Constitutional Court of Croatia

Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia
Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske
Facade
Interactive map of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia
Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske
Established15 February 1964 (in SR Croatia)
25 July 1990 (in Croatia)
Jurisdiction Croatia
LocationSt. Mark's Square, Zagreb
Composition methodElected by the Croatian Parliament with qualified majority
Authorised byConstitution of the Republic of Croatia
Judge term length8 years (renewable once)
Number of positions13
Websiteusud.hr
President
CurrentlyFrane Staničić
since 13 October 2025
Vice President
CurrentlyMato Arlović
since 18 June 2024

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske) is an institution that acts as the interpreter and guardian of the Croatian Constitution and which monitors the conformity of laws with the Constitution as well as protection of human rights and freedoms of citizens that are guaranteed by the Constitution. It is considered to be de facto the highest judicial authority because it can overturn Supreme Court decisions on the basis of constitutional breaches. It is not considered as being part of the judicial branch of government, but rather a court sui generis, and it is therefore often colloquially referred to as a "fourth branch of government", alongside the traditional model of tripartite separation of powers into the executive (Government/President of the Republic), legislative (Parliament) and judicial (Supreme Court) branches.

The legal acts that are relevant for the functioning and the internal organisation of the Constitutional Court are the Constitution of Croatia, the Constitutional Act on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia and the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.