GOVT. PROPOSES CHANGES TO LAW ON COURTS

ZAGREB, Jan 22(Hina) - The Croatian government on Thursday forwarded into urgent parliamentary procedure changes to the Law on Courts, which envisage the possibility of transferring some cases from one court to another, competent court, as well as the possibility of authorising court advisors to prepare rulings, not only in civil lawsuits but also in distress, extra-judiciary and similar procedures.#L# The amendments are part of the government's efforts to reduce the number of court cases and the duration of litigation. "We must not lose time discussing why or how this has happened, we must find solutions and reduce the number of backlog cases and the duration of litigation," Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said. The number of backlog cases can be reduced also by reorganising the judiciary and improving the education of judges, Justice Minister Vesna Skare Ozbolt said, announcing possible establishment of a judicial academy. She also announced changes to the Law on Distress, according to which distress procedure would no longer be conducted by public notaries, but by specialised services. Under the changes, the Supreme Court president would be able to decide, with previous opinion from the Court's general assembly, on the transfer of some cases from overburdened courts to other, competent courts. The changes also envisage the adoption of a code of judicial ethics and the assessment of judges' performance. Judges would be assessed by court councils and assessment would start after the fourth year of service. The existing rule which says that judges cannot be members of political parties is made stricter with the latest changes which ban judges from engaging in any political activity. (Hina) rml