Legislation: Croatia ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2005, the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention in 2000 and the Civil Law Convention on Corruption in 2003. However, there is no unified definition of corruption in Croatian legislation. A new bill (in Croatian) related to corruption was passed by the parliament in December 2010, to allow property acquired as a result of illegal actions to be seized. In October 2011, the Croatian parliament unanimously passed a vote for the new Criminal Code, with new new laws especially for economic crimes. It builds on the previous Criminal Code (1998, amended 2003-2008), in which corruption-related offences include active and passive bribery, money laundering, illegal mediation, trading in influence, abuse of office and authorities, unfair competition in foreign-trade business operations, bankruptcy abuse, concluding harmful contracts, unauthorised acquisition of official secrets, and disclosing official secrets. According to the European Commission's Croatia Progress Report 2009, amendments to the Criminal Code have introduced new rules on confiscation of assets which reverse the burden of proof for persons convicted for organised crime or corruption offences. The Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism Act 2008 expands on the Criminal Code to more directly target private sector corruption. Confiscation of the proceeds of crime and corruption is provided for by the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. In December 2008, the government adopted a new Criminal Procedure Code that introduced new concepts of criminal procedure, including improvement measures for procedural rules and more efficient court procedures. The Law Preventing Conflicts of Interest in Public Office 2003 requires officials to report certain financial interests for themselves and for close family members and is supported by the Civil Servants Act, which outlines the rights and duties and code of conduct regarding conflicts of interest for government employees and transparency in hiring procedures for public office. In order to improve the framework of preventing conflicts of interest, and thereby reduce corruption risks, Parliament adopted Amendments to the Law Preventing Conflicts of Interest in Public Office (in Croatian) in May 2008. Croatia also passed a Law on Responsibility of Legal Entities for Criminal Offences 2003 (amended in 2007). However, only a small fraction of the many cases filed against legal entities have led to convictions. Corruption-related convictions have continually fallen from 611 in 2007 to 142 convictions in 2010, the Croatian Ministry of Justice in its 2010 report does not attribute this to there being fewer corrupt people or cases. Important laws on administrative practices, such as laws on giving and receiving gifts and laws governing instances of conflict of interest for public officials, are being implemented, with the Ethical Code for Civil Servants adopted in March 2011. Access the Lexadin World Law Guide for a collection of legislation in Croatia.

Government Strategies: The Croatian government's National Anti-Corruption Programme 2006-2008 (NACP) contained an action plan that laid out a number of concrete measures and complimentary proponents to fight corruption. The Right of Access to Information Act was adopted in May 2011 and complements the new Constitutional right on access to information. The new law introduces clearer procedures and deadlines for information requests. According to the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative Anti-Corruption Policy Implementation 2008, citizens are using this law, and the government generally enforces it. For instance, in 2008, state bodies received 2,731 requests for information, of which only 103 were turned down based on legal grounds. As a long term objective, thorough reforms of the health and judicial systems are considered an efficient way to remove corruption in those sectors. Control of the work of local government and direct elections for local self-government bodies have been combined with a general strengthening of the transparency work of local self-government and the decentralisation process, as key measures for the prevention of corruption at the local level. A novelty in relation to the 2006-2008 NACP was an explicit listing of measures for combating corruption in the private sector. The measures encouraged free market competition and accelerated privatisation in order to prevent arbitrary influence by the state on economic subjects and market competition. The NACP also provided for a special range of oversight measures and increased transparency in public procurement procedures. Measures requiring cooperation with international anti-corruption institutions and a public awareness campaign on the adverse consequences of corruption made up special components of the NACP. After it was first passed in the summer of 2008, the Croatian government launched the Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan (revised 2010) as a follow up to the NACP, according to Vlada Republike Hrvatske. The Action Plan contains 145 anti-corruption measures and one of the measures is the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Program for Majority State Owned Companies for the Period 2010-2012, which aims at combating corruption at all levels, and thus boosting transparency. According to the Ministry of Justice Analysis of the Implementation and Effectiveness of the Measures from the Action Plan of the Anti-Corruption Strategy 2010 (in Croatian), the government has successfully implemented 80 per cent of the measures planned. As part of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan, a HRK 2.36 million anti-corruption campaign called 'Corruption, this is not me' was launched by the government. In addition, the Ministry of Justice has set up a national anti-corruption website (English version is not as developed as the Croatian) where citizens can find information on how to report corruption cases.

