Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

1. General provisions

1.1. The Website is intended to present the author’s, research, scholarly, educational, and documentary work of Branko Čičko, including texts, articles, historical commentaries, bibliographic information, photographs, digital reproductions, audio content, radio recordings, announcements, archival materials, and related content.

1.2. The content published on the Website is provided for informational, cultural, educational, documentary, and authorial purposes.

1.3. The owner reserves the right, at any time and without prior notice, to amend, supplement, limit, suspend, or remove any part of the Website, its functionalities, content, or legal documents.

1.4. These Terms of Use and Privacy Policy shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Croatia and applicable European Union law, in particular the GDPR and the Croatian Act on the Implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation.

2. Intellectual property and copyright

2.1. Unless expressly stated otherwise, all content on the Website, including texts, structure, selection and arrangement of materials, authorial commentaries, databases, photographs, graphic elements, audio materials, visual identity, design, documents, and other materials, is protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property rights.

2.2. Branko Čičko retains all rights in his original works published on the Website, except to the extent explicitly stated otherwise for specific content.

2.3. Without the owner’s prior express written consent, it is prohibited, in whole or in part, to:

• copy, reproduce, distribute, adapt, translate, publish, or republish Website content,
• use Website content for commercial purposes,
• remove authorship notices, source notices, or legal notices,
• collect Website content by automated means, including scraping tools, robots, crawlers, or similar technologies,
• create derivative works substantially based on the structure, content, or identity of the Website.

2.4. Quotation of short excerpts is permitted only in accordance with applicable law and scholarly standards, provided that the author, source, and original link are clearly indicated and provided that such use does not infringe the author’s moral rights, the integrity of the content, or the legitimate interests of the owner.

2.5. Where the Website contains third-party materials, archival records, documents, photographs, illustrations, or other materials for which rights belong to third parties, such materials remain the property of their respective rights holders. Users are solely responsible for verifying the legal status and conditions of use of such materials before making any use of them.

2.6. The owner reserves the right to demand the immediate cessation of any unauthorized use and to pursue all available legal remedies to protect his rights and legitimate interests.

3. Permitted and prohibited use of the Website

3.1. Users undertake to use the Website lawfully, in good faith, and in a manner that does not endanger the functioning of the Website, system security, the rights of the owner, or the rights of third parties.

3.2. In particular, users are prohibited from:

• using the Website in any manner that may cause damage, interruption, overload, or security incidents,
• introducing malicious code, viruses, scripts, or any harmful technical mechanism,
• attempting unauthorized access to the server, administration area, databases, or other protected parts of the system,
• impersonating another person or providing false information through contact forms or other communication channels,
• using Website content for defamatory, misleading, unlawful, discriminatory, or otherwise impermissible purposes.

3.3. The owner may, at his sole discretion and without prior notice, restrict or disable access to the Website or any part thereof for any user acting in breach of these provisions.

4. Content accuracy and disclaimer of liability

4.1. The owner seeks to ensure that the Website content is accurate, reliable, up to date, and professionally prepared. However, the owner does not guarantee that all published information is complete, exhaustive, error-free, or continuously updated.

4.2. The Website content does not constitute legal, tax, administrative, consulting, investment, or other professional advice and must not be considered a substitute for individualized professional advice.

4.3. Historical, interpretative, journalistic, and authorial materials may contain scholarly assessments, interpretations, summaries, authorial emphasis, or value judgments to the extent inherent in the subject matter. Such content is published in good faith and for informational and educational purposes.

4.4. The owner shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damage, loss of profit, loss of data, business interruption, reputational harm, or any other consequences arising from the use of, reliance upon, or inability to access the Website, except where such liability cannot be excluded under mandatory law.

4.5. The owner does not guarantee that the Website will be available without interruption, free of technical errors, free of security incidents, or free from temporary disruptions caused by maintenance, upgrades, third-party service providers, hosting providers, networks, or other circumstances beyond the owner’s reasonable control.

5. External links and third-party content

5.1. The Website may contain links to other websites, archives, platforms, public databases, media publications, or third-party sources.

5.2. Such links are provided for users’ convenience and do not mean that the owner endorses, controls, guarantees, or continuously monitors third-party content.

5.3. The owner is not responsible for the content, accuracy, legality, availability, security, privacy policies, or data processing practices of third-party websites.

5.4. Users access external links at their own risk.

6. Processing of personal data

6.1. The owner processes personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently, only to the extent necessary for legitimate and clearly defined purposes, in accordance with the GDPR and Croatian implementing law.

6.2. Depending on how a user interacts with the Website, the owner may process the following categories of data:

• identification and contact data voluntarily provided by the user, such as name, surname, e-mail address, and message content,
• technical and communication data, such as IP address, browser type, operating system, device information, access time, and basic usage logs,
• Website usage and analytical data collected through Google Analytics,
• any other data voluntarily provided by the user as part of an inquiry or communication.

6.3. The owner does not knowingly collect special categories of personal data and does not request that users provide sensitive data through the Website unless this is necessary and expressly justified by a specific communication initiated by the user.

6.4. If a user voluntarily provides sensitive or otherwise objectively unnecessary information, the owner reserves the right to disregard, refrain from using, or delete such data, except to the extent its processing is necessary for legal protection or for responding to the user’s request.

