CRO LOWER HOUSE PASSES LAW ON CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ZAGREB, Sept 26 (Hina) - The House of Representatives of the Croatian parliament on Friday passed the Law on Criminal Procedure as part of an integral reform of criminal legislation with 71 votes in favour and one abstention. The passing of the law received uniform support by the representatives, who assessed it brought a balance between the efficacy of the criminal procedure and the protection of the rights of suspected or accused persons. The Law on Criminal Procedure will come into effect on 1 January 1998. It brings new aspects to the pre-criminal procedure, which envisages special "undercover" operative measures, such as the supervision and taping of long-distance phone calls, setting up cameras on private premises and undercover following of persons and objects. The law also envisages the infiltration of criminal groups. All these measures are permitted only under supervision and control of a court of law. Today, the representatives also adopted a bill on pension insurance, which should initiate an integral reform of the pension scheme, with 56 votes in favour and 29 against. The representatives also endorsed the conclusions of the Labour, Social Policy and Health Board, which proposed that a pension insurance law come into effect on 1 January 1999, and not on 1 July 1998, as proposed by the government. (hina) ha mm 261805 MET sep 97