UPPER HOUSE STARTS SESSION

ZAGREB, Oct 5 (Hina) - The Croatian Sabor's House of Counties on Thursday opened its 46th session with MPs' putting forward proposals for the amending of the agenda. Today's session will debate a draft on defining draft constitutional changes. At this stage of changes, House of Counties president Katica Ivanisevic said, the upper house is not obliged to voice its opinion. However, since changes to the Constitution are underway, the deputies want to discuss changes referring to the upper house and wider. That is our right and obligation, she added. Ivanisevic expressed hope that the upper house's opinion will be heard at tomorrow's session of the House of Representatives, which is to discuss the draft. The deputies agreed to forward a request to the Constitutional Court urging the resolution of a constitutional complaint filed due to a dispute over which of the two chambers is authorised to adopt the constitutional law on minority rights. Representatives of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) said they were dissatisfied that the complaint had not been solved yet, all the more so as this was the first dispute between the two chambers. Proposals regarding the amending of the agenda included a proposal by HDZ's Jure Buric who urged a debate on the negative effect of the government policy on the social situation in Croatia. Another HDZ deputy, Mate Simic, repeated his request regarding the government's report on return and reconstruction whereas Srecko Kljunak of the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS) asked that the House of Counties be included in a debate on the ratification of the Croatia-Bosnia-Herzegovina agreement on borders. (hina) rml