Protection of Prisoners' Human Rights in Croatia: Analysis of Legal Framework and Practice

Prisoners represent a specific group in terms of human rights protection. The aim of this paper was to contribute to this topic by analysing the legal framework and practise of the protection of prisoners' rights in Croatia, specifically implementation of European Prison Rules in domestic legislation and the protection of prisoners' human rights from the perspective of national and international monitoring bodies and the European Court of Human Rights. In order to achieve the aim of this paper, four research questions were set up: 1) Is the Croatian legislation harmonised with the European Prison Rules in terms of the selected provisions (basic principles and inspection and monitoring rules) on respect for the human rights of prisoners, 2) What does the protection of prisoners' rights look like in the practise of Croatian monitoring mechanisms, 3) What is the picture of prisoners' rights protection in Croatia from the perspective of Committee for Prevention of Torture (CPT), and 4) What are the most frequent violations of the rights of Croatian prisoners from the practise of the European Court of Human Rights? Results showed that Croatian legislation is harmonized with the European Prison Rules (in analysed topics) (1), and that the main challenges are material conditions, overcrowding and the shortage of the prison staff having a cascading effect on violation of prisoners’ rights (2, 3, 4). While significant strides have been made, continuous efforts are necessary to address persistent challenges.