$ ZATIONS ZAGREB, Nov 13 (Hina) - The Croatian Parliament House of Representatives on Wednesday ended a discussion on the final Bill on amendments to the Law on Courts, according to which military courts would be abolished and their
duties would be handed over to municipal and county courts, that is, a special panel of judges.
ORGANI
$ ZATIONS
ZAGREB, Nov 13 (Hina) - The Croatian Parliament House of
Representatives on Wednesday ended a discussion on the final Bill
on amendments to the Law on Courts, according to which military
courts would be abolished and their duties would be handed over to
municipal and county courts, that is, a special panel of judges.
#L#
Justice Minister Miroslav Separovic said that the reasons for
more than one million unresolved cases in Croatian courts of law
were 30 percent lack of court personnel, unexemplary material
status of judges and inefficient provisions of the criminal laws
and laws on court proceedings under which the proceedings lasted
much too long.
Thus, an overall reform of the criminal and proceeding
legislature was being drafted, Separovic said.
The government forwarded amendments to the text of the Bill
which would give greater authority to the justice minister who
could request that certain types of cases be given priority status.
The Lower House also ended a discussion on a Bill on
Associations, which, according to the assistant to the
administration minister, Antun Palaric, stipulated a transfer of
ownership of social organizations which, under the law, are to
continue working as associations.
However, Palaric stressed, the property is not to be handed
over to the associations automatically, but it is to become the
ownership of the Croatian state, after which it would be allocated
according to the criteria of the Croatian Parliament.
The Bill envisages the same principle for the property of
unions, with the Croatian Cultural Society and minorities'
associations as exceptions.
The House also discussed a Bill on the transfer of ownership
of socially-owned resources of former socio-political
organizations, which, Justice Minister Separovic said, resolved the
issue of the transfer of ownership of resources of the former
Communist Union, Socialist Union, Federation of the Socialist Youth
and Federation of Anti-Fascist World War II Veterans.
Separovic said that the property concerned over 504,000 metres
squared of land, business facilities and residential space.
The property would become state-owned first after which the
government would transfer the property to political parties
according to criteria established by the Parliament.
(hina) lm mm
131612 MET nov 96