Online conference „Protecting Family Life and Children’s Rights“

Project team member Matko Guštin, Master of Laws, attended the online conference “Protecting Family Life and Children’s Rights“, held on 24–25 February 2026 under the auspices of the Academy of European Law (ERA).

In a series of five sessions, eminent experts addressed pressing contemporary issues, including the child’s right to be heard in legal proceedings, with specific focus on international child abduction, gender reassignment, foster care, adoption, and surrogacy arrangements. By examining the recent jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, the conference underscored the evolving nature of family dynamics, which continually reshapes traditional legal frameworks. Consequently, the proceedings concluded that national legislatures and judicial authorities must adopt a more proactive stance in safeguarding individual human rights, while consistently upholding the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration.

Detailed information regarding the conference program is available at the following link: https://shop.era.int/upload/dokumente/27331.pdf.

Photo (logo): https://www.era.int/

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Free Legal Aid – OSIJEK PRO BONO Legal Clinic

An article on the activities of the OSIJEK PRO BONO Legal Clinic of the Faculty of Law Osijek, led by Zvonimir Jelinić, Ph.D., Associate Professor, was published in Glas Slavonije. For more than a decade, this legal clinic has been providing free primary legal aid, and students, with the assistance of mentors, have handled slightly more than 170 cases. Through their work in the legal clinic, students gain valuable practical experience in preparation for legal practice while simultaneously developing a sense of social responsibility by providing free legal assistance to citizens of limited financial means.

The full article is available at the following link: https://www.glas-slavonije.hr/osijek/2026/01/21/studenti-gradanima-besplatnom-pravnom-pomoci-sluze-zajednici-741767/.

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New Edition – “The Metaphysics of Ownership” by Assistant Professor Tomislav Nedić

Published by Naklada Breza, a new book by Tomislav Nedić, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, titled “The Metaphysics of Ownership – Kant and the Rational Foundation of Property Law” has been released. The book offers a philosophical-legal analysis of ownership and other rights in rem through the relationship between law and morality, while also examining the relevance of Kant’s rational theory of law for contemporary statutory private law, private law theory, and legal doctrine (https://naklada-breza.hr/pravo/metafizika-vlasnistva/).

The institution and right of ownership, as the most important right in rem, constitute the foundation not only of private (civil) law and law in general but also of the modern social order, which protects ownership (in the broader sense) and all its elements through a wide range of measures. The thought of Immanuel Kant clearly paved the way for the individualistic-liberal understanding of ownership, as well as of private law. It is beyond dispute that the distinction between persons and things, the rational foundation of property law and possession (particularly evident in indirect and ideal possession), the principle of substance, freedom and equality, and first possession as a mode of acquiring ownership represent fundamental determinants of the modern (especially continental) system of property law.

The book examines the legacy of the Kantian distinction between persons and things within the continental civil law order and explores the possibility that new entities—conceived as objects of property rights—such as artificial intelligence, body parts, animals, and nature, might potentially be understood as persons or as holders of (subjective) rights. It also addresses the nature of possession, including the applicability of intelligible possession in contexts such as cryptocurrencies, the structure of ownership as an absolute right, and the defence of private ownership. In addition, the author analyses private-law delicts in the form of infringements of ownership, vindicatory claims, and the boundaries between personality/subjectivity and ownership/objectivity, including the issue of property rights over one’s own body.

The author seeks to situate Kant’s theory of law within the framework of statutory private law, private law theory, and civil-law doctrine, with the aim of illuminating contemporary disputes and controversies. By applying a somewhat more extensive and purposive interpretation, the work highlights Kant’s exceptional contribution to private law theory and philosophy.

The book is intended for scholars and theorists of (private) law, as well as philosophers, sociologists, historians, and political scientists (political theorists).

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Protection of Children’s Procedural Rights in Practice

On 6 December 2025, an interview with Branka Rešetar, Ph.D., Full Professor, was published in the newspaper Jutarnji list on the topic “Does the Court Listen to the Child When Deciding About Them?”. In addition to Professor Rešetar, the issue is also discussed by Teuta Palčić, an attorney specializing in family law.

The full interview is available below.