JUSTICE MINISTER VISITS GOSPIC PRISON, COURT

GOSPIC, Aug (Hina) - Croatian Justice, Administration and Local Self-Government Minister Ingrid Anticevic Marinovic on Friday opened a newly-constructed prison wing in Gospic in which convicts sentenced to one to 20 years in prison will be serving time. #L# Around two million kuna (EUR266,700) have been invested into the construction of the wing. The minister pointed to the exceptional contribution of inmates who covered more than a half of the overall investment with their work. The Gospic penitentiary has its own sheep farm and organises the production of potatoes on 20 hectares and wheat on 40 hectares. All proceeds are intended for the correctional facility system. An International Red Cross delegation recently paid a visit to Croatian prisons and had no criticism about the staff's conduct towards inmates, Marinovic recalled. The minister also visited the city's municipal court and County Court for which she said was one of the most expeditious of Croatian courts. But this is not the case with municipal court, she said. "The reform of the judiciary was on the right path and we will persevere on that path, but we must unburden courts from so-called non-court cases with which courts are currently overburdened. As soon as we do so, courts will become prompt in a very short period of time," Marinovic asserted. (hina) lml sb