CRIKVENICA: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON JUDICIARY ENDS

CRIKVENICA, Oct 18 (Hina) - Participants in a conference on the Croatian judiciary, which ended in Crikvenica on Thursday, agreed the reason for the poor performance of Croatian courts was the inadequate perception of the principle of independence of the judiciary, its poor organisation and financial situation, and the insufficient personal and institutional security of judicial officials. Around 100 participants in the "Croatian Judiciary: Lessons and Prospects" conference, held in the northern Adriatic resort, were unanimous that changing the currently poor situation in the judiciary required joint action by judges, state prosecutors, professors, non-government organisations and bodies of state authority. Another conclusion of the conference is that one should establish the truth about unlawful and unjust measures taken against Croatian judges and other judicial officials in the past ten years, and that they be given legal and moral satisfaction if it is proved they were treated unfairly. The participants also supported a more efficient processing of war crimes and a thorough and unbiased analysis of corruption in the judiciary. They requested that judges and state prosecutors be given the legal, social, political and moral position which would lessen the possibility of their being influenced by anyone. (hina) sb rml