What to do when the authorities miss their deadlines
The Inclusion Allowance Act expressly designates the recognition procedure as urgent and lays down shorter decision-making deadlines than those of the general administrative procedure. When those deadlines expire without a decision, the applicant is not left without protection: the law provides for an appeal and, thereafter, for an action before the administrative court. Below is an overview of the time limits and of the steps available at each stage of the procedure.
Deadlines for the first-instance decision
The Croatian Institute for Social Work decides on the right to the inclusion allowance, and the procedure is initiated either at the request of the party or ex officio. The decision-making deadline depends on whether investigative proceedings must be conducted:
- 15 days from the day a complete request is filed or the procedure is initiated ex officio - where investigative proceedings are not required;
- 30 days from the same day - where investigative proceedings must be conducted.
Within those deadlines the Institute must not only issue the decision but also serve it on the party. The deadline runs from the day a complete request is filed, so it is important in practice that the request is complete from the outset and accompanied by the relevant medical documentation.
It should be emphasised that the right to the inclusion allowance is recognised as of the day the complete request was filed. Once the decision is eventually issued, the allowance is therefore calculated from that day and not from the date of the decision, and the first payment to the party will also include the arrears accrued since the request was filed.
Overview of the time limits
| Step | Time limit |
|---|---|
| Decision without investigative proceedings | 15 days |
| Decision with investigative proceedings | 30 days |
| Ministry’s decision on the appeal | 60 days from the filing of a complete appeal |
Appeal against an issued decision
An appeal is permitted against a first-instance decision of the Institute and is decided by the ministry responsible for social welfare. The appeal is lodged within 15 days of service of the decision and is filed with the first-instance authority.
Appeal where no decision is issued within the deadline
If the Institute fails to issue and serve a decision within the prescribed deadline, the party is entitled to lodge an appeal. Such an appeal is not bound by the 15-day deadline - it may be lodged at any time after the decision-making deadline expires, for as long as no decision has been issued.
Upon such an appeal, the Ministry must without delay request from the Institute a report on the reasons why no decision has been issued, and then:
- if it finds the reasons justified - it will set the Institute a new deadline for issuing the decision, which may not exceed 30 days;
- if it finds the reasons unjustified - it will either decide the administrative matter itself or order the Institute to issue the requested decision within 15 days.
The Ministry must decide on the appeal and serve its decision on the party no later than 60 days from the day the complete appeal was filed.
Action before the administrative court
No appeal lies against a decision of the Ministry, but an administrative dispute may be initiated. The action is brought before the territorially competent administrative court, and two situations must be distinguished.
The first is an action against a decision of the Ministry rejecting or dismissing the appeal. It is brought within 30 days of service of that decision.
The second is an action for failure to issue a decision, available where the Ministry does not decide on the appeal within 60 days.
What the court may decide
If the court finds that the public authority failed to issue, within the prescribed deadline, a decision it was required to issue, it will uphold the claim by judgment and may either decide the matter itself or return the case to the authority, in which case it orders the defendant to issue a decision and sets an appropriate deadline for doing so. Because expert assessment is normally required, in practice the court almost always orders the competent authority to issue a decision within a set deadline.
Practical notes
- A complete request - the decision-making deadline runs from the day a complete request is filed, so any subsequent supplementing of the documentation may move the start of that deadline.
- Proving the date - when filing the request, ask the competent authority for a confirmation of filing, as it serves as evidence of the moment the request was submitted. The confirmation is issued on a copy of the filed request in the form of a stamp bearing the date of filing.
If the deadline for issuing a decision or an appellate decision has expired and no decision has been issued, our office is available to assess the state of the case, prepare appeals and actions before the administrative court, and provide representation in proceedings for the recognition of the right to the inclusion allowance.