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This paper examines various forms of legal control of decisions taken by the U.N. Organs and the role of the international Court of Justice. Firstly, it outlines the role of the U.N. Charter itself and the role of the international law in general. It also discusses the power of member states' consent as the (de)legitimator of the U.N. activity. It then goes on to review the procedures and processes via which the exercise of the powers of the U.N. organs can be challenged by the International Court of Justice and, in particular, discusses whether Security Council resolutions can be subjected to judicial review by the ICJ. Finally, the paper indicates prospects for future development towards greater control and limitation of powers of the U.N organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mediation is one of the alternative ways to resolve a dispute. Due to the overburdening of the judicial apparatus, a practical and theoretical interest in mediation has recently been increased. The author of this paper deals with the legal regulation of mediation in the legal order of the Republic of Croatia. The paper begins with a general definition of mediation, which is followed by the interpretation of features of mediation. The author further emphasizes formal sources of law on mediation regarding the levels of formation and the importance of certain legal acts. Then he presents the earlier legal regulation of mediation as a prelude to a thorough review and evaluation of the «new» and currently binding legal rules from the Mediation Act, and partly from the Civil Procedure Act. The author compares rules of the «new» regulation with earlier and external solutions. Thereat he explains the causes which gave the impetus for the «new» legal regulation and then estimates the influence of regulation on the development of the institution of mediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the EEC legal regime and discusses whether Croatia should declare one. In order to provide comprehensive understanding of the relevant issues, the paper firstly analyses the legal institute of the EEC and gives an overview of all relevant characteristics thereof, as set forth in the third United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Then it presents some of the questions arising from the process of the declaration and delimitation of the EEC by reviewing the most relevant case law on this matter. The Republic of Croatia has incorporated all the up to date provisions in its Maritime Code relative to the EEC. However, it decided to proclaim an Ecological-Fishery Zone with only some of the sovereign rights which a state is entitled to exercise in the EEC according to UNCLOS. Subsequently, it suspended this Zone thus making the protection of Croatian maritime resources dubious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes contemporary considerations regarding the concept of humanitarian intervention, emphasizing the report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. The concept of sovereignty is examined in the light of contemporary international relations and reduction of state sovereignty due to the increasingly important role of international organizations. Having in mind determination of the international community to protect human rights, humanitarian intervention is understood as a responsibility to protect, rather than a right to intervene. The responsibility to protect consists of the responsibility to prevent roots of conflicts which may lead to humanitarian disasters, responsibility to react adequately and responsibility to rebuild. The central part of the paper deals with issues of legality and legitimacy of humanitarian intervention. For this purpose, provisions of international customary law and the UN Charter have been examined. Contemporary state practice is also taken into consideration. Undertaking of humanitarian intervention is examined when falling under the scope of the Security Council authorization, as well as in the case when such an authorization is missing. The paper also describes the difference between humanitarian intervention and other types of intervention. Chapter IV of the paper briefly goes through recent practice of humanitarian interventions. In conclusion, the concept of humanitarian intervention is described as a legitimate means appropriate for prevention of humanitarian disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protection of children deprived of parental care is a subject which deserves our full attention. In this paper the authors present the organization and work methods of Croatia's child care institutions. By analyzing Croatian legal solutions, and by comparing them with the standards set by international community they show the problems encountered by Croatian institutions, and also emphasize the need for deinstitutionalization by suggesting acceptance of certain foreign legal solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper is to point out the possible consequences of the novel of the Family Act by which the upper age limit of an adoptee and the upper age difference between an adoptee and an adopted person are abrogated as assumptions for adoption. The author provides an insight into the general historical development of the institute of adoption and the one on Croatian legal area, emphasizing the last twenty years and focusing primarily on the age as an assumption for adoption. The central point is that, if nothing else, the time for this legislative action has not yet come considering the reality with regard to the institute of adoption and that it encourages the disruption of the principle adoption naturam imitatur, but also the contemporary principle of the best interest of the child in favour of potential adoptees. That point of view is additionally substantiated with the analyses of the comparative law situation and relevant legal acts of international law, which bring us to an conclusion that the legal status before the novel was entirely adequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper is to point out the possible consequences of the novel of the Family Act by which the upper age limit of an adoptee and the upper age difference between an adoptee and an adopted person are abrogated as assumptions for adoption. The author provides an insight into the general historical development of the institute of adoption and the one on Croatian legal area, emphasising the last twenty years and focusing primarily on the age as an assumption for adoption. The central point is that, if nothing else, the time for this legislative action has not yet come considering the reality with regard to the institute of adoption and that it encourages the disruption of the principle adoption naturam imitatur, but also the contemporary principle of the best interest of the child in favour of potential adoptees. That point of view is additionally substantiated with the analyses of the comparative law situation and relevant legal acts of international law, which bring us to an conclusion that the legal status before the novel was entirely adequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grave violations of International Law that took place in May 1945 at Bleiburg together with related extraditions and death marches are representing one of the most traumatic episodes in Croatian history. The author examines historical background of the Bleiburg crime and for the first time in legal science deals with the legal aspects of this tragedy. Emphasis is placed on determining responsibility of states, military units and individuals for the crime. Responsibility is founded on the Rules and Customs of War as well on the judicial practice and International Conventions relevant for that time. Fundamental idea of the paper is that Bleiburg crime must not go by without punishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reforms of German law of 1998 encompassed commercial, arbitration and transport law. In this paper, the author examines the last, dealing with the questions: what is the ratio of the reform and what consequences it had for German transport in practice, how the reform was implemented, and what are the possibilities of a similar reform in Croatian transport law. The author examines the main issues which influenced the reform, the principles on which it was based, and the norms which implemented those principles, in comparison with international regulation. Special emphasis is placed on cargo transport, carrier liability for damage and the possibility for the parties to regulate certain relations autonomously. The author also deals with multimodal transport and transport which is significantly done by ship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term "state sovereignty", defined as the state's highest power within a country, is no longer suitable when describing international relations in the 21st century. State sovereignty is continuously compromised, especially by international economic organizations such as the lMF, which gravely affects the economic independence and sovereignty of many countries. In almost every segment of what used to be the state's domaine reserve, its prerogatives are being threatened by external factors. Perhaps one of the most important, and certainly the most painful attack on a state's sovereignty comes from international judicial institutions, especially international criminal courts. Starting with Nürnberg, through ICTY, hybrid tribunals and finally the ICC, the evolution of international criminal courts, particularly their influence on state sovereignty, seeks our attention and consideration. In its first part this paper deals with the concept of sovereignty from a traditional point of view, but also discussing the changes as a consequence of the process of globalization. The second part contains a short history of the evolution of international criminal courts and a few thoughts on the globalization of justice. The final and most important part deals with a variety of influences that international criminal courts have had on state sovereignty throughout history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper begins with the analysis of the institute of protectorate, and of all other forms in which the institute of protectorate could be found, particularly in those forms that were created in the classical international law. Further more, the main characteristics of this institute are being analyzed (its influence on an international legal capacity of a protected state), as well as the various forms of this institute (quasiprotectorate, collective protectorate, protection etc.). Besides, the author deales with the institute of the International Territorial Administration (ITA), specially concetrating on the state of Bosnia and Hercegovina, and its legal international status. At the end, the author notes the transformation of the protectorate in the sense of the classical international law as a bilateral relation between the protector and the protected state into the modern institute of the International Territorial Administration, used by the international community as a mean by which the international legal order is being secured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]