Duration: 01.07.2020 – 31.12.2021

Lead beneficiary: World Youth Alliance Croatia

Partners: Faculty of Law Osijek, association Igra

Associates: Center for Social Welfare Zagreb, Center for Social Welfare Osijek, associations Adopta and Pragma

Total amount: 450.725.50 kn (financed by the European Social Fund 2014. – 2020., OP Efficient Human Resources)

Goals:

• building capacities and training of professionals and members of foster families
• empowerment and inclusion of children and youth without adequate parental care and with behavioral problems in the local community
• creation of programs for the empowerment of professionals and members of foster families and proposals for measures to improve the social service of foster care
• establishment of the counseling center “Together to a Home” and the establishment of a Mobile Team of Experts

Duration: 27. 03. 2019 – 26. 03. 2022

Lead beneficiary: Faculty od Law Rijeka

Partners: Law Faculties in Osijek, Zagreb and Split

Total amount: 3.543.935,40 HRK (financed by the European Social Fund 2014. – 2020., OP Efficient Human Resources)

Website: https://providentia-iuris.eu/en/providentia-studiorum-iuris-improving-the-quality-of-studying-at-law-faculties-in-croatia/

The purpose of the project Providentia Studiorum Iuris is contribution to improving the quality of studying at law faculties in Croatia by developing qualification standards and six occupational standards and enhancing study programs of the Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate University Study of Law, Specialist Graduate Professional Study Programme in Public Administration and Undergraduate Professional Study Programme in Administration Law, by implementing contemporary software solutions and enhancing the quality assurance system and student competence. The Project encompasses a series of activities that will contribute to increasing the involvement and cooperation of all stakeholders, including labour market research, in order to tailor the study programs to the needs of the market and to enable students to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and competences in accordance with the Croatian Qualifications Framework.

(IPA 2012 Building capacities of CSOs for Ensuring Effective Implementation of the EU Standards in the Enforcement of Human Rights)

Contract number: 2012-01-35-010214

Duration: 17.10.2015 – 17.04.2017

Total amount: 160.730,98 € (88,87% EU co-financing)

Lead beneficiary: Association for help and education of mobbing victims (NGO)

Partners: Faculty of Law Osijek – University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer in Osijek, City of Zagreb

Activities:

• training of law students for legal counsellors for mobbing victims
• production of e-learning tools for training of law professionals and law students on the violence at work, mobbing and legal protection of victims
• preparation and impelementation of the showcase Anti-mobbing Protocol for employers from all sectors
• public anti-mobbing campaign and visibility activities

Goals:

• to ensure the enforcement of human rights of vulnerable groups
• to ensure existence of effective redress system for the victims of mobbing across the levels of protection through inter-sectorial co-operation
• cooperation with the local community and non-governmental sector

Duration: 19.06.2015 – 18.09.2016

Total amount: 1. 187.376,88 HRK (financed by European social fund, operational programme ‘Human resources’)

Lead beneficiary: Faculty of Law Osijek, University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer in Osijek

Partners: Faculty of Law in Rijeka, Faculty of Law in Split, Institute for the Development of Education

Website: https://www.pravos.unios.hr/pravo-arhiva/iurisprudentia

Goals:

• Development of Qualification Standards for Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate Study Programme and Professional Study Programme
• Development of Occupational Standards
• Development of Study Programmes at partner faculties
• Skill improvement of the teaching staff in the implementation of the Croatian Qualifications Framework

Activities:

• Teachers competence improvement seminars
• Conducting research to find out students, alumni and employers attitudes and opinions
• Round tables
• Workshops
• Conferences
• Study visits
• Certification of quality standard with norm ISO 9001:2015
• Publications

Activities take place as part of the project Systematic Energy Management (SEM) which the Faculty has joined on 9th May 2014.

project code: 111-1111174-0992 , senior researcher: Professor Srećko Jelinić, researchers: Dubravka Akšamović, Anita Blagojević, Dubravka Klasiček, Tunjica Petrašević and Davorin Pichler.

project code: 111-1111174-0935, senior researcher: Professor Nihada Mujić, researchers: Jelena Legčević and Timothy M. Baye.

project code: 111-1111174-0986, senior researcher: Assistant Professor Mira Lulić, researchers: Nives Mazur, Josip Salapić, Ivana Tucak, Josip Berdica, Daniela Hećimović, Danijela Rupčić, Zvonimir Tomičić and Igor Vuletić.

