In the last three years, reports by the public ombudsman had the same reception in parliament.
The committee's chairwoman, Ana Lovrin of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), said Malcic made blanket and unfounded assessments that the political authorities had never abandoned their excessive influence on the judiciary, which the ombudsman believes has been most evident in the appointment and promotion of judges, court presidents and members of the Judicial Appointment Council.
Lovrin said that the committee found the report's analysis of the human rights situation to be acceptable but it could not accept its blanket political assessments lacking evidence corroborating them.
She said that Malcic's claims that judges were appointed according to political criteria was an insult to 2,000 judges in the country.
An external member of the committee, Zeljko Horvatic, said that incorporating Malcic's views in a report on the performance of the Office of the Public Ombudsman was not in compliance with the role of public ombudsman as defined by laws.
Malcic dismissed objections that his statements insulted judges, explaining that he voiced criticism in order to highlight problems and help change the situation for the better.
He ruled out the possibility of making any changes to his report.