It is clear from the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights that considerable financial burden imposed at the end of the proceedings may constitute a violation of the right of access to a court and the right to the peaceful enjoyment of possession as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. The right of access to a court as guaranteed by Article 6 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights will be violated if the very essence of the right is impaired. Equally, the violation of the right of access to a court will be found if the imposition of costs of proceedings does not pursue a legitimate aim. If the very essence of the right of access to a court is preserved and imposition of costs has a legitimate aim, the European Court of Human Rights will examine whether imposed costs are proportional to the legitimate aim. In order to determine whether proportionality requirement is satisfied, the amount of costs has to be assessed in the light of the particular circumstances of the case. According to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, right of access to a court may be violated if domestic courts mechanically apply provisions on costs of proceedings, thus disregarding specific circumstances of the case. The amount of costs which one party to proceedings is ordered to pay to another may result in violation of the right to the peaceful enjoyment of possession. Violation of the Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 will not occur if costs order satisfies principle of lawfulness and pursues a legitimate aim. However, the amount of costs has to be reasonable proportionate to the legitimate aim of ordering costs of proceedings. In each case specific circumstances need to be assessed in order to ascertain whether proportionality requirement is satisfied. Otherwise the right to the peaceful enjoyment of possession may be violated. This paper thus presents principles that have been developed by the European Court of Human Rights which shall serve as a guide to the Croatian courts in determining costs of proceedings.