GOVT. FORMULATES AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION FOR PARLIAMENT

ZAGREB, March 27 (Hina) - At Tuesday's closed-door session, the government endorsed a motion for amending the Constitution and formulated amendments specifying that the adoption of the changes terminates mandates for upper house MPs, the president of the Supreme Court, and the president and members of the State Judicial Council. The motion will be on the upper house's agenda on Wednesday, when voting is expected to take place. Thus the amendments, whose main goal is the dissolution of the upper house and the redefinition of the Diaspora's right to vote, would be adopted a month after 34 MPs initiated them. The amendments are accompanied by a constitutional bill on the implementation of the Constitution. Besides the abolishment of the upper house and the termination of its deputies' mandates, recent parliamentary debates focused on the termination of mandates for the president of the Supreme Court and the president and members of the State Judicial Council. Although it was initially suggested the matter should be regulated through the constitutional bill, the government has moved doing so through the constitutional amendments, in accordance with provisions on a new mode of their election, which is stipulated in last November's constitutional amendments. Last year's amendments also provided a new method of electing judges, although presently it is unknown which document will regulate the issue of mandates for 250 presidents of all regular courts. It has been proposed regulating the matter through the constitutional bill, but also through a bill of changes to the Law on Courts. (hina) ha sb