22 November 2024 - President Dr Šeparović addressed the participants at the opening of the scientific conference on the influence of the Convention on Human Rights on the Croatian legal system which took place today in Rijeka. The organisers, the Faculty of Law in Rijeka and the City of Novi Vinodolski, focused this year on the protection of the right to life in a healthy urban environment, as established by the European Court of Human Rights through the interpretation of Article 8 of the Convention. Emphasising that the climate crisis requires not only the transformation of different sectors and coordination in the adoption of policies and measures, but also judicial responses and adjustment of the judiciary in order to respond to these enormous challenges, the President also noted that the European Court itself requires Member States to harmonise their climate policies with human rights protection obligations and to contribute effectively to global climate goals. As for the Constitutional Court, he pointed out its important role in transposing the Convention and the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court into the Croatian legal order, also with regard to respecting European standards and balancing conflicting interests in decisions related to environmental protection as one of the fundamental values of the Croatian constitutional order. Judge Dr Snježana Bagić spoke about the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court on the protection of the right to health and a healthy environment, while Judge Lovorka Kušan spoke about the challenges of poverty and homelessness.
