Two witnesses at home search in the practice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia

Abstract

The author analyzes the legal provision on the mandatory presence of two witnesses at a home search from a theoretical and practical point of view. According to Art. 254 para. 2 of the CPC, the search of the home must be conducted in the presence of two adult citizens as witnesses. Citizens as witnesses are an element of control over the police work and the legality of the action and the credibility of the evidence depend on their presence and testimony. Since Russia, as well as other post-Soviet countries, in the wider region has this rule, the author referred to the theoretical researches of their academic community. So far, no empirical research has been conducted in Croatia on the application of this provision in practice. Therefore, the author analyzed the case law of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia in the twenty-year period, from 2000 to 2019, in order to determine the interpretations and actual characteristics of the application of the rule on mandatory presence of two witnesses at home search.