TEXT OF PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS TO PARLIAMENT

( Editorial: --> 9337 ) ZAGREB, Dec 18 (Hina) - Following is the text of an address which President Franjo Tudjman delivered in the Croatian National Parliament on Thursday on the occasion of the amendment of the Constitution and the seventh anniversary of its promulgation: When we enacted the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia seven years ago, that was an event of unique historical significance. With its promulgation we announced to the world, in the highest possible democratic way - by the Constitution - that the Croatian people had decided to establish its independent and sovereign State on the basis of the internationally recognized right to self- determination. However, at the time Croatia was not yet, nor could it be, a fully independent and sovereign State either in legal or in real political terms. In politico-legal terms, Croatia was at the time an integral part of the Yugoslav state community - the SFRY - bound not only by its constitutional framework but also by the international order in which the maintenance of Yugoslavia was given particular attention considering its geographical position and "multiethnic" composition. In politico-real terms, all of Croatia was occupied by forces of the Yugoslav Army (units of the army, navy and air force); moreover, the JNA enjoyed the pronounced favour of external factors. The 1990 Christmas Constitution was drawn up at a turning point, but also at a moment of transition in the severance of links with the former Yugoslav and communist-socialist system, and this is also made obvious by the fact that it was enacted "by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia at the session of the Council of Associated Labour, the Council of Communes and the Socio-Political Council." The members of that Parliament had been elected in accordance with the previous Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, which we had formerly just slightly amended in the summer of the same year. Just as the people of Israel, through Moses, struck their Covenant with God in the terrible days of delivery from Egyptian slavery, the Croatian people created its Constitution from its heart on the arduous road of delivery from the Yugoslav and communist yoke as a holy pledge of its freedom and state independence. In spite of all constraints, determined by such internal and international circumstances in which all factors, except the Croatian people, were focused on preventing the birth of independent Croatia, the Constitution we enacted at the time was the expression of the unswerving determination of the Croatian people to attain its state sovereignty. The Constitution was also a convincing testimony of the political maturity and determined democratic commitment of the Croatian people as it set off on the road towards its independence. The Constitution of present-day independent and sovereign Croatia has been enacted, and now definitely conceived, on the basis of our own rich legal traditions, but also of the democratic achievements of the contemporary world. Faithfully reflecting its national and state identity, from the medieval independence of Croatian princedoms and the Croatian Kingdom, and, later on, even if within a constrained framework, in multinational state communities, the Croatian people safeguarded and developed, continuously and perseveringly, the legal foundations of its life and social and state order. The legal thought and reality in Croatian lands, from the Middle Ages and feudalism up until recent times, have developed along with other European countries. In spite of all historical vicissitudes, Croatian state and private law were based on the civilizational values and principles prevailing in other Central European and Mediterranean States, It should be noted that Croatian law, and Croatian state-law and political thought, never lagged behind European solutions, or just took over already formed legal and state-political principles and customs. On the contrary. Developed legal thought was one of the fundamental factors in the struggle for the preservation of national identity and for sustaining Croatian sovereignty and statehood. With its very existence and efforts, this thought contributed to the positive activity of Croatian representatives in legal, state-political and constitutional spheres in such multinational communities as the Habsburg Monarchy and the former Yugoslavia. Because of this the impact of Croatian legal thought was felt even on the broader European scene. On this occasion I shall list only some examples which bear convincing witness to this evaluation. Concerning Croatia's international, state-law relations with the world there are documents testifying to the relations of the Croatian rulers, from the seventh to the twelfth centuries, with the Holy See, the supreme international authority of the time. At a later period, the development of Croatian law and reality shared the fate of conquest and division of Croatian lands, and of efforts focused on their reunification, up to the present day. In spite of this, and partly even because of this, Croatia had a tradition