Last update: 31 August 2025.

A working group was formed in January 2025 to draft the proposed legislation, with the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) represented in the group.

The working group has begun discussions and identified several open issues that need to be addressed in the legislative proposal, including:

• Defining who qualifies as being engaged in public activities in the public interest.
• Introducing mechanisms for the early dismissal of manifestly unfounded lawsuits, which requires clearer criteria in the Croatian Civil Procedure Act for defining “abuse of procedural powers.”
• Improving court data collection and transparency, particularly in making court decisions publicly accessible.

According to current discussion within the government working group, the directive will also apply to domestic SLAPP cases.

Source: 2025 Rule of Law Report Croatia