CROATIA

Broken Promises:
Impediments to Refugee Return to Croatia

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
   
   
2. RECOMMENDATIONS
• To the Croatian Government
• On Repossession of Property
• On Tenancy Rights to Socially Owned Properties
• On Reconstruction
• On Looted and Devastated Properties
• On War Crimes Prosecutions
• On Employment
• On Pensions
• To the International Community
• To the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
• To the United Nations
• To the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
• To the European Union
• To the Council of Europe
  
  
3. BACKGROUND: THE RIGHT TO RETURN
   
   
4. REPOSSESSION OF PROPERTY
• Property Rights Under Croatian Law
• Impediments to Repossession of Property
• Problems Relating to Legal Occupants’ Right to Alternative Accommodation
• Unauthorized and Unlawful Use of Property
• Use of Property without Authorization
• Use of Property for Purposes Other than Housing
• Multiple Occupancy and Other Circumstances that Should be Considered Unlawful
• Occasional Use of Property by the Temporary Occupant
• Family Split
• Ownership of Additional Property In Bosnia
• Ability to Provide Independently for Alternative Accommodation
• Eviction Procedures
• Owners’ Suits Against Temporary Occupants
• Looting And Devastation
• Repossession of Property by Ethnic Croats in Eastern Slavonia
  
  
5. TENANCY RIGHTS
• Termination of Tenancy Rights
• Impediments to Repossessing Apartments Through Courts
• The Government’s Failure to Resolve the Tenancy Rights Issue Through Other Means
• Priority for a Comprehensive Solution of Lost Tenancy Rights
  
  
6. COMPENSATION FOR THE USE OF PROPERTY
   
   
7. RECONSTRUCTION
• Discriminatory Reconstruction Aid Laws
• Impediments to Civil Claims for Damaged or Destroyed Property
  
  
8. WAR CRIMES ARRESTS
• Guilt by Association
• Frequent Acquittals and Dropped Charges
• Discriminatory Prosecutions
• Alternative: Provisional Release Pending Trial
  
  
9. ENJOYMENT OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS
• Discrimination In Employment
• Pensions
• Government Failure To Validate Employment Status Between 1991-95
• Unpaid Pension Installments For the Period After 1991
• Government Failure to Verify Pre-1991 Contributions to Retirement Funds
  
  
10. CONCLUSION
    
    
11. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

September 2003       Vol. 15, No. 6 (D)