7. Purposes and legal bases of processing

7.1. Personal data may be processed for the following purposes:

• responding to user inquiries and communications,
• administration and technical maintenance of the Website,
• protecting system security and preventing misuse,
• analyzing Website use and improving functionality, content, and performance,
• protecting the owner’s rights, property, copyright, and legitimate interests,
• complying with legal obligations, where applicable.

7.2. The legal bases for processing may include:

• the user’s consent, where required,
• taking steps at the request of the data subject prior to a possible relationship,
• compliance with legal obligations of the controller,
• the owner’s legitimate interests, in particular for information security, content protection, defense against claims, Website administration, and analytics and user experience improvement, provided such interests are not overridden by the rights and freedoms of the data subject.

8. Google Analytics

8.1. The Website uses Google Analytics as a tool for analyzing traffic, content use, and basic user behavior patterns in order to understand how the Website is used and to improve its content, functionality, and technical performance. Google publicly states that Analytics includes data-retention controls and privacy-related controls.

8.2. Data collected through Google Analytics may include technical and usage data such as device data, browser data, general location, visited pages, session duration, traffic source, and similar analytical indicators.

8.3. Detailed rules regarding cookies, analytical identifiers, consent, and any refusal of such technologies are governed by a separate Cookie Notice.

8.4. Users are required to read the separate Cookie Notice, which constitutes an independent legal document and applies together with these Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

9. Sources of data

9.1. Personal data is generally collected directly from users.

9.2. Certain technical and analytical data may be collected automatically when users access and use the Website, including through server logs, security mechanisms, and analytics tools.

10. Recipients and processors

10.1. The owner may make personal data available only to those persons and service providers for whom such access is necessary for the functioning of the Website and the fulfillment of legitimate processing purposes, such as hosting providers, system administration providers, security services, technical support providers, and analytics providers.

10.2. Such recipients or processors may process data only on the owner’s instructions, only to the extent necessary for the specific service, and subject to appropriate confidentiality and security obligations, where applicable.

10.3. Personal data may also be disclosed to competent authorities, courts, regulators, lawyers, or other authorized persons where necessary to comply with legal obligations, establish, exercise, or defend legal claims, or protect the owner’s legitimate rights and interests.

11. Transfers of data to third countries

11.1. To the extent that certain technical or analytics service providers, including Google, process data outside the European Economic Area, such processing may involve transfers of personal data to third countries.

11.2. In such cases, the owner will, to the extent dependent on him as a user of those services, rely on reasonable and appropriate safeguards permitted under applicable law, including standard contractual clauses or other lawful transfer mechanisms where applicable.

12. Retention periods

12.1. Personal data is retained only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, unless longer retention is necessary to comply with legal obligations, for evidentiary purposes, archiving, protection of the owner’s rights, or defense against claims.

12.2. User communication data is retained for as long as reasonably necessary to process the inquiry, maintain continuity of prior correspondence, and protect the owner’s legal position.

12.3. Technical and analytical data is retained in accordance with the actual settings of the system, hosting environment, and tools used, including settings applicable to Google Analytics. Google publicly states that Analytics includes configurable retention controls.

13. Data subject rights

13.1. Within the limits set by applicable law, users have the right to:

• request access to their personal data,
• request rectification of inaccurate data or completion of incomplete data,
• request erasure where legal conditions are met,
• request restriction of processing,
• object to processing based on legitimate interests,
• request data portability where applicable,
• withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent, without affecting the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal,
• lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority, namely the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP), if they consider that the processing of personal data is not in compliance with applicable data protection laws.

13.2. To exercise their rights, users may contact the owner using the contact details set out in this document.

13.3. The owner reserves the right to take reasonable steps to verify the identity of the requester before acting upon any request, particularly where necessary to protect privacy and prevent unauthorized access to data.

13.4. Without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedy, users have the right to lodge a complaint with the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP), in particular if they consider that the processing of their personal data infringes rights guaranteed under the GDPR and the applicable laws of the Republic of Croatia. According to publicly available information published by AZOP, complaints and requests may be submitted by post to Selska cesta 136, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia, by e-mail to azop@azop.hr, and additional information is available on the official website of the supervisory authority.

14. Data security

14.1. The owner implements reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure, or unauthorized access, in line with the general GDPR security framework.

14.2. However, no website, electronic communication, or storage system can guarantee absolute security. Users acknowledge that any use of the internet involves a certain degree of risk.

15. Minors

15.1. The Website is not specifically intended for children and is not directed toward the systematic collection of minors’ personal data.

15.2. If the owner becomes aware that personal data of a minor has been collected contrary to applicable rules, he will take reasonable steps to remove such data or limit its processing.

16. Amendments

16.1. The owner reserves the right to amend, supplement, or update these Terms of Use and Privacy Policy at any time.

16.2. The current version, together with the date of last update, will be published on the Website.

16.3. Continued use of the Website after publication of changes shall be deemed acceptance of the amended text, unless mandatory law requires a different form of notice or consent.

17. Governing law and jurisdiction

17.1. These Terms of Use and Privacy Policy shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of Croatia and applicable European Union law.

17.2. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with the use of the Website shall fall within the jurisdiction of the competent court in the Republic of Croatia according to the owner’s residence or seat, unless mandatory law provides otherwise.

18. Contact

For all questions concerning use of the Website, copyright, processing of personal data, or the exercise of data subject rights, please contact:

Competent supervisory authority in the Republic of Croatia: Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP). Official information and contact channels are available on the AZOP website.