The Challenges of Aligning the Scope of Regulatoty Agencies in the Republic of Croatia with the Acquis Communautaire of the European Union

Regulatorne agencije imaju vrlo važnu ulogu u hrvatskom pravnom poretku. Njihova uloga kao regulatora različitih tržišta i usluga koje se na tim tržištima nude je ključna kako bi se osiguralo da potrošači dobiju najbolju moguću uslugu i da ponuđači tih usluga djeluju u skladu sa zakonom i zahtjevima pravila koja reguliraju tržišno natjecanje. Njihov razvoj u Republici Hrvatskoj je bio, a i dalje je, opterećen pretjeranom politizacijom s jedne strane te nedovoljnom kontrolom, s druge strane. Međutim, regulatorne agencije su se uspostavile kao važan dio hrvatske javne uprave sa širokim regulatornim ovlastima. Iako je Republika Hrvatska pristupila Europskoj uniji u srpnju 2013. godine, potreba za postizanjem usklađenja s acquis communautaire je postojala i prije tog vremena, tijekom naših pristupnih pregovora. Zbog ovog razloga domaće je zakonodavstvo, što se regulatornih agencija tiče, uglavnom usklađeno s acquis. Međutim, pravo EU se neprestano mijenja, pa postoje brojna nova pravna pravila koja se tiču regulatornih ovlasti regulatornih agencija glede izricanja upravnih kazni i sankcija kada dođe do kršenja europskog prava koje uređuje određena tržišta. Europsko pravo omogućava državama članicama odabir između više metoda prilikom propisivanja načina za izricanje novčanih kazni i sankcija: samostalno izricanje sankcija, kolaborativno izricanje sankcija s drugim tijelima ili prebacivanje izricanja sankcija na sudove. U Republici Hrvatskoj u primjeni je sustav u kojemu sankcije izriču sudovi, uz iznimku Agencije za zaštitu tržišnog natjecanja. Međutim, potrebno je razmotriti je li izabrana najbolja mogućnost ili postoje i druge, bolje, mogućnosti unutar našeg pravnog sustava.Regulatory agencies have a very important role in the Croatian legal order. Their role as regulators of different markets and services that are offered on these markets is crucial in insuring that consumers get the best service possible and that the providers’ of those services act in accordance with the law and in accordance with the rules which regulate the market competition. Their development in the Republic of Croatia has been, and still is, burdened by over pollicisation on the one hand, and insufficient control, on the other hand. However, regulatory agencies have established themselves as an important part of the Croatian public administration with broad regulatory powers. Although the Republic of Croatia joined the European Union in July 2013, the need to align with the acquis communautaire had existed prior to that time, during the accession negotiations. Because of this reason, domestic legislation, is mostly aligned with the acquis where regulatory agencies are concerned However, EU law is constantly changing, and numerous new rules exist regarding the regulatory powers of regulatory agencies regarding the delivering of administrative fines and sanctions when there is an infringement of EU law which regulates specific markets. EU law enables the member states to choose between multiple methods when prescribing ways to deliver fines and sanctions: independent delivering of sanctions, collaboratory delivering sanctions with other bodies or transferring the delivering of sanctions to the courts. In the Republic of Croatia, the system is in place in which the sanctions are delivered by the courts, with the exception of the Agency for the Protection of Free Market Competition. However, it is necessary to consider whether the best possible option has been chosen and if there are other, better, options within our legal syste