THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Prof. Dr. Alan UZELAC
Full Professor, Chair for Civil Procedure, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb
OTHER TEAM MEMBERS
C.H. (Remco) van Rhee
Professor van Rhee is one of the leading European and global scholars in the field of comparative legal research. He is the Chair (Head) of the Department for European Legal History and Comparative Civil Procedure at Maastricht University (the Netherlands). His areas of expertise include both comparative civil procedure and legal history. As an author, he is among the most prolific and cited authors in these fields. His works include 24 edited or authored books, mainly published with the leading European and global publishing houses, and over hundred articles and reviews in leading European and national law journals. In the project, Prof. van Rhee is participating as a member of the core group. His tasks are to produce research results regarding fundamental concepts of transformation of European and global civil justice in a comparative context, and to develop and present papers on individual topics. These topics include the hanging role of the judges and parties in civil litigation, the development of collective mechanisms of redress, the evolution of role and function of supreme courts in the hierarchy of civil courts, and the new methods of evidence taking. As a member of the core group, Prof. van Rhee will actively collaborate in the meetings of the core project group and other project meetings; participate in planning and organisation of the annual project conferences; assist in steering the progress of work of project sub-groups; participate in development of historical research and monitor the work of the sub-group that works on concepts of procedural ius commune. His expected outputs include production of several papers published with leading publishers or journals, and editing of one or more books that will arise out of this project.
Elisabetta Silvestri
Prof. Silvestri is among the most prominent Italian and European scholars in the field of civil procedure (national and comparative). While working on one of the oldest and most prominent European universities (University of Pavia), she is regularly invited to hold keynote lectures or speeches at leading universities in the U.S. (Cornell, Yale) and at various universities in England, Spain, Netherlands and Russian Federation. Her particular areas of expertise include organisation of judiciary, comparative civil procedure and alternative dispute resolution especially mediation). In this project, Prof. Silvestri is another member of the core project group. Her tasks are to contribute to fundamental research topics defined supra, and to undertake research in particular regarding impact of private dispute resolution mechanisms on transformations of national civil justice systems; on special means of recourse and the role of supreme courts; and on procedural human rights. Prof. Silvestri will regularly participate at the meetings of the core project group and other project meetings; participate in planning and organisation of the annual project conferences; assist in steering the progress of work of project sub-groups; and participate in development of research in the sub-group that works on contemporary transformations of civil justice systems. Her expected outputs include several papers published in collections of papers edited by the members of the project team and published by leading academic publishers.
Aleš Galič
Prof. Galič is a Slovenian scholar in the field of civil procedure who acquired both national and international reputation. He is a regular member of most experts groups on reform of legislation in the field of civil procedure in Slovenia and legal advisor to the Slovenian constitutional court. He is author of over 50 original scientific papers and hundreds of other papers, many ublished in leading European journals and collections of papers. His areas of interest are civil procedure (national, European and comparative), alternative dispute resolution and arbitration and human rights. In this project, Prof. Galič is going to be active in the comparative research on contemporary transformations of civil justice systems, especially in the regional (Central and South-European) context. He will be one of the researchers and coordinators of the research sub-group that deals with current issues in procedural transformations of civil justice. Apart from contributing to discussions and research of other topics in this project, he will focus on Europeanization and constitutionalisation of national civil procedure, influence of the case law of international and transnational tribunals (especially ECtHR and CJEU) on the reassessment of traditional procedural instruments and doctrines in national civil justice system. He would also contribute to research on effective access to justice (especially in the context of consumer protection) and on the topics of collective redress, ADR, international jurisdiction, and small claims procedures. His expected research output include several papers published in collections of papers edited by the members of the project team and published by leading academic publishers.
Marko Petrak
Prof. Petrak is among the leading Croatian scholars in the fields of legal history and Roman law. He is Head (Chair) of Department of Roman Law at the University in Zagreb. His research deals with the issues of legal history, but with an intention to place historic topics in a contemporary context, revealing influences of traditional concepts and their meaning in a current context. Publications of Prof. Petrak include a number of papers published in English and German language in leading journals and edited books. In this project, Prof. Petrak is going to develop further one of the major themes of his scientific interest – the research of the procedural ius commune in the contemporary national systems of civil justice and its potential role on Europeanization and globalization of law and practice of civil procedure, inter alia by references to common procedural notions and regulae iuris in the case law of the European courts (ECtHR, CJEU). While developing a body of research on this topic, Prof. Petrak is also going to be the leader and coordinator of the sub-group of researchers that deal with other topics related to harmonising effect of procedural ius commune. His expected research outputs are several papers published in the leading journals and collections of papers, including at least one paper in the book that will present the final project results.
