The Croatian Studies’ Right to Reputation Violated, Receiving 15,000 Kuna in Compensation

By a strike that was not organized and undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the law, the Independent Union of Science and Higher Education has caused damage to the Croatian Studies of the University of Zagreb and must pay 15,000 kuna in compensation to the Croatian Studies and 9,500 kuna in litigation costs within eight days.

As emphasized in the ruling of the Municipal Labor Court in Zagreb dated April 19, 2018, the Court fully accepted the claim of the Croatian Studies, explaining that the strike at the Croatian Studies from April 3 to April 10, 2017, has already been legally established as unlawful by the judgments of the County Court in Zagreb dated April 10, 2017, and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia dated April 27, 2017.

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The ruling is not final, and the Union has the right to appeal within eight days.

Vilim Ribić and Tomislav Janović, in a series of public statements, as officials of the Union, have violated the right to reputation, good name, honor, and identity of the Croatian Studies of the University of Zagreb, while the Union has never distanced itself from such statements, states the reasoning of the ruling.

The actions and work of the Croatian Studies were characterized by these union representatives in media appearances as unlawful, immoral, and violent. The Court found that the statements of the union representatives regarding the violation of academic freedoms and university autonomy, acts of retaliation, and institutional violence, without evidence to support them, directly insult the reputation of the Croatian Studies, negatively altering public perception of the higher education institution, especially regarding the respect and preservation of the fundamental principles and values for which it was established.

The Court also established that the Union did not prove in the proceedings that the statements made during the organization and undertaking of the strike were accurate. Therefore, it concluded that the Union did not intend to present accurate, complete, and truthful statements to the public, but rather to discredit the Croatian Studies in the eyes of the public.

The Court believes that by making false statements in the media, which aimed to portray the University of Zagreb as a legal entity acting unlawfully, the Union maliciously, irresponsibly, and carelessly abused the right to freedom of expression, and in its statements did not point to any specific economic or social interest of workers that might threaten the Croatian Studies, for the protection of which rights the Union has the right to organize and conduct a lawful strike.

For the violation of reputation, the Court, assessing that the severity of the violation and the circumstances of the case justify it, awarded just monetary compensation, it concludes in the statement.