in Croatia, "domestic violence" is any form of physical, mental, sexual or economic violence, in particular: physical violence or the use of physical force, regardless of whether physical injury resulted or not; corporal punishment and other forms of degrading treatment of children in the educational purposes; psychological violence, or the application of psychological pressure that caused a feeling of fear, danger, distress or injury to dignity, verbal violence, verbal assaults, insults, cursing, name calling, or otherwise crude verbal harassment, stalking or harassment through all means of communication or through electronic and printed media or otherwise, or to communicate with third parties, illegal isolation or threat to freedom of movement; sexual violence or sexual harassment or economic violence such as damage or destruction of personal and common property, banning or preventing the use of personal and joint property including the attempts to do so, as well as deprivation of rights or prohibition of having personal income and property acquired by inheritance or personal work at your disposal, exclusion from employment or work, forced economic dependence, denial of funds for maintenance of the common household and care for children or other dependents of a common household.

Legal provisions on protection orders

Law on the Protection from Domestic Violence, Article 11:

  • Mandatory psychosocial treatment;
  • Prohibition of approaching the victim of domestic violence;
  • Prohibition of harassment or stalking the victim of violence;
  • Removal from the apartment, house or other living space;
  • Mandatory treatment of addiction;
  • Seizure of objects intended for or used for committing offenses.

Criminal Code, Article 65:

  • Mandatory psychiatric treatment;
  • Mandatory treatment of addiction;
  • Mandatory psychosocial treatment;
  • Restraining order;
  • Removal from common household.

Legal Source

Law on the Protection from Domestic Violence, Article 4 and Criminal Code

Observations

Related information:

  • Bodily Injury (Art. 117): Whoever physically injures another or endangers another person’s health will be sentenced up to one year in prison. Whoever commits an act from section 1 of this Article out of hatred, or toward a person close to him/her, or toward a person who is especially vulnerable because of his or her age, physical or mental impediment or pregnancy, or toward an official serving in the line of duty, will be sentenced up to three years in prison. The criminal act from section 1 of this Article will be prosecuted based on a private lawsuit.
  • Heavy Bodily Injury (Art. 118): Whoever physically injures another or endangers another person’s health in a severe way will be sentenced between six months to five years in prison. Whoever commits an act from section 1 of this Article out of hatred, or toward a person close to him/her, or toward a person who is especially vulnerable because of his or her age, physical or mental impediment or pregnancy, or toward an official serving in a line of duty, will be sentenced to between one and eight years in prison.
  • Especially Heavy Bodily Injury (Art. 119): If the criminal act from Article 116, Section 1 and 2 and from Article 118, Section 1 of this Law, endangered the injured person’s life or has resulted in the destruction or permanent injury of any of his vital body parts or organs, or in a permanent impediment that causes a diminished ability to work, or permanently and severely affected his or her health, or resulted in permanent disfigurement of any kind, or a permanent inability to reproduce, the perpetrator will be sentenced to imprisonment between one to ten years’ imprisonment. Whoever commits an act from Section 1 of this Article out of hatred, or toward a person close to him/her, or toward a person who is especially vulnerable because of his or her age, physical or mental impediment or pregnancy, or toward an official serving in a line of duty, will be sentenced to imprisonment between one and ten years. Whoever deliberately causes any of the harm under Section 1 of this Article will be sentenced to imprisonment between three and twelve years.
  • Coercion (Art. 138): Whoever by force or serious threat coerces another to an action, omission or acquiescence will be sentenced to up to three years of imprisonment. A criminal Act from Section 1 of this Article will be prosecuted through a private lawsuit unless it is committed out of hatred, toward a child or a close person.Threat (Art. 139) Whoever threatens another with harm in order to intimidate (frighten) or upset will be sentenced to up to one year of imprisonment.Whoever seriously threatens to kill another or one close to him or her, or threatens serious bodily injury, kidnapping or deprivation of freedom, or causes harm by fire, explosion, ionized radiation, a weapon, dangerous tools or any other dangerous means, or destroying social status or material assets, will be sentenced to up to three years of imprisonment.If the Criminal Act from Sections 1 and 2 of this Article has been committed toward a person of authority, or against a journalist on duty, or if it is directed toward a larger group of people, or if it caused a major disturbance of the larger population, or if the threats have put the threatened person in a difficult position for a longer duration, the perpetrator will be sentenced to imprisonment between six months and five years.The criminal Act under Section 1 of this article is prosecuted through a private lawsuit, and the criminal Act from Section 2 of this Article is prosecuted upon suggestion, unless the act from Section 1 or 2 has been committed out of hatred, toward a child, a person with a disability or a close person.
  • Intrusive behaviour (Art. 140): Whoever consistently and over time follow or watch another person or establish with her or trying to establish with her unwanted contact or in some other way try to so scary her and with that cause anxiety or fear for their safety or the safety of those close to her, shall be punished by imprisonment up to one year.If the criminal offense referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article is committed against a current or former spouse or common-law spouse or same-sex partner, person with whom the perpetrator was in an intimate relationship or a child, the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment up to three year.Criminal offense referred to in Paragraph 1 and 2 this Article is haunted by the proposal, unless it is committed against a child.
  • Domestic Violence (Art. 215): A member of the family who by violence, abuse or exceptionally insolent conduct puts another member of the family into a humiliating position shall be punished by imprisonment for six months to five years.