Anti-Corruption Agencies: Croatia has centralised the fight against corruption within one organisation, the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK, in Croatian), with a broad political mandate to investigate, prosecute and prevent corruption based on its establishing legislation (in Croatian). The USKOK website lists latest corruption arrests and current cases, the information is in Croatian. Police and state prosecutors conduct investigations in the first instance and forward cases to USKOK if they suspect that corruption has occurred. According to Amnesty International 2010, the government set up four special chambers at the Country Courts in four different counties, tasked exclusively with the prosecution of corruption and organised crime cases. According to the GRECO Evaluation Report on Croatia 2009, over 1,000 cases of corruption-related offences were reported to law enforcement authorities in 2010, leading to 142 convictions. USKOK is now fully staffed, with four new additional deputy prosecutors, bringing the total to 28. The European Commission's 2011 Croatia Progress Report informs that substantial progress has been made but the investigation of high-level and local-level corruption need to be improved. According to the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative Anti-Corruption Policy Implementation 2008, the jurisdiction of the USKOK has been widened. Moreover, as part of a  Anti-Corruption Strategy launched in 2008, USKOK judges have been introduced by the government. These judges will contribute to the speed of solving cases, according to a March 2009 article by Javno. The National Police Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (PNUSKOK) created in 2009, has been reinforced with the number of police officers increased from 52 to 82. However, questions have been asked about USKOK's and PNUSKOK's ability to deal with the increasing number of sophisticated financial crimes.

National Council for Monitoring the Anti-Corruption Strategy: This is a special parliamentary committee headed by Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor with the purpose of coordinating the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan. It is charged with evaluating corruption risks and proposing and designing preventative measures, as well as improving the efficiency of implementation measures and the strengthening of inter-agency cooperation in this regard. The council regularly analyses the corruption data provided to it by implementing bodies. According to the European Commission's Croatia Progress Report 2011, the work of the National Council has continued to be proactive, and it regularly holds public debates and hearings on measures to prevent corruption.

Conflict of Interest Commission (CIC): The CIC was established by Parliament in 2011, and takes over from the Committee of the Prevention Conflicts of Interest. The CIC is based on new Conflict of Interest Act. The new act excludes companies from participating in tenders where the head of the procuring entity (or their family) has a 0.5% or greater share in the company. The law also provides for a more rigorous checking of asset declarations by public officials. Citizens can anonymously report their suspect on conflict of interest to the CIC. According to the European Commission's Croatia Progress Report 2011, delays in forming the commission need to be overcome and the full system for monitoring and verifying asset declarations need to be ensured. Access the CPCI's 2008 report (in Croatian).

Office of the Ombudsman: The Office of the Ombudsman mainly deals with complaints from the public about maladministration or abuse of power by government authorities and offices. The Ombudsman institution is secured in the constitution (Art. 92) and regulated by the Law on the Ombudsman 1992. The Ombudsman is appointed by the Parliament with a mandate to protect the constitutional and legal rights of citizens in proceedings before the state administration and bodies vested with public authority. In general, the Ombudsman does not take on cases that are subject to legal proceedings. Apart from individual cases, the Ombudsman may also initiate investigations into matters that pertain to constitutional and legal rights raised by the media. The Ombudsman institution is supposedly independent; however, according to the Transparency International Croatia National Integrity System 2007, there have been several attempts to influence the Ombudsman's decisions in cases of human rights violations - attempts that have reduced the credibility of the institution. Moreover, the Ombudsman's proposal that the office's resources should be increased has been ignored for several years now by the government. Annual reports by the Ombudsman have been published on the Ombudsman's website.