project code: 111-1111174-0985, senior researcher: Professor Zvonimir Lauc, researchers: Boris Bakota, Predrag Zima, Stipe Ivanda, Antun Lovrić, Rajko Odobaša, Renata Perić, Željka Kulenović, Mato Palić, Samir Vrabec, Boris Ljubanović and Emina Konjić.

project code: 111-1151212-1434, senior researcher: Professor Damir Klasiček, researchers: Vjekoslav Puljko, Mirela Župan, Aleksandra Maganić, Branka Rešetar, Mario Vinković, Nikol Živić and Anica Čulo.

project code: 111-1191684-1444, senior researcher: DSc Ljerka Mintas Hodak, researchers: Siniša Petrović, Romana Caputa-Jogunica, Zlatko Mateša, Zvonimir Jelinić, Dubravka Akšamović and Mark Rosentraub.

project code: 111 0101427-0784, senior researcher: Professor Ivana Barković, researchers: Nedeljko Bosanac, Rajko Odobaša, Vlatko Ećimović and Justyna Maliszewksa.

Duration: 01.11.2014 – 31.10.2015

Total amount: 120.000,00 HRK (financed by the Ministry of Social Politics and Youth of Republic of Croatia)

Lead beneficiary: Organization for Civil Initiatives

Project partners: Town Drniš, Center for Social Welfare Drniš

Project associates: Faculty of Law Osijek, University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer in Osijek, Faculty of law Split

Project goal is to contribute to reduction of social exclusion and ensure the protection of the rights of the elderly through quality information and counseling with the aim of preventing the abuse of lifelong maintenance.

Head of the project/main researcher: Full professor Mirela Župan

Guest researcher: prof. Thalia Kruger, University of Antwerp

Associates: Martina Drventić, asistant, Senija Ledić (judge, County Court Split), Marijana Šego (special guardian for children, Center for special guardianship), Mario Oreški (Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs), Daniel Rupić (Center for Social Welfare Koprivnica)

Duration: 01.04.2017 – 31.03.2018

Wrongfull removal/retention of a child across the border comes as a result of intensive cross-border migrations, new forms of living communities and unsettled legal relationships of parents / guardians. International / EU legal framework for legal action exists (Hague Convention on international child abduction of 1980, Regulation 2201/2003, Charter of Fundamental Rights of 2000, European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms of 1950) oblige Croatian authorities. Systematic analysis of of Croatian case law regards their application has never been conducted. Collection of data/ it’s processing by statistical methods/ analyzing the substance of the merits application – particularly in relation to prevailing european doctirne and interpretation on ECHR and EU Court has to be conducted. Elaboration is to be made publicly available. Engaging the researcher, collaborator, guest researcher and four doctoral students to this project ought to provide an overal scientific analyses of practice of 4 municipal courts and other competent authorities in the period of July/2014 to July/2017. Project contributes to the development of: scientific and international cooperation of UNIOS, improves practice of national competent authorities and relevant national legislation, contibutes to the approximation of croatian practice to unified European solutions.

Head of the project/main researcher: Jelena Legčević, Assistant Professor, PhD

Project associate: Jelena Dujmović, PhD

Duration: 19.02.2015-19.02.2016

Application of different motivational techniques negatively influences the effectiveness of action in the public administration . The aim of the research is to identify areas of motivational factors and motivational techniques that can be developed and applied in the human resource management in order to increase overall efficiency in the field of public administration. The collection of data within all areas of public administration will be carried out deliberate pattern without application of probability theory . The need for a fundamental reform of public administration with a theoretical and practical approach contributes to the development of science in terms of a more precise dating expert and other interested public about the impact of motivational factors on the effectiveness of action in the public administration.

Head of the project/main researcher: senior research and teaching assistant Paula Poretti, PhD

Duration: 19.02.2015-19.02.2016

The origin of consumer protection at EU level was in the instruments whose primary objective was to improve the integration of the EU market. However, the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon and the recognition of the binding effect to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU resulted in recognition of consumer rights protection as a fundamental human right that requires the highest level of guarantee of legal protection. This is also evident from the recent jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European union (CJEU). As an EU member state Croatia is required to provide the intended level of protection of consumer rights. The research is focused on procedural consumer protection as an integral part of the protection of fundamental human rights in Croatian legal system. The research aims to explore the availability of legal protection for consumers in national and cross-border consumer disputes within the EU and within the region (countries outside the EU).

The goal of the project is to detect factors which have a negative effect on realization of standards of consumer rights protection and indicate a method which could be employed in order to eliminate them. Influence of access to information on legal protection which are available to consumers in Croatian legal system and possibility of accessing courts (in terms of costs of the procedure, length, free legal aid, right of consumer organizations to institute proceedings) on the level of legal protection guaranteed to consumers will be examined. Results of the research could contribue to deepening of theoretical knowledge and promoting Croatian judicial practice in the field of consumer protection as well as improving knowledge of students in their final year of studies.

