{"id":45451,"date":"2026-11-04T15:53:21","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T14:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/?post_type=news&p=45451"},"modified":"2026-11-04T15:53:22","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T14:53:22","slug":"president-milanovic-at-the-250th-anniversary-of-zagrebs-faculty-of-law-stay-strict-and-ambitious","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-at-the-250th-anniversary-of-zagrebs-faculty-of-law-stay-strict-and-ambitious\/","title":{"rendered":"President Milanovi\u0107 at the 250th Anniversary of Zagreb\u2019s Faculty of Law: Stay strict and ambitious"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 participated today at a formal ceremony marking the 250th<\/sup> anniversary of the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb. In his address, he highlighted the historical importance of the Faculty of Law for Croatian statehood, while also warning of the modern challenges facing the legal profession, primarily due to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the event, President Milanovi\u0107 recalled key historical figures, singling out Ivan Ma\u017eurani\u0107 as the man to whom Croatia owes the transformation of the University of Zagreb into a modern institution, as well as Stjepan Radi\u0107 and Vladimir Vidri\u0107, who initiated the political organisation of the nation. \u201cThis institution was established in 1776 in Latin and German, and only at the end of the 19th<\/sup> century in Croatian. That was a pivotal moment,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 recalled, adding that foreign authorities from Vienna and Budapest did everything in their power to thwart Croatian institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed that Croatian lawyers should never feel an inferiority complex when facing international competition, as the Faculty of Law in Zagreb has always been \u201ca strict, slightly pretentious, but genuinely good institution\u201d. \u201cStay that way \u2013 strict, selective. An elite school has to be as such,\u201d he urged. He added that, unlike certain others, the Faculty of Law had historically not been a hotbed of radical ideas and unrest, but rather a stable institution. \u201cThe University of Zagreb, including the Faculty of Law, contributed to Croatian statehood, but it was never a hotbed of radical and foolish ideas, rebellions, riots, physical clashes, or barricades,\u201d the President stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Milanovi\u0107 identified the overproduction of legal professionals, coupled with technological advancement, as the greatest challenge currently facing the legal profession. He drew a parallel with the late 1980s, when only 250 lawyers were registered with the Bar Association, compared with more than 2,000 today. He sees the greatest danger in the possibility that law firms, driven by a desire to cut costs, might begin replacing human labour with artificial intelligence on a massive scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you hear from lawyers that artificial intelligence is an excellent substitute for the human labour they currently pay for, they will almost certainly go down that path. This means that instead of five people, they will need only two, while young lawyers will be deprived of a formative period that lasts ten to fifteen years,\u201d the President warned. He also questioned how the legal profession would function in the long term when today\u2019s lawyers retire and are replaced by people who have not undergone the necessary professional \u201crigorous training.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of his address, President Milanovi\u0107 congratulated the Faculty of Law on its major anniversary and urged its professors and students to preserve its standing as an elite institution for ambitious individuals who earn their status and degrees through hard work and knowledge. \u201cYou are an elite school, a school for ambitious people. Remain that way, without any sense or complex of inferiority; there is absolutely no reason for one. These are things that must be earned, just like your degrees, which you have earned through hard work,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to President Milanovi\u0107, the speakers at the ceremony included Professor Romana Matanovac Vu\u010dkovi\u0107, Ph. D., Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb; Professor Stjepan Laku\u0161i\u0107, Ph. D., Rector of the University of Zagreb; Professor Davor Deren\u010dinovi\u0107, Ph. D., Judge of the European Court of Human Rights; Tomislav Toma\u0161evi\u0107, Mayor of the City of Zagreb; Mirta Mati\u0107, President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia; Professor Frane Stani\u010di\u0107, Ph. D., President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia; Damir Habijan, Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, representing the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia; and Ivan Malenica, Member of the Croatian Parliament, representing the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Milanovi\u0107 was accompanied by Jadranka \u017darkovi\u0107, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia \/ Marko Beljan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 participated today at a formal ceremony marking the 250th anniversary of the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb. In his address, he highlighted the historical importance of the Faculty of Law for Croatian statehood, while also warning of the modern challenges facing the legal profession, primarily due to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":45452,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-45451","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107 at the 250th Anniversary of Zagreb\u2019s Faculty of Law: Stay strict and ambitious - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-at-the-250th-anniversary-of-zagrebs-faculty-of-law-stay-strict-and-ambitious\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107 at the 250th Anniversary of Zagreb\u2019s Faculty of Law: Stay strict and ambitious - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 participated today at a formal ceremony marking the 250th anniversary of the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb. 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