THE ROLE OF ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION IN THE REALIZATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE OF TAX EQUITY – A CROATIAN PERSPECTIVE

Sažetak

The right to a fair trial in the Republic of Croatia is guaranteed by constitutional, international and supranational norms. Article 29 of the Constitution guarantees the broadest protection as it is not limited ratione materiae, in contrast to Article 6/1 of the European Convention. As opposed to Article 47 of the EU Charter, it is equally applicable to procedures in which EU law is applied, as well as in those in which domestic authorities only apply national regulations. Through its uniform and extensive application in tax cases, Croatian administrative courts should simultaneously protect the standards of a fair trial developed in the caselaw of the ECtHR and the CJEU – in accordance with the jurisprudence of the Croatian Constitutional Court. They should connect requirements of material equity in taxation with the procedural guarantees of a fair trial and strive to build extensive protection of the taxpayers’ rights, as well as to contribute to the construction of an integral concept of equity in taxation.