ZAGREB, April 27 (Hina) - The Parliament's Committee on the Judiciary on Tuesday unanimously supported the government's bill amending the Penal Code and submitted it for the first reading.
ZAGREB, April 27 (Hina) - The Parliament's Committee on the Judiciary
on Tuesday unanimously supported the government's bill amending the
Penal Code and submitted it for the first reading.#L#
Despite objections that the bill does not include all the changes
necessary to increase the efficiency of the penal system, the Social
Democrats also supported the bill.
Social Democrats Ingrid Anticevic Marinovic and Ivo Josipovic
particularly objected to what they called the government's failure to
introduce stricter penalties for the gravest criminal acts, especially
white-collar crime.
As the government did not submit its opinion, the Committee did not
discuss the SDP's bill on changes to the Penal Code which is mostly
based on an amended Penal Code, which was annulled by the
Constitutional Court because it did not receive majority support in
the parliament.
Addressing the Committee on Immigration, Ombudsman Ante Klaric said
that in almost eight years of his term Croatia had made significant
progress with regard to the protection of human rights,
reconstruction, the restoration of trust and tolerance.
The Ombudsman said he had raised some sensitive issues, including the
fact that some displaced people whose houses had been reconstructed
were still occupying other people's property.
He reiterated his position from his 2003 report saying that former
tenancy rights holders who left Croatia for no good reason and of
their own free will should not be entitled to any form of financial
compensation.
(Hina) rml