The conference drew several dozen prominent legal experts and judges.
High Administrative Court president Ante Galic said Croatia was "penultimate in the European Union by the ratio of administrative law judges to inhabitants," adding that it lacked 50 such judges.
Administration Minister Arsen Bauk said Croatia should use France's knowledge in public administration and administrative law in order to be as equal as possible when it joined the EU next year.
He said there was a lot of room for decentralisation in local administration and that his ministry was examining the status and work of government agencies.
"We are happy that Croatia is joining the European Union. In France, we have economic, cultural and other events which will help deepen our friendship. The next two days will help us in that as well as encourage us to continue working together," said French Ambassador Jerome Pasquier.
The Split event is being held under the auspices of the Croatian justice and administration ministries. Among the organisers are the French Council of State and the French Embassy to Croatia.