Knowledge acquired during the research should result in publication of papers on consumer protection. Since empirical research on availability of consumer rights protection in court proceedings has not been conducted in Croatian legal science so far, this research could fill in the gaps and also create prerequisites for further improvements in this field. Results of the research will be used for publication of papers:

1. Availability of legal protection to consumers in national and cross-border disputes (Verfügbarkeit des Rechtsschutzes für Verbraucher im nationalen und grenzüberschreitenden Rechtsstreitigkeiten)
2. Consumer rights protection in new Croatian consumer protection law –open issues (Zaštita potrošača prema novom Zakonu o zaštiti potrošača-otvorena pitanja)
3. Consumer Collective Redress: Experiences of the South Eastern European countries

Dissemination of results of the research within the Project is planned through participation in scientific conferences in Croatia and abroad. Also, participation in the 15th conference of the International Association of Consumer law “Virtues and Consumer Law” in Amsterdam, 29 June till 1 July 2015 is expected. A round table will be organized on the topic: Availability of legal protection to consumers in national and cross-border disputes, Osijek, December 2015.

The scientific project was approved by the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek for the period of one year (19.02.2015-19.02.2016). Project holder is Senior research and teaching assistant Ante Novokmet, Phd and professional associates are Assistant Professors Zvonimir Zomičić and Igor Vuletić, as well as Senior research and teaching assistant Barbara Herceg Pakišić.

The common characteristic of all modern criminal proceedings is the fact that the state has monopolized the right to use physical force so that today victim of a crime rarely or not at all appears as an authorized prosecutor in criminal proceedings. That was followed by the development of the public prosecution service as a specific body appointed by the state which has obligation to engage prosecution of perpetrators of crimes for which criminal proceedings are instituted ex officio. Although his autonomous and independent position opens up the possibility for objective judgment of the legal requirements for the criminal prosecution, however, there is an understandable possibility that the public prosecutor in his judgments sometimes wrongly assess the existence of these prerequisites, and dismiss criminal charges or during the process simply desist from criminal prosecution, although there still exists legal requirements for criminal prosecution. Therefore, every criminal procedure shall provide adequate protective elements that will ensure the prosecution of the offender even when the prosecutor fails in performing his duty to start criminal proceedings whenever he finds out that there are fulfilled legal requirements for criminal prosecution. Hence, art. 11 of Directive 2012/29/EU guarantee victims of crime right to a review of a decision not to prosecute. Since the Republic of Croatia is obliged until 15 November 2015 to align its legislation with the requirements of the Directive then the objective of this research will be to determine appropriate control mechanism over the work of the inactive public prosecutor that will also be applicable in the Croatian criminal procedural system, but in the same time aligned with the requirements laid down in Directive.

Research project Protection of the Best Interest of a Child in Cross-Border Issues was approved by the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek with one year duration (15.07.2013– 15.07.2014). Project manager was Assistant Professor Mirela Župan. The research was aiming at framing cross-border legal issues the subject of which is the protection of a child’s best interest. This included: identifying legal issues in administration of justice about the best interest of a child, identifying legal sources binding the Republic of Croatia; researching into the practice of the competent bodies of the Republic of Croatia, detecting in how far the system of the Republic of Croatia has changed after the accession to the EU and what repercussions this will have on the practice so that it may harmonize with the assumed international obligations. Child’s best interest is also elaborated from the basic human rights aspect and from the point of view of the EU politics on protection of children. At the same time the project elaborates the realisation of a child’s best interest through the system of international administrative cooperation through central executive bodies and in cross-border distraint. The emphasis is put on the most frequent cases in Croatian practice: civil-law abduction of children by one of the parents and aliment of children. Through the completion of the project, a significant scientific opus came into existence on the topic of the best interest of a child in cross-border matters. The project resulted in several publications in periodicals or conference proceedings, presentations on two international conferences and a round table. More intensive seminar classes resulted in additional skills acquired by the students in this field. Connecting with the practice assured the adjustment of scientifically founded knowledge to Croatian conditions, which resulted in practical usability of the research results before the institutions responsible for conducting procedures for the protection of children. The research is also of multiple importances for the scientific opus on the protection of the rights of children in cross-border matters, for better education of students and for the improvement of the practice of proper authorities. In the Republic of Croatia, before this project no thus comprehensive research has been conducted into the legislation and Croatian practice relating to the best interest of a child in trans-border matters. In respect of the growing number of requests through the system of civil-law abduction of children and cross-border aliment, the project focuses the research works on these cases. The importance of the project is also reflected in the segment of the protection of fundamental human rights that have been normatively amply regulated, but frequently remain insufficiently protected in practice. The research is, furthermore, important in connecting science with practice, since the rights and protection of children are in the end decided before the responsible judicial institutions and through the work of central executive bodies. Opinion on the quality of work and results: Assistant Professor Mirela Župan has conducted a comprehensive research into the legislation and judicial practice in respect of a child’s best interest in cross-border legal matters. Project ideas were further promoted in the work with students in lectures and seminars in the fourth and fifth study years. Additional value was given to the project through the international seminar Legal Protection of a Child in Domestic and International Situations that took place on 27th March and 2nd and 3rd April 2014. Intensive work with students yielded several excellent graduation papers related to the theme of the project. Furthermore, the knowledge acquired through the project was shared with the interested public at the round table Protection of the best interest of a child in cross-border matters – Expectations and Reality, Osijek, 4th April 2014.

