CRO UPPER HOUSE ON ELECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGES

ZAGREB, Oct 20 (Hina) - The Croatian National Sabor's House of Counties on Wednesday adopted a motion on candidates for new eight Croatian Constitutional Court judges. At the suggestion made by the House of Counties, the Constitutional Court judges are to be appointed by the Croatian National Sabor's House of Representatives. Upper House's candidates for Constitutional Court judges are Smiljko Sokol, Marijan Hranjski, Ivan Mrkonjić, Vice Vukojević, Petar Klarić, Emilija Rajić, Jasna Omejec, and Ivan Matija. The newly appointed Constitutional judges should take their offices on December 7, and replace judges whose mandates expire on December 6, namely Zdravko Bartovčak, Jadranko Crnić (president), Nikola Filipović, Ante Jelavić Mitrović, Vojislav Kučeković, Ivan Marijan Severinac, Hrvoje Momčinović and Mladen Žuvela. The House of Counties failed to adopt a motion made by the Croatian Social Liberal parliamentary party that a discussion on the election of Constitutional Court judges be postponed. The motion was supported by the Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Croatian Peasants' Party, and given that the motion did not receive the majority of votes, representatives of those parties left the session. (hina) it jn