Aleksandra Maganić
Dr. Aleksandra Maganić is a senior collaborator and researcher/lecturer at the Department for Civil Procedure in Zagreb, with a strong record of research in the field of non-contentious proceedings and organisation of ancillary legal professions (in particular regarding German Rechtspflegers). She has a record of training at prominent scientific institution (Max-Planck Institute for International Private Law in Hamburg). Her comparative research focuses on the development of organisational and functional procedural law in German-speaking countries and its impact on the civil justice systems in South-Eastern Europe. In this project Dr. Maganić is going to be one of the coordinators of the sub-group that deals with current issues in procedural transformations of civil justice. Her research is going to focus on four areas: impact of new technologies on transformation of civil procedure; developments in the area on non-contentious proceedings and elaboration of potential uniform rules that differentiate contentious and non-contentious procedures; development of new procedural rules and practices in the area of family law; and exploration of transformations caused by the trends to extend mechanisms of collective redress (eg in environmental protection or health area). Her research will try to implement conclusions regarding European developments specifically in Croatian and regional context. Her expected research outputs include organisation of exploratory meetings and conferences devoted to new technologies and collective redress, and several papers published in leading Croatian and/or international legal periodicals and academic books.
Tomislav Karlović and Ivan Milotić
Dr. Karlović and Dr. Milotić are collaborators and researchers/lecturers at the Roman Law Department. After brilliant successes in doctoral and post-doctoral studies, they have recently been promoted to assistant professorship (“docent”) status. In their rising academic careers they have already developed a respectable track record in international training and cooperation, as well as in active participation at international conferences and seminars. Their publications include a number of papers in English language, published in qualified and leading academic journals and books. In this project both Dr. Karlović and Dr. Milotić will undertake research on harmonising effect of ius commune, but in different fields. While Dr. Karlović will concentrate on ius commune in the area of law of evidence, Dr. Milotić will focus on procedural ius commune and the development of private dispute resolution methods, in particular arbitration. In addition to their research role, they will also contribute to other project outputs, e.g. organisation of exploratory meetings and the annual conferences, which will be the central event and place to present results of the research and discuss progress of the project. Their expected research outputs include several papers published in leading Croatian and/or international legal periodicals and academic books.
Slađana Aras and Barbara Preložnjak
Dr. Aras and Dr. Preložnjak are advanced postdoctoral students at, respectively, Civil Procedure Department and Department for Legal Theory at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb. Their doctoral theses dealt with two areas relevant to the concept of the project – maintenance procedures in family law matters (Aras) and access to justice and legal aid (Preložnjak). Before and after successful defence of their doctoral works, they have published a number of papers. Among these papers, some elaborate the topics of comparative law and procedure. Both Dr. Aras and Dr. Preložnjak have also produced publications in English language, some of which are published outside Croatia, in reputable academic books and journals. It is expected that both of them will soon acquire assistant professorship, continuing to pursue successful academic career. In this project, Dr. Aras and Dr. Preložnjak will conduct research under the guidance of the PI and the core group. Dr. Aras will in particular deal with the convergence and divergence processes in the field of family law procedures, and – as the case may be – on other special procedures (commercial and others). Dr. Preložnjak (eventually also Dr. Aras) will deal with the transformation of national legal aid systems and their impact on access to justice. Another topic of her research will be the influence of clinical legal education on the transformation of legal professions and dispute resolution practices. She will also participate in the research of fundamental theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of current transformation processes. Both Dr. Aras and Dr. Preložnjak will assist the core team in organisational matters, preparing meetings and conferences of the project team, especially in their particular fields of research. Their expected research outputs include several papers published in Croatian and international legal periodicals and academic books, and successful organisation of meetings and conferences of the project groups.
Henrik-Riko Held
Henrik-Riko Held has originally started as a doctoral student on the project. He has recently successfully defended his doctoral thesis which dealt with procedural aspects of ius commune, in particular regarding the concepts of unjust enrichment (condictio sine causa). He is expected to be promoted to assistant professorship (“docent”) status. In this project, H.-R. Held will on his part assist the group engaged in historical research. He will continue to contribute to other outputs (training, organisation of panels, seminars and conferences etc.).
Marko Bratković and Juraj Brozović
Two doctoral students on this project are M. Bratković and Juraj Brozović. They have completed their graduate studies with distinctions and now successfully discharge their duties within the doctoral studies at the Zagreb Faculty of Law. In this project, M. Bratković will assist the core group and the research group that deals with contemporary issues. His field of research, which is planned as the topic of his doctoral thesis, is the transformation of litigation law and practices. Juraj Brozović is a doctoral student hired on this project. It is planned that his doctoral thesis will deal with transformation of functions of civil proceedings. The main research output of the two doctoral students will be successful defense of their doctoral works as significant and internationally relevant contribution to legal science. In addition, they will contribute to other outputs (training, organisation of panels, seminars and conferences etc.).
This work has been fully supported by