Prije solemnizacije javni bilježnik utvrđuje istovjetnost stranke.

Because prije normally takes the genitive case in Croatian when it means before.

So:

• prije = before
• solemnizacija = solemnization
• prije solemnizacije = before the solemnization

The noun solemnizacija is feminine, and its genitive singular form is solemnizacije.

Solemnizacije is genitive singular.

You can tell because:

• the base form is solemnizacija
• nouns ending in -a are often feminine
• feminine nouns of this type usually form the genitive singular in -e
• the preposition prije requires the genitive

So:

• nominative: solemnizacija
• genitive: solemnizacije

Javni bilježnik is the Croatian term for a notary public.

Literally:

• javni = public
• bilježnik = notary / recorder

In legal Croatian, javni bilježnik is the standard expression for a notary public.

Grammatically, this is a noun phrase in the nominative singular, and it is the subject of the sentence.

Because this phrase is the subject of the sentence, so it must be in the nominative case.

The verb is utvrđuje = determines / establishes, and the person doing that action is the notary. So the subject is:

• javni bilježnik = the notary public

If it were in another role in the sentence, the form could change. But here it stays in the nominative.

Utvrđuje is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• from the verb utvrđivati / utvrditi depending on how the dictionary presents the pair

In this sentence it means something like:

• establishes
• determines
• verifies

Legal Croatian often uses the present tense to state what is generally done as part of a formal procedure. So even if English might sometimes prefer must verify or verifies, Croatian commonly uses the plain present form.

Because Croatian, especially in legal and formal language, often uses the present tense to describe:

• standard procedure
• official steps
• general rules
• what happens as part of a formal act

So javni bilježnik utvrđuje... does not necessarily mean is verifying right now in a conversational sense. It often means:

• the notary verifies
• the notary shall verify
• the notary verifies as part of the procedure

This is very common in legal writing.

Here istovjetnost is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of utvrđuje.

The notary is verifying what?

• istovjetnost = identity

So it is the thing being verified.

A useful detail: many feminine nouns ending in -ost have the same form in the nominative and accusative singular. So:

• nominative: istovjetnost
• accusative: istovjetnost

That is why the form does not change.

Istovjetnost means identity or sameness of identity, especially in formal or legal contexts.

It is close in meaning to identitet, but istovjetnost can sound more formal and more specifically connected with verifying that a person is truly the person they claim to be.

So in this sentence, utvrđuje istovjetnost stranke means the notary is formally establishing or verifying the identity of the party.

In everyday speech, learners may hear identitet more often, but in legal language istovjetnost is very natural.

Here stranke is genitive singular, not plural.

The basic noun is:

• stranka = party, client, party to a legal act, side in a legal matter

In this sentence, istovjetnost stranke means:

• the identity of the party
• the identity of the client
• the identity of the person involved

Why genitive? Because istovjetnost is followed by a noun in the genitive to show whose identity it is.

So:

• istovjetnost = identity
• stranke = of the party

This form can look confusing because stranke can also be a plural form in other contexts, but here the meaning is clearly singular because it depends on istovjetnost.

In everyday Croatian, stranka can mean several things, including:

• a party in a legal or administrative matter
• a customer or client
• a political party in other contexts

In this sentence, it is a legal party / client / person involved in the notarized act.

So you should understand it as a legal participant, not as a political party.

Context is very important with stranka.

Because Croatian does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So Croatian simply says:

• javni bilježnik = the notary public or a notary public
• stranke = of the party or of a party

The exact meaning depends on context. In legal language, English usually uses the, but Croatian does not need a separate word for that.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but this sentence uses a very natural formal written order:

• Prije solemnizacije = before the solemnization
• javni bilježnik = the notary public
• utvrđuje = establishes/verifies
• istovjetnost stranke = the identity of the party

This order sounds neutral and official.

You could rearrange parts of the sentence in some contexts, but in legal style this order is preferred because it is clear and standard.

In Croatian legal usage, solemnizacija is a formal notarial act, often involving the official certification or formalization of a document.

For a learner, the important point is that it is a technical legal term. You do not need to treat it as an everyday word.

So prije solemnizacije means before the formal notarization / before the solemnization procedure.

A rough guide is:

• bilježnik ≈ BEE-lyezh-neek

A few useful pronunciation points:

• lj is pronounced as one sound, similar to the lli in some pronunciations of million
• ž sounds like the s in measure
• stress in Croatian is not usually marked in normal writing, so learners often just imitate native pronunciation from audio

You do not need perfect stress placement at first; the most important thing is recognizing lj and ž.

A very helpful way is:

• Prije solemnizacije = before the solemnization
• javni bilježnik = the notary public
• utvrđuje = verifies / establishes
• istovjetnost stranke = the identity of the party

This shows the structure clearly:

time expression + subject + verb + object

That is a good way to read many formal Croatian sentences.