Croatia’s Finance Minister Tomislav Ćorić said on Monday the government will comply with an Administrative Court ruling requiring the state to pay overdue inclusive allowances to heirs of deceased recipients, adding that there is “always room in the budget to respect court decisions.”
Speaking at an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency, Ćorić said the government will allocate funds to comply with the ruling, which concerns payments for individuals who died before their entitlement to the allowance was determined.
The Administrative Court in Zagreb received 226 lawsuits by mid-January related to delays in processing inclusive allowance applications, according to local media. The court recently issued a non-final judgment establishing that proceedings to determine eligibility for the allowance must continue regardless of the applicant’s death.
The court ruled that the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, headed by Marin Piletić, must pay any overdue allowances to the heirs of deceased applicants. The judgment follows reports that more than 15,000 people died waiting for decisions on their entitlements.
Recipients often waited months or over a year, despite a legal requirement for the Croatian Social Welfare Centre to issue a decision within 15 days. After an applicant’s death, the Centre typically suspended proceedings, which the court criticized as taking advantage of non-compliance with regulations.
Ćorić said he does not expect the ruling to significantly impact the state budget, noting that about 200,000 people currently receive the inclusive allowance.
“This is manageable; public finances have been responsibly planned in recent years and will continue to be so,” he said.
The ruling, once finalized, will serve as a reference for similar lawsuits. The Ministry of Social Policy has the right to appeal but has not yet commented on whether it will do so.
The decision drew criticism from advocacy groups, with the Sjena Association stating that the ruling “reveals the scale of dysfunction in Croatia’s social welfare system,” citing procedural delays that denied families due entitlements.