OPĆA NAČELA ZAKONODAVSTVA EU-a O ZAŠTITI ZDRAVLJA I SIGURNOSTI NA RADU.

The guiding principles in labour law, including the laws on occupational safety, constitute the legal sources that govern all issues and relations concerning this field. In addition to the universally accepted legal norms, there are specific regulations embedded in the European labour law (primary and secondary in character) as part of the EU legal legacy (acquis communautaire). The EU law makers are the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, with the right of legal initiative belonging to the European Commission, which is especially emphasized in the secondary legal sources (directives, decrees, decisions and agreements). It is the obligation of the EU member states to incorporate certain directives in their legal systems and to “realize the goals indicated in the directives.” In this, the guiding principles precede the legal norms, both in the implementation and in the protection of the legal norms. It is the principle that governs the formulation and the protection of the legal norms (in hypothesis, disposition and sanction). This applies in all matters to both the EU and the national occupational safety legislations. The key guiding principles are stated in the 1989/391/EEC Directive which was then implemented in numerous individual directives governing occupational safety (specific measures, means, activities, etc.). A special section in the paper is devoted to the harmonization of Croatian legislation with the EU directives, regarding occupational safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]