CROATIA TO INTENSIFY COOPERATION WITH HAGUE TRIBUNAL

( Editorial: --> 5981 ) ZAGREB, 4 Dec (Hina) - The Croatian Government recently sent the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) a draft agreement on the execution of prison sentences, said Croatian Justice Minister Miroslav Separovic following a government session which was held behind closed doors on Thursday. The signing of the agreement would enable persons sentenced by the Hague Tribunal to serve their sentence in Croatian prisons. The Government has also sent the U.N. Secretary General an agreement proposing the regulation of the legal status of the ICTY Office and its staff, as well as the powers of the Office, which is already operating in Zagreb, Separovic said. The Government also adopted a regulation on changes and amendments to the regulation on the Government's Office for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. The most important change was that the government office would operate as part of the Croatian Justice Ministry and that it faced extensive work on the basis of Croatia's new strategy on cooperation with the ICTY, said Separovic. Separovic said it was expected that Croatian courts would increasingly ask for data on criminal proceedings and individual investigative actions. He also said it was not impossible that criminal proceedings against war crimes indictees would be conducted in Croatia, including those indictees who are already in The Hague. That called for the professionalisation of the Office for Cooperation with the ICTY, he added. The Government appointed Deputy Justice Minister Snjezana Bagic head of its Office. Assistant Justice Minister Tomislav Penic was appointed Bagic's deputy. (hina) mm rm 041913 MET dec 97