of internal law on a very broad, indeed the broadest scale. In Croatia's coastal regions (from the Dubrovnik Republic and Dalmatia to Istria) there was a system of statutes enacted on a self-government basis; in Croatia's interior regions, there was a system of privileges granted by rulers - princes, viceroys (bans) or kings. Among the great number of Croatian medieval statutes which legislatively regulated the overall administrative life of cities and municipalities, the best known are the following: the Vinodol Statute (1288), the Dubrovnik Statute (1272), the Korcula Statute (the oldest preserved statute), the Istrian-Porec Statute (1363), the Krk Statute (1388), and the Poljica Statute (1440). However, in order to demonstrate that a developed system of local government was involved, it should be noted that almost all the other cities in Croatian lands had similar statutes, e.g.: Skradin (13th c.), Brac (1305), Zadar (1305), Lastovo (1310), Split (1312), Rab (1328), Hvar (1331), Mljet (1345), Senj (1388), Sibenik (14th c.), Kastav (1400), Pag (15th c.), Novigrad (1402), Buje, Dvigrad (1413), Pula (1431), Buzet (1435 and 1575), Plomin (1438), Cres- Osor (1441), Bale (1467), Kastela Moscenica (1470), Motovun (1507), Veprinac (1507), Umag (1528), Rijeka (1530), Rovinj (1531), Oprtalj (1533), Groznjan (1558), Trsat (1640). Charters of administrative privileges granted to cities in Croatia's interior are known as of the 13th c. (Varazdin, 1220; Petrinja, 1240; Zagreb, 1242; Krizevci, 1252; Jastrebarsko, 1257; Bihac, 1289). They were also granted in later periods, e.g., in Jajce, ruled after the late 14th c. by Hrvoje Vukcic Hrvatinic. The last Bosnian king, Stjepan Tomasevic, was crowned in Jajce in 1461, and executed there in 1463. In 1463 the Croato-Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus founded the Banovina of Jajce after Croato- Hungarian forces had driven the Turks out of the region. Osijek had a charter as of 1698, and in 1809 it was granted the status of free royal city. All these data indicate that Croatian lands had - even before many West European countries - and gradually developed a comprehensive system of original, public and private law. The existence of such a system indubitably bears witness to a local legal system which, obviously, was not only a part of, but also contributed to, the development of European continental, so-called Roman-German legal traditions. Throughout its history the Croatian people also safeguarded and cultivated in particular its parliamentary tradition. Indeed, in circumstances of links within the personal, followed by the real union, first with Hungary, and then in the Habsburg and Yugoslav community, the unflagging maintenance of such traditions provided the basis for decisions and for the defence of Croatian national and state existence and rights on behalf of, and with reference to, the Croatian Parliament. The examples are many, and of particular historical significance. After the death of Louis II, Croato-Hungarian king, in the battle of Mohacs, Croatian noblemen elected - at the meeting of the Croatian Diet in Cetingrad - Ferdinand of Austria as Croatian king. In the Habsburg Monarchy, Ivan Erdödy, Croatian Ban (Viceroy) exclaimed, on behalf of the Croatian parliamentary delegation at the joint session of the Parliament in Buda in 1790, the famous words: Regnum regno non prescribit leges. With these words he firmly made it clear that the Croatian Diet recognized only the common king, and not the superiority of an alien parliament. In the revolutionary year of 1848, the Assembly in Zagreb requested, in its Demands of the People, the "yearly meeting of the National Diet" of the Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia (Jelacic did convene the Diet, but the part of Croatia under Ban's administration and Dalmatian Croatia were not united). In his book The Croatian Constitution, Bogoslav Sulek, one of the outstanding members of the Croatian Revival, pointed out in 1882 that ancient Croatian institutions, meaning "Croatian state law", "preserved Croatian statehood and independence in spite of all Magyar and Austrian endeavours to curtail, indeed to abolish it." Croatian politicians always based the idea of achievement of full Croatian state sovereignty on the "Croatian National Parliament" as its basic element, and here is a more than obvious case in point. In 1915 Radic's Popular Peasant Party published - in a booklet entitled For the Croatian State and for the Croatian Peasant People - "eight most important speeches from the war-time session of the Croatian National Diet"! (In addition to Stjepan Radic, the speakers were Tomo Jalzabetic, a farmer, and Fran Novak and Stjepan Zagorac - parish priests). The Diet of the Kingdoms of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia enacted on October 29, 1918 - as the Croatian National Diet - the decision to sever state and constitutional links of the Triune Croatian Kingdom with the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. On the occasion Stjepan Radic addressed the Diet with "High National Diet", and Svetozar Pribicevic also used the words "Croatian National Diet"! In line with the foregoing, Stjepan