GOVT AT PRESENT DOESN'T WANT TO TOUCH JUDGES' SALARIES - ANTUNOVIC

ZAGREB, Feb 4 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament's House of Representatives on Friday endorsed in first reading a bill on changes to the Law on Salaries of Judges and Officials in the Judiciary, by which the government exempts their salaries from a decision on a 40 percent reduction of state officials' salaries. The bill was endorsed by the parliamentary majority and the largest Opposition party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), whereas the Croatian Party of Rights/Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HSP/HKDU) abstained. The Lower House session resumes on Wednesday. Explaining the bill, Vice Premier Zeljka Antunovic reminded that in the past, judges' and judiciary officials' salaries were set according to the salaries of parliament presidents. They now need to be separated, she said, adding the government at present did not want to reduce judges' and judiciary officials' salaries. Antunovic conceded it was not "the happiest solution", but added the government would soon systematically regulate all salaries. HSP/HKDU bench president Boris Kandare objected to the double standard according to which the basic salary of judges and judiciary officials would be a net 25,000 kuna (US$3,205), and that of other state officials 15,000 (US$1,923) kuna. The president of the Supreme Court would thus have the same salary as the president of the republic, and the president of the Constitutional Court 40 percent less than the president of the Supreme Court, Kandare said. Merchant court judges would have the same salaries as ministers and MPs, and county court judges salaries a little higher than parliament's vice presidents and vice premiers, he added. Mladen Godek said the Croatian Social Liberal Party bench endorsed the bill because at this moment "eyes are pointed at the judiciary, which is expected to play an important role." Luka Bebic of the HDZ bench endorsed the bill, and advocated reviewing the salaries of municipal court judges who, he said, bear the highest burden of backlog cases. According to Bebic, the most just solution would be to tie state officials' salaries with salaries in the economy. HDZ's Vladimir Seks endorsed the government's bill, pointing out a reduction of judges' salaries would introduce politics into courts which, he said, would bite into the independence of the judicial authority. "Where politics enters through the door, justice flies out the window," he said. Social Democratic Party representative Ingrid Anticevic- Marinovic entirely supported the bill motioned by the government which she said had seriously approached the promises made to voters. Djuro Njavro of the HDZ said officials' benefits did not come from salaries, but income ministers earned through membership in several companies' supervisory boards. He warned we must pay attention not to make "the reduction of state officials' salaries lead us into the sphere of higher privileges," and to closely watch whether over the next six months the government will raise pensions and maintain the publicity of the state policy. Vesna Pusic of the Croatian People's Party responded by saying it was impermissible to advocate justness by claiming that salaries were "not a privilege". She pointed out the former authorities, by raising state officials's salaries did not simultaneously increase the publicity of Croatia's state policy. (hina) ha