ZAGREB, Dec 15 (Hina) - Following a heated debate, a majority of representatives at the Croatian parliament's House of Representatives on Friday supported changes to the Law on the State Judicial Council but postponed a vote on the
bill for the afternoon part of the session due to lack of quorum. The most frequent participants in the debate were Ivic Pasalic of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and representatives of the ruling six-party coalition. Mladen Godek of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) said that thanks to the changes, experts, rather than politically suitable persons, would be sitting on the DSV in the future, which was not the case in times when 'Pasalic's commission made decisions" and when "judges were elected from Pasalic's list." Decisions of the then DSV caused chaos in the judiciary, Godek said. Pasalic replied there had been no 'Pasalic's list or commission.' The Council, he sa
ZAGREB, Dec 15 (Hina) - Following a heated debate, a majority of
representatives at the Croatian parliament's House of
Representatives on Friday supported changes to the Law on the State
Judicial Council but postponed a vote on the bill for the afternoon
part of the session due to lack of quorum.
The most frequent participants in the debate were Ivic Pasalic of
the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and representatives of the
ruling six-party coalition.
Mladen Godek of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) said that
thanks to the changes, experts, rather than politically suitable
persons, would be sitting on the DSV in the future, which was not the
case in times when 'Pasalic's commission made decisions" and when
"judges were elected from Pasalic's list." Decisions of the then
DSV caused chaos in the judiciary, Godek said.
Pasalic replied there had been no 'Pasalic's list or commission.'
The Council, he said, was appointed in line with the law and worked
very regularly. One could also say that today's commission is
'Ivanisevic's commission' given that the justice minister can
propose all DSV members. This shows who will be the chief of the
judicial authority in Croatia, Pasalic said.
Dino Debeljuh of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) said there
could be no talk about 'Ivanisevic's commissions' because many more
people would decide about DSV members, which was not the case before
when a small group of people made decisions about that.
Pasalic claimed that changes to the law were being adopted urgently
so that minister Ivanisevic could carry out purges in the judiciary
and appoint politically suitable judges.
Ingrid Anticevic-Marinovic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP)
said judges had nothing to fear. Quite the contrary, judges were
afraid until recently and some of them lost their lives, she said.
Pasalic replied the accusations that the former authorities had
eliminated judges were very serious and had to be argumented.
SDP's Nenad Stazic joined in the debate dismissing Pasalic's claim
that the former authorities had not exerted influence on judges.
He quoted as an example the case of Antun Gudelj, who was released
after having "brutally executed Josip Reihl-Kir."
Pasalic said the Reihl-Kir case was a serious tragedy, but he did
not believe the court had acquitted Gudelj upon political
instructions.
The lower house continued today's session with a debate about a bill
on changes to the Law on Courts.
(hina) rml