October the 12th, 2026 – Young Croatian men are ending up being taken to court over no responding to calls for medical examinations for military service.
Multiple young Croatian men, including secondary-school students, have faced court proceedings recently because they failed to respond to calls for an examination to determine fitness for military service. Index reports that while some were fined, others were acquitted because the summons had not been properly delivered.
fined for failing to appear
The Municipal Court in Čakovec last month issued a final fine of 250 euros to a secondary-school student from Međimurje. The young man, who is training to become a car painter, did not appear in mid-June for a medical examination and psychological testing at the Čakovec Health Centre. In court he admitted the misdemeanour. Since he had not previously been fined for a misdemeanour and is supported by his parents, the court imposed a penalty lower than the statutory minimum, which ranges from 500 to 5,000 euros.
Similar cases also occurred at the Municipal Misdemeanour Court in Zagreb, which handed down several non-final judgments. A 19-year-old was fined 120 euros plus 30 euros in court costs because he overslept the examination appointment. In a written defence he explained that the previous night he had returned from a trip with his mother and grandmother. He said he immediately contacted the competent office, but was told he could only come if he appeared within five minutes, which was impossible for him. The same court also fined a student born in 2007 with 120 euros plus 30 euros in costs. In his defence he admitted the misdemeanour and explained that he had remembered the wrong examination date and was therefore one day late.
not all cases ended in fines
Not all cases, however, ended with fines. Last month the Municipal Misdemeanour Court in Zagreb acquitted a young man of the charge that he had failed to appear for an examination at the beginning of May. In court the young man stated that he had never received or signed the summons. He explained that four families live in his house. The court checked the return receipt and established that the shipment had been placed in the letterbox without the recipient’s signature, so there was no proof that the summons had been properly served.
In mid-September the Municipal Court in Varaždin handed down a similar non-final judgment. A young man born in 2007 was acquitted after telling the court that he had not personally received the summons because he was working in Germany at the time. He stated that it was possible that a family member or neighbour had collected it and disputed that the signature on the delivery note was his mother’s, whom he described as illiterate. The court compared the signatures and concluded that it had not been proven that the young man had personally received the summons. At the beginning of September the Municipal Misdemeanour Court in Zagreb acquitted another young man. He had not appeared for the examination back in July and in his defence stated that he could not have received the summons because he was working seasonally in a shop on the island of Čiovo. In this case too, the court established that the signature on the delivery note differed from his. It was concluded that the summons had not been properly served and the young man was acquitted of the charge.
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