ZAGREB, July 3 (Hina) - Croatia and the World Bank on Tuesday signed an agreement on a five-million-dollar loan for the improvement of the country's judicial system, particularly its segment in charge of bankruptcy proceedings. The
agreement was signed by Croatian Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac and the head of the World Bank department for Central and East Europe, Andrew Vorkink. The loan was granted for a period of 15 years with a five-year grace and an interest rate of just above five percent. This is a small loan but it is intended for major improvements in the Croatian judiciary, Vorkink said. The project, he added, will also be financed with an additional two million dollars from Croatian government funds and a donation of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which sets its total value at seven million dollars. The project will first be implemented as a pilot project at commer
ZAGREB, July 3 (Hina) - Croatia and the World Bank on Tuesday signed
an agreement on a five-million-dollar loan for the improvement of
the country's judicial system, particularly its segment in charge
of bankruptcy proceedings.
The agreement was signed by Croatian Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac
and the head of the World Bank department for Central and East
Europe, Andrew Vorkink.
The loan was granted for a period of 15 years with a five-year grace
and an interest rate of just above five percent.
This is a small loan but it is intended for major improvements in the
Croatian judiciary, Vorkink said. The project, he added, will also
be financed with an additional two million dollars from Croatian
government funds and a donation of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID), which sets its total value at
seven million dollars.
The project will first be implemented as a pilot project at
commercial courts in six Croatian cities.
The project should be completed in three years in which time the
number of unsolved court cases should be halved. At the end of the
third year the average time spent for processing cases should be
reduced by one third, Vorkink said.
The project also includes the establishment of an information
system with data on bankruptcy proceedings as well as training
courses for 140 judges and 80 trustees and administrators.
Croatia is the first country in Central and East Europe to have
sought and been granted a loan for the reform of the judicial
system.
The reform of the judiciary, Vorkink said, is important for the
functioning of market economy. The project will help combat
corruption, which is a problem not only in Croatia but world-wide.
Croatian Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac said today's meeting with
World Bank representatives also tackled the implementation of
World Bank projects which were being implemented. Crkvenac would
not give any details about these projects but only said the two
sides considered additional measures to help speed up their
implementation.
(hina) sb rml