ABA/CEELI’s Law Clinic Programs in Croatia

Abstract

In 1991, Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia and was soon involved in a long, painful civil war that would last four years. When the fighting ended, Croatia was an independent nation, but it had inherited its governmental institutions, judiciary and centers of learning from the previous regimes, Yugoslavia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These systems were not equipped to deal with the needs of a modern, democratic, free market-oriented society. As a result, Croatia has spent the past decade attempting to transform its economy and governmental systems, with varying degrees of success. The introduction of practical skills training through the ABA/CEELI clinical programs is a small but largely successful example of this slow transformation.