University of Zagreb

School of Medicine

Forensic medicine has been taught at the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb since the 1923/24 academic year as an elective subject. On January 16, 1932, the Faculty Council decided that forensic medicine would become a compulsory subject.

The Department of Forensic Medicine operates within the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminology. The faculty members of the Department of Forensic Medicine lead and participate in the following courses: 

• Compulsory undergraduate course in Forensic Medicine
• Compulsory undergraduate course in Forensic Medicine for the Medical studies in English
• Specialized postgraduate studies
  • General Competencies for Medical Specialists
  • Forensic Medicine
  • Pathology and Cytology

• Courses at other faculties
  • Forensic Medicine (Faculty of Law, undergraduate)
  • Medical Criminology (Police Academy, pre-graduate and graduate professional studies in criminology)
  • Forensic Medicine (Faculty of Law, postgraduate)
• Medical Criminalistics (Police Academy "Josip Jović", undergraduate course)

On September 29, 2022, the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia awarded the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminology at the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb a Certificate of Appreciation for its significant contribution to police education and the Ministry of the Interior through exceptionally successful long-term collaboration.

According to the decisions of the Ministry of Health, the Institute also conducts:

• Specialized training for doctors in forensic medicine
• Specialized training for doctors in pathology and cytology
• Specialist exams in forensic medicine

Additionally, specialized postgraduate studies are offered:

• General competencies for medical specialists
• Forensic Medicine
• Pathology and Cytology

The first autopsy was performed on August 6, 1936. Since then, over 94,000 autopsies have been conducted at the Institute.

The Institute performs autopsies for external clients:

• Upon request (county state prosecutor's offices, municipal state prosecutor's offices, county and municipal courts, Ministry of the Interior)
• Based on signed contracts (Contract for conducting coroner services in the City of Zagreb, Contract for performing coroner autopsies in the Zagreb County area, Contract for performing coroner autopsies in the Krapina-Zagorje County area, Contract for conducting autopsies with KBC Zagreb)
• Based on autopsy orders and referrals from hospitals in the City of Zagreb and many other hospitals throughout the country
• At the request of private individuals

A forensic autopsy is an examination of the body of a deceased person to determine the cause and manner of death. It consists of an external body examination, an internal examination of organs, and the collection of samples needed for histopathological and chemical-toxicological analysis. Due to the length of some analyses, determining the final cause of death and concluding the autopsy report can take up to 3 months.

All findings determined during the autopsy and special analyses are recorded in the autopsy report, which is sent to the requesting body.

According to the Criminal Procedure Act (NN 121/11, Article 319), the Health Care Act (NN 150/08, Article 193), and the Regulation on the Method of Examination of the Deceased and Determining the Time and Cause of Death (NN 46/11, Article 13), cases are defined where forensic autopsy is necessary.

A forensic autopsy is necessary:

• Whenever there is suspicion or it is evident that death was caused by a criminal act or is related to the commission of a criminal act
• When required to protect public health, or when epidemiological, sanitary, and other professional medical reasons demand it
• In cases of sudden and unexpected death where the cause of death is unknown or unclear
• When a person dies in a healthcare institution, and the cause of death cannot be concluded from available medical documentation
• If death occurs during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures
• In cases of death of a person whose body parts are being removed for transplantation
• In the death of participants in clinical research
• In cases of death of persons deprived of liberty
• At the request of the family

The decision on the cost of conducting an autopsy is regulated by the Ordinance on the Costs of Conducting Autopsies (NN 108/13) http://propisi.hr/print.php?id=12578

Employees of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminalistics participate in the coroner service activities in the City of Zagreb. The Coroner Service of the City of Zagreb is responsible for examining deceased individuals outside healthcare institutions within the city. The examination determines the death, time, cause and manner of death. Coroner service employees are sent to the place of death by the Zagreb police, to whom citizens are required to report a death immediately upon occurrence (0-24 hours). Deaths are reported to the police by calling numbers 192 or 112.

According to the Regulation on the Method of Examination of the Deceased and Determining the Time and Cause of Death, the examination of a person who has died outside a healthcare institution is generally performed at the place of death, no later than 12 hours after receiving the notification of death.

In addition to examining the deceased, the coroner determines the circumstances under which death occurred and establishes the cause of death. Information about the place, time, and circumstances of death is collected from family members and other individuals, as well as with the help of medical documentation regarding the deceased's treatment. Citizens are obligated to provide the coroner with any information they know and allow the examination to be carried out without obstruction. Before the coroner arrives, the deceased’s personal ID card and, if available, medical documentation should be prepared.

After the examination, when the death is confirmed and the cause is known, if the body is not referred for autopsy, the coroner fills out the death certificate in four copies, of which:

• The first copy is kept by the coroner.
• The second copy is given to the deceased's family.
• The third and fourth copies are sent to the relevant registry office.

