deals in general with the right to a fair trial and its various aspects, it provides an overview of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and of its effect on the case law of the Constitutional Court in its specific aspects, and provides the standpoints of other States. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the positions of the Constitutional Court with regard to the right of access to a court and, in particular, the evolution of these positions over time in this area of protection. The positions of the Constitutional Court are presented both through an abstract and an individual review of constitutionality. The interpretation of constitutional rights, which the Constitutional Court provides through its decisions and rulings, is considered by the authors to be the most significant contribution to the development of constitutional adjudication in the Republic of Croatia