ZAGREB, April 6 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament on Friday wrapped up its 11th, marathon session which lasted five weeks during which amendments to the Constitution were adopted and parliament became a one-chamber body, after the
House of Counties was abolished and the House of Representatives renamed Croatian parliament. The constitutional amendments also terminated mandates for the president of the Supreme Court and members on the State Judicial Council. Among the 80 bills parliament debated, it passed a law on the central bank which raised the level of the bank's independence but also emphasised the degree of its accountability to parliament. At a proposal of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), the strongest opposition party, parliament debated the implementation of the Dayton peace accords in Bosnia and a special relations agreement between Croatia and Bosnia's Croat-Muslim federation. Parliament adopted co
ZAGREB, April 6 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament on Friday wrapped
up its 11th, marathon session which lasted five weeks during which
amendments to the Constitution were adopted and parliament became a
one-chamber body, after the House of Counties was abolished and the
House of Representatives renamed Croatian parliament.
The constitutional amendments also terminated mandates for the
president of the Supreme Court and members on the State Judicial
Council.
Among the 80 bills parliament debated, it passed a law on the
central bank which raised the level of the bank's independence but
also emphasised the degree of its accountability to parliament.
At a proposal of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), the strongest
opposition party, parliament debated the implementation of the
Dayton peace accords in Bosnia and a special relations agreement
between Croatia and Bosnia's Croat-Muslim federation. Parliament
adopted conclusions by its Foreign Affairs Committee which insist
on a consistent implementation of the Dayton accords and its
provisions as to the equality of Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs as
three constituent and sovereign peoples throughout Bosnia.
Parliament also adopted a law on the election of members to bodies
of local and regional self-government, whereby local elections in
May will be held according to a proportional and not a mixed model.
This law gives the right to participate in the distribution of seats
in said bodies to lists which win at least five percent of the vote.
Endorsed in first reading was a bill on the decentralisation of
state administration, whereby part of the powers and obligations in
health, education, and welfare would be transferred from the state
to local and regional self-government units starting July 1. Also
forwarded into second reading was a bill on the financing of the new
obligations counties, towns, and municipalities, would thus
assume.
Endorsed in first reading was also a package of three anti-
corruption bills, of which the most contested was a bill on the
prevention of conflicts of interests in the performance of public
duties. Most objections came from the Croatian Social Liberal
Party, one of the ruling six, whose MPs deemed the bill anti-
entrepreneurial. It was forwarded into second reading. The
government was bound to carry out radical changes, or that
parliament produce an entirely new bill.
During its 11th session, parliament refused to appoint Ivic Pasalic
of the HDZ to the Internal Affairs and National Security Committee,
it was said, due to his involvement in the work of secret services.
This was the first breach of an inter-party agreement under which
parliament must accept the parties' candidates for parliamentary
committees without debate. The HDZ bench decided its MPs would not
participate in committee work until the issues was settled.
(hina) ha sb