If the coroner is unable to determine the cause of death based on the examination, circumstances of the case, and available medical documentation, the body will be referred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminalistics for a forensic autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. Additionally, the body will be referred for autopsy in all cases defined by the Criminal Procedure Act (NN 121/11, Article 319), the Health Care Act (NN 150/08, Article 193), and the Regulation on the Method of Examination of the Deceased and Determining the Time and Cause of Death (NN 46/11, Article 13).

In cases when the body is sent for autopsy, a close family member is required to come to the Institute as soon as possible (during working hours) to obtain the necessary documents for the burial and registry office. The deceased’s personal ID card and, if not listed on the ID, their OIB (Personal Identification Number) should be brought. Additionally, clothing for the deceased can be brought. To collect the autopsy report, family members should call or email at least 4-6 weeks after the autopsy to check if the report is ready. If it is, a family member can pick it up during working hours at the Institute.

If the coroner did not establish an indication for a forensic autopsy, but the family still wishes one to be performed, a private autopsy can be arranged. For further information and arrangements, please call or email the Institute.

In late 1941, the Chemical-Toxicological Laboratory was established as part of the Institute.

In the Toxicology Laboratory of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminalistics, chemical-toxicological analyses of biological samples collected during autopsies are primarily performed to prove poisoning, serving the needs of the City of Zagreb, Zagreb County, Krapina-Zagorje County, and other parts of Croatia. The laboratory also examines biological samples taken during clinical examinations, as well as items suspected of containing poison.

The laboratory is equipped with two gas chromatographs with mass spectrometers (GC-MS) and automatic liquid-phase samplers, and two gas chromatographs with flame ionization detectors (GC-FID), one of which has an automatic gas-phase sampler, while the other has an automatic liquid-phase sampler. The laboratory also includes one UV/VIS spectrophotometer.

Since 2004, the laboratory has successfully participated in international quality control for determining ethanol concentrations in biological samples, and since 2009, it has also participated in international quality control for determining drugs in biological samples. The laboratory performs over 4,000 quantitative analyses of ethanol in biological samples annually, using the gas chromatography technique with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and about 1,500 qualitative analyses of organic compounds in biological samples using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Additionally, the laboratory performs quantitative analyses of identified, toxicologically significant compounds in blood, measures carboxyhemoglobin concentration in blood via spectrophotometric methods, analyzes volatile compounds, and conducts numerous targeted qualitative tests for the presence of anions and cations.

The process of searching for missing persons in Croatia began in 1991. During that time, the first committees were established with the task of determining and resolving the fate of the detained and missing persons. Over time, these committees were integrated into a single body that now operates under the name Directorate for Detained and Missing Persons within the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, with the task of coordinating all participants in the search process. In September 1995, the search for missing persons began by locating individual and mass graves and exhuming human remains from them. This complex process continues today, having developed and continuously improved over the years, and its current form is known as the Croatian Model of Missing Persons Search. This model consists of several phases:

• Establishing a registry of detained and missing persons
• Collecting information on detained and missing persons
• Exhumation of human remains from mass and individual graves
• Identification of human remains

The Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminology of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Medicine is actively involved in the last two phases of this process. The staff of the Institute participate in exhumations of human remains and carry out the processing of exhumed remains. The processing of remains is focused on establishing identity, identifying injuries, and determining the cause of death.

After completing the analysis and expert procedures that lead to the identification, the findings are presented to the family members, who must officially accept the identification. The official process of presenting findings and accepting the identification by the family is carried out at the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminology of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Medicine. Once the identification is accepted, administrative procedures follow, including issuing a death certificate and arranging the burial details.

The search for missing persons, exhumations, and identifications are some of the few activities that have maintained continuity from the very beginning to the present day, regardless of changes in the political climate in Croatia. Due to the nature and significance of this process, its continuation in the future is both necessary and unquestionable.

In 2002, the staff of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminology of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Medicine were awarded the "Medicine" award — a recognition for humaneness and ethics by the Faculty of Medicine for their dedicated work on the identification of fallen Croatian soldiers and civilian victims of aggression against the Republic of Croatia.

Additionally, for their significant contributions to establishing the identities of the fallen and missing persons in the Homeland War, the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Criminology of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Medicine was awarded the Charter of the Republic of Croatia on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of its establishment.

In 2024, the Ministry of Croatian Veterans, based on the Law on Croatian Veterans of the Homeland War and Their Families, awarded the Institute with the "Veteran's Thank You" for its exceptional contribution and merits in establishing and defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Croatia during the Homeland War, participating in the processes of exhumations, processing, and identification of human remains of persons who died during the war.