Croatia/ 5.1 General legislation  

5.1.2 Division of jurisdiction

There is no single law regulating the division of jurisdictions. Specific laws regulate different fields and prescribe whether the local and regional authorities or the state are responsible for establishing and financing institutions in that particular field.

Decentralisation has been a much-debated topic in the past ten years. The Law on Cultural Councils (2001, amended in 2004 and 2009) includes the responsibility to establish cultural councils at city and country levels (decentralisation of decision-making process) but there has not been any successful attempt to consider some form of fiscal decentralisation. The 2009 amendment refers to funding and functioning of Culture Councils. Responsibilities for their establishment, financing and functioning have been shifted from city government to Mayor Offices, or equivalent.

The provisions in the Law on the Preservation of Cultural Assets (1999, amended 2003, 2009, 2011, and 2012) regulating the distribution of funds collected through the "monument annuity" fund ensures that a certain percentage of funds is distributed by the local government in the city / municipality where the annuity has been collected (see chapter 5.3.3). The 2009 amendments include a shift of responsibilities for the enforcement of law from city government to mayor offices or equivalent; they introduce changes in regulation of concessions by introducing public calls to obtain concessions and regulate the concession fee; they envisage the establishment of a Register of Concessions within the Ministry of Culture (that is in charge of elaboration of the Book of regulations) and within the Ministry of Finances. The amendments in 2011 relate mainly to the introduction of the Committee for Complaints and its jurisdiction, and 2012 amendments are related to classification categories of those eligible for monument annuity tax.

See also chapter 3.2 and chapter 5.2.

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