Prof. Jelinic is an associate professor and head of the Department of Civil Procedure and Civil Law at the Faculty of Law of the J.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek. 

His teaching covers a wide range of subjects, including civil procedure, arbitration, legal ethics out-of-court dispute resolution, enforcement law, the right to a fair trial and professional legal ethics.

He pursued postgraduate scientific studies in European Law at the University of Zagreb Law School, obtaining a Master of Laws in early 2008 with a thesis on "The Right to Access to a Court through Free and Subsidized Systems of legal aid". He continued his studies at the same institution and received his Doctor of Laws degree in late 2010, with a thesis titled 'Different regimes of lawyers’ remuneration and their impact on the efficiency of civil litigation'.

Throughout his academic career, Prof. Jelinic has received various teaching and research fellowships. These include a DAAD research scholarship at the Universität des Saarlandes - Europa-Institut in Saarbrücken (2019) and for Erasmus+ research mobility at the Rechtswissenschaftliche Fakultät - Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (2018). In addition, he was a visiting researcher at the University of Iowa IC School of Law in 2009 through a US Department of State Fellowship, and at Jagiellonski University in Krakow, Poland, in 2006. He also conducted research at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden in 2005 with the support of a Swedish Development Cooperation Agency Fellowship.

In addition to his regular academic duties, Prof. Jelinic serves as the clinical director of Osijek PRO BONO, a live client drop-in legal advice clinic that he initiated in 2015. Through this clinic, he has served numerous clients, providing essential legal assistance to the community.

His professional experience includes an internship at the Osijek Commercial Court from 2002 to 2003. He passed the Croatian State Bar Examinatione in Zagreb in 2009.

Prof. Jelinic is also a member of several professional associations, including the Global Alliance for Justice Education, the European Network for Clinical Legal Education, the US Alumni Community of Croatia, the European Law Institute and the Global Justice Network (GJN). He was also a member of the Government Commission for the preparation of the new draft of the Civil Procedure Code.

Prof. Jelinic's current research interests focus on the reform and efficiency of justice systems, small claims proceedings, collective redress, debt collection proceedings and practices, and the impact of litigation costs and fees on the efficiency and quality of justice.