Улогата на хералдичката комисија во современиот хералдички дизјан во Хрватска -Role of the Heraldic Commission to the Contemporary Heraldic Design in Croatia

The paper presents the role and regulations regarding the so-called Heraldic Commission in forming the contemporary heraldic design in Croatia. The Heraldic Commission established in the Ministry of Administration has the role of providing expert evaluations in the process of approving municipal coats of arms and flags, but also serves as an advisory body to these municipalities to come up with heraldically acceptable designs. The paper presents the legislations regulating its work. Since its establishment in 1995 the Commission approved well over 400 municipal coats of arms in Croatia, providing them with a distinctive heraldic style and equipping them with proper Croatia heraldic blazon, mostly devised for this purpose. Thus the Commission set standards not only for municipal heraldry, but for the heraldic theory and other heraldic fields in Croatia. The paper further presents some common elements of heraldic principles visible in the approved designs and various characteristics typical for the contemporary Croatian municipal heraldry.