PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS CITIZEN IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

ZAGREB, Feb 13 (Hina) - The citizen identification number which will be written on identification cards, according to the recently adopted Law on Identification Cards, should not be visible on any document, including the ID, amendments to the Law suggest. A motion for amendments to the Law on the identification number was sent into parliamentary procedure by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) party bench, requesting that the law be harmonised with the Constitution, and that the secrecy of the citizen identification number be secured, that is any personal information which could be derived from the number. The amendment was announced by the president of the SDP bench, Mato Arlovic, after MPs of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) voted for the amendment to the Law to have the number included on the card. According to the suggested amendments, the number would not be written into citizens documents, excluding special cases, when it is encoded or nor visible. If the amendments are adopted, the Law on the ID will also have to be changed. The Law only just recently went into force, but is applicable only as of January 3, 2003. If it is not adopted, Arlovic has already announced a request for the Law on the ID to be tested for following the Constitution. Arlovic claims that the Law violates the Constitution by allowing the usage of personal information. (hina) lml sb