GOVERNMENT MOVES AMNESTY BILL

ZAGREB, June 16 (Hina) - The government has moved an amnesty bill to relieve courts of additional tasks of receiving applications for amnesty. Under the bill, such applications would be submitted to the justice ministry, deputy justice minister Miljenko Kovac said Monday, presenting the bill to Croatian MPs. #L# The head of state would continue to make decisions on pardoning, in line with constitutional authority, but according to the bill, every decision he makes would be published in the Official Gazette, subjecting the president's decisions to public control. The Social Democratic Party bench endorsed the government- sponsored bill in its first reading. The Libra bench voiced doubt in the possibility that the president may overturn a court decision, but also recalled that the head of state had the constitutional right to make a decision on amnesty. The Social Liberals suggested that conditions should be set, determining when the president could or could not decide on pardoning a convict. The HSLS believes that a person convicted of drug trafficking should not have the possibility of being pardoned. The Croatian Peasant Party bench believes that the amnesty decision should be considered as an act of mercy on the part of the president, and that conditions for pardon should not be set, more so because the head of state could make such a decision under the current law which has been in effect since 1993. The Croatian Democratic Union bench said the institute of presidential pardon was a "relict" in constitutions of democratic European states, including Croatia since 1993 and before, in the time of the ex-Yugoslavia. Parliament ended today's sitting after MPs voiced their opinion about the government-sponsored bill. (hina) lml