Page "Politics of Croatia" Paragraph 3

Croatia is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic.

Following the collapse of the ruling Communist Party in Yugoslavia, Croatia adopted a new constitution in 1990 – which replaced the 1974 constitution adopted by the Socialist Republic of Croatia – and organised its first multi-party elections.

While the 1990 constitution remains in force, it has been amended four times since its adoption — in 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2010.

Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia on 8 October 1991, which lead to the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Croatia's status as a country was internationally recognised by the United Nations in 1992.

Under its 1990 constitution, Croatia operated a semi-presidential system until 2000 when it switched to a parliamentary system.

Government powers in Croatia are divided into legislative, executive and judiciary powers.

The legal system of Croatia is civil law, and along with the institutional framework, is strongly influenced by the legal heritage of Austria-Hungary.

By the time EU accession negotiations were completed on 30 June 2010, Croatian legislation was fully harmonised with the Community acquis.