TOMCIC POSTPONES STATE PROSECUTOR'S SWEARING-IN

ZAGREB, June 27 (Hina) - Parliamentary speaker Zlatko Tomcic postponed the swearing-in ceremony of state prosecutor Radovan Ortynski, which had been announced for Wednesday, due to the "inappropriate public debate in the media between Ortynski and the judicial authority." Tomcic made the decision after Ortynski, commenting on a Supreme Court ruling on the release of two suspects in "the corruption in the judiciary case," said on Tuesday the ruling was illegal and proved the judiciary was corrupt. "As president of the legislative authority I cannot come to terms with the fact that segments of the judicial authority and judicial bodies are communicating this way in public," Tomcic told reporters today. He said he postponed the swearing-in ceremony after consultations with the chairmen of parliament's committees on justice, the Constitution and rule book, and Supreme Court president Ivica Crnic. Tomcic said the State Prosecutor's Office was a party in criminal proceedings and that it could overrule decisions it was not happy with as stipulated by law. Crnic also reacted to Ortynski's comment by suggesting that the government urgently assess if there was room to launch disciplinary action against Ortynski whose statement, he said, damaged the reputation of the State Prosecutor's Office. (hina) ha sb