CROATIAN, SLOVENE SUPREME COURTS' PRESIDENTS HOLD TALKS

MOKRICE, Sept 10 (Hina) - The role of the supreme court in the process of joining the European Union, the education of judges and justice officials, the informatisation of courts and the exchange of criminal legislature were the main topics of a meeting between Croatian and Slovene supreme court presidents Ivica Crnic and Mitja Deisinger in Mokrice on Tuesday. #L# "We spoke about several issues concerning the functioning of the justice system, primarily about the role of courts in approaching the EU," Crnic said after the talks, stressing that Slovenia's experiences in this area were very important for Croatia. Crnic said that the measures being undertaken by the Croatian Supreme Court were already on the path of requests being set when joining the EU. These tasks relate to decreasing the number of cases in courts, decreasing the length of court proceedings and the education of judges in applying European law. "Croatia wishes to achieve more permanent forms of educating judges, which is where Slovenia's experiences are useful," Crnic said, adding that the cooperation between the two countries' supreme courts also contributed to better relations and understanding between Croatia and Slovenia. Deisinger said that "Slovenia, which is about to enter the EU, values the high quality of the Croatian Supreme Court and Croatian judges," and added that Croatia was working intensively on adjusting its justice system with that of the EU. Pointing out that out of all neighbouring countries' supreme courts, Slovenia cooperated best with the Croatian court, Deisinger said that the Slovene Supreme Court saw Croatia's as a partner which could help this country on its way to the European Union. (hina) lml