The salute “Za dom spremni” (“For Home Ready”) has once again received judicial recognition as a salute that may lawfully be used in a specific and limited context—namely, during commemorative events honouring members of the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) who fought under that salute during Croatia’s 1991–1995 Homeland War.

The Municipal Misdemeanour Court in Split acquitted thirteen HOS veterans, including HOS war commander Marko Skejo, charged with disturbing public order after responding to the salute during the Victory Day commemoration in Knin on 5 August 2022.

In its reasoning, the court acknowledged the historical complexity surrounding the salute:

“It is an indisputable fact that, despite the complexity and ambiguity surrounding its use at different times, this salute was used as the official salute of the Ustaša movement and the totalitarian Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a regime founded on fascism and racism. As such, it symbolises hatred towards persons of other racial, religious or ethnic identities. The salute ‘Za dom spremni’ is a totalitarian symbol contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and to the democratic foundations upon which the Republic of Croatia rests.”

At the same time, however, the court concluded that the circumstances of this particular case fell within a recognised exception:

“Taking into account all the circumstances of the event, this court considers that the occasion giving rise to these proceedings falls within an exceptional situation.”

According to the judgment, the defendants’ conduct did not disturb public order or peace because the salute was used solely as part of a ceremony honouring Croatian defenders who had fought and died while serving in HOS units under that insignia.

The judgment records that on 5 August 2022, during the celebration of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Croatian Veterans’ Day in Ante Starčević Square in Knin, the third defendant, Mićo Ćuk, stepped forward before those assembled and shouted “Za dom” three times, with the remaining twelve defendants responding “Spremni” each time.

The court further observed that:

“Members of the HOS participated in the defence of the Republic of Croatia as Croatian defenders, protecting the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Croatia against the armed aggression carried out by Serbia, Montenegro and the Yugoslav People’s Army, together with the armed rebellion of part of the Serbian population in Croatia during the Homeland War.”

The prosecution argued that the salute fostered intolerance among a part of the population and asked the court to determine whether its use should be permitted in such circumstances. The court answered that, in this specific commemorative context, it could.

Several years earlier, the Croatian Government established the Council for Dealing with the Consequences of the Rule of Undemocratic Regimes. The Council produced its Dialogue Document: Basic Starting Points and Recommendations on the Special Normative Regulation of Symbols, Insignia and Other Characteristics of Totalitarian Regimes and Movements, which recommended a legislative framework to regulate symbols associated with totalitarian regimes. Among the symbols discussed were the Nazi swastika, the SS insignia, the Chetnik cockade, the Ustaša “U”, and the salutations “Za dom i poglavnika” (“For the Homeland and the Leader”) and “Za dom spremni”.

In my view, however, Croatia has yet to apply the same standard to the symbols of the communist Yugoslav regime, including the red five-pointed star and other communist insignia. Unless the law addresses all totalitarian symbols consistently, many citizens are likely to regard both judicial decisions and future legislation in this area as selective and discriminatory, rather than as the impartial application of democratic principles. Ina Vukic