Accompanying the project, an international conference was organized as well. It was the 11th Regional PIL Conference: Private International Law in the Jurisprudence of European Courts – Family in Focus, Osijek (Croatia), 11th – 12th June 2014. As part of the conference, a round table was organized about the problems of cross-border abduction of children with national reports. Upon its completion, the project resulted in a comprehensive scientific opus on the subject of the best interest of a child in cross-border matters – an opus that is unique in the legal doctrine of Croatia and of the region. All planned project activities have been carried out and the project also effectuated several added values – some activities that have not been originally planned but have been realized and they are topically connected with the project application. Within the project, Assistant Professor Župan presented six papers at international conferences, four of which were published in 2014, and two papers are being reviewed and await publishing. The project has been assessed as exceptionally successful.

The scientific project was approved by the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek for the period of one year (15.07.2013– 15.07.2014). Project holder was Assistant Professor Jelena Legčević, and professional associate was Marina Holjenko, LLB.

Many countries and interest holders consider assurance of quality as one of the foundations of the Bologna Process. Quality assurance has never been regarded as a process that will be the same in all countries of Europe; instead, efforts were made to improve the cooperation in the process. To raise the reliability and improve the functioning of quality assurance procedures, this research began with the verification of the existing model and of the measuring instrument within the model which enables reliable measuring of the quality of educational services as the dominant “product” of the information age. The purpose of the research is to check and verify the methodology of monitoring the success of the Bologna process on all levels of education: from professional study over graduate to specialist and doctoral study in order to raise the satisfaction of all participants of the system at the University – students (who are the focal point of the education process), teachers, management, supporting administration and social community, which is the precondition for efficient integration into global trends of modern higher education in Europe and in the world. The presumption for the research was that the existing model and the measuring instrument named KVALIMETAR (Legčević 2010) will proof valid and reliable for measuring the perception of quality of various samples in the sector of higher education. In the research, multivariant statistical methods were used: factor analysis, cluster analyses and analyses of the variance. These methods were intended to determine relevant dimensions of the quality of services and the depth of the gap that exists between the providers and recipients of the educational service. Obtained research results were compared with the results of the preliminary research from 2009 when the Bologna process was still in its initial phase of implementation in the educational space of Croatia. The distance of four years is the right period for testing the quality of the things done, but it is also an opportunity for enrichment of the dimensions of the measuring instrument with some new variables that apparently had not been covered before, as the comparison with the research results from 2009 suggested. The importance of this research lies in the fact that by linking the needs at the labour market to the realisation of education programmes and by integrating the evaluation of all learning outcomes we create the outset for the harmonisation of the Croatian Qualification Framework (CQF) with the European Qualification Framework (EQF). Opinion on the quality of work and results: All planned project activities have been carried out. Assistant Professor Jelena Legčević has conducted a comprehensive research on a large sample of 732 students, 138 former students and 198 teachers. Research results were presented on two international conferences, in Paris and in Osijek. The project manager published two papers, one of which is indexed in the WoS database. Special value of the project lies in the fact that KVALIMETAR was protected in the State Institute for Intellectual Property under the number Z20131877 for the period of 10 years (until 2023). It is expected that the research conducted in all constituent parts of the University will set up an organized and regular procedure of carrying out a self-analysis with the choice of the KVALIMETAR as evaluation methodology that would suggest both the positive and negative sides of the education process. The project has been assessed as exceptionally successful.