"Fifteen percent of all cases at the Administrative Court are older than three years, which is considered a reasonable period of time, but nevertheless citizens cannot wait that long to exercise their rights related to pension, disability or health insurance," Kujundzic said.
The Administrative Court was established on 1 July 1977.
Most objections to the court's work today refer to the duration of proceedings.
Justice Minister Ana Lovrin said that the reform of administrative procedure was an important issue in negotiations with the EU and that the introduction of a two-instance administrative procedure envisaged by the reform would remove a significant problem in the implementation of the European legislation.
The reform of the Administrative Court is part of a CARDS programme worth EUR 850,000, and the Croatian government has set aside another EUR 150,000 for that purpose. The reform project is expected to be completed by the end of 2008.
President Stjepan Mesic, under whose auspices today's ceremony was held, said the Croatian judiciary today could boast increasing adoption of standards of the most developed democracies.