Auditor General: The State Audit Office (SAO) is independent and the highest ranking audit institution. It is authorised through the State Audit Act to oversee how the budget is executed. Its basic task is to audit financial transactions within the public sector. In addition to this, the SAO conducts audits in connection with ownership transformation and privatisation processes in order to make sure that all legal requirements are upheld. In an effort to strengthen itself as an institution and its competencies, the SAO is cooperating with the National Audit Office of the United Kingdom. The aim of this EU-financed project is to bring the Croatian SAO in line with international standards.

E-Governance: Information on starting a company in Croatia can be found on the Croatian e-governance website. This web portal is designed as a one-stop shop for companies to deal with government on topics such as taxes, pensions, business registration, etc. The portal became operational in 2005, and significantly reduces the time it takes to conduct standard business operations. As a further service, a free information hotline is maintained. Another e-governance initiative is the e-Croatia Programme, created in 2003 to constitute a group of e-projects implemented within state government bodies and coordinated by the Central State Administrative Office for e-Croatia. The e-Croatia programme includes useful information on among others e-tax, e-customs, e-judiciary, and e-health. Other useful operational resources for companies in Croatia are the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency and the Croatian Chamber of Economy, which has issued pamphlets and reports on starting a company in the country. The Trade and Investment Promotion Agency is active in advising the government on how to make Croatia's regulatory environment more transparent and competitive. The website of the Croatian Chamber of Economy provides a useful English-language guide, How to Start Up an Enterprise in Croatia, as well as sector-specific and general reports.

Public Procurement: In preparation for Croatia's potential EU membership, the Public Procurement Office is working with a consortium of partners towards aligning Croatian legislation and procedures with the EU public procurement system. Public procurement in Croatia is administered by the Public Procurement Office (English version not as developed as the Croatian) and a new law on public procurement was adopted in July 2011 and is expected to enter into force in January 2012. The new act is completely harmonised with EU public procurement directives and provides for greater transparency with the introduction of electronic auctions, definitions of special procurement procedures and framework agreements, as well as publication of all procurement procedures over USD 14,000. On the Public Procurement Office website, companies will find a list of procurement regulations, tender announcements, forms, contact information for its call centre and other services. Major procurements over USD 3,000 are published in the Official Gazette. Article 20 of the Act on the State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedure 2010 guarantee transparency of the appellate procedure. According to the European Commission's Croatia Progress Report 2011, overall progress has continued, and the alignment of EU acquis is on track and is nearing completion.

Whistle-Blowing: The Witness Protection Act 2003 provides for whistleblower protection, although it is very vaguely formulated. In December 2009, the Croatian Parliament passed the new Labour Act, which contains a provision securing whistleblower protection against dismissal for individuals who have reported an instance of corruption in good faith. Also, the burden of proof is now on employers. According to the Civil Service Act 2005 (amended in 2007,2008 and 2011), provides civil servants with whistleblower protection if they report on corruption. The Ministry of Interior has set up an e-mail and telephone service for citizens to report corruption in the public service.

General Comments on the Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives: In March 2006, the Croatian Parliament adopted the National Anti-Corruption Programme 2006-2008, realising that corruption was viewed by the EU as an obstacle to Croatian accession. A new Anti-Corruption Strategy has been launched by the government in June 2008. According to Javno, with new laws being passed, all legal preconditions for combating corruption have been secured. The exposure of corruption in the Croatia Privatization Fund and subsequent arrest of the perpetrators also gives an impression that the government is actively engaged in fighting corruption. However, the underlying population's pessimistic outlook concerning levels of corruption remains a major problem, since government anti-corruption initiatives are deemed inadequate by the population. According to the European Commission's Croatia Progress Report 2011, Croatia's legal framework for combating corruption has improved, and the USKOK continues to be active - for instance, it has issued indictments in some important cases. While good progress has been made in preventing corruption, further progress is needed in implementing the newly adopted legislation into practice. Also, the Ministry of Justice department dealing with corruption issues continues to be understaffed.