Radic demanded - at the meeting of the Central Committee of the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs - that the conditions of unification must be approved by the "Croatian National Diet"; Svetozar Pribicevic again formally referred to the "Croatian National Diet" in his explanation of the need for unconditional unification. The tradition of Croatian political-legal thought and historical experience is also present - even if in a different form and substance - in recent history. The establishment of the Banovina of Croatia (1939) envisioned the convening of the "Diet of the Banovina of Croatia". During the Second World War, the "Croatian National Diet" was convened during the NDH (Independent State of Croatia), but it could not be what its name implied, either because of the circumstances of occupation and war, or of the time and way in which it was convened (it was convened only once in 1942). The ZAVNOH (Antifascist Council of National Liberation of Croatia), which was set up within the antifascist movement as a "representative and legislative body" in 1943, and continued its activity after the war as well, involved certain features of a Croatian national parliament, however constrained by the acceptance of the Yugoslav Federation through decision of the AVNOJ (Antifascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia). It should be noted that some AVNOJ councillors (not only Vladimir Nazor but also Rade Pribicevic) spoke, at the very same session, about the Croatian State and about ZAVNOH as the Croatian National Parliament. At its Fourth Session in July 1945, ZAVNOH was renamed "People's Parliament of Croatia", and on February 26, 1946, the name was changed again into "Parliament of the People's Republic of Croatia". Following the change of the Constitution in 1963, the name was changed into "Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Croatia", and this name was kept up until recent times, until 1990! Throughout these changes - within the socialist period - Croatian political-legal thought also influenced the constitutional arrangement of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. That arrangement, depending on the judgment of the communist leadership and on the balance of forces, oscillated between federalist and centralist schemes; finally, with the constitutional reform of 1974, it also assumed confederal features with a more pronounced recognition of the statehood of the Republics, and of the right of nations to self- determination in the spirit of the original ZAVNOH ideas. And that, from the standpoint of international law and the international order, was of essential significance for the legality of Croatia's severance of links with the Yugoslav community. After the establishment of democratic government in 1990, and after the constitutional amendments of July 25, 1990, the erstwhile "Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Croatia" was renamed into "Parliament of the Republic of Croatia." After the latter Parliament decided, on June 25, 1991, to leave the SFRY, it actually became, in all terms - political, legal and real ones - the Croatian National Parliament. This fact is now finally being also constitutionally promulgated in accordance with overall Croatian tradition and with the historical role of the Parliament. This change is not only of a formal terminological meaning; rather, it is of a deeper, highest significance in terms of substance, i.e., in political and constitutional law terms, because "Croatian National Parliament" notionally denotes the Croatian State which has its territory, its population and its government. We are asserting thereby the Croatian State and its sovereignty, and we are not replacing, suppressing or renouncing the Republic as the form of our government. I am convinced that the public at large is also more than clearly aware that the founders of present-day democratic Croatia do not wish to establish any monarchy as a form of government, but only to fully legalize and, spiritually, definitely conceive Croatian State sovereignty. Those that cannot grasp, or cannot or will not accept, the well- founded arguments supporting the name of Croatian National Parliament, belong - mostly unconsciously, I believe - to those frightened Croatian public figures who are not listening to the voice of their own people but to the voice of alien - if not masters, than models. Or those anarcholiberalistic, marxist or universalistic voices which deny the justifiability of the Croatian State, voices which the Croatian people has faced from the revolutionary 1848 up until the present day, voices speaking on behalf of would-be higher revolutionary or integralist goals. In addition to this, essential change of the name of the Parliament, the second most important change is the introduction of the constitutional provision prohibiting the affiliation of Croatia with any Yugoslav or Balkan scheme. The amendment to Article 135 of the Constitution provides for the constitutional prohibition related to the initiation of any procedure involving the affiliation of the Republic of Croatia in such unions with other States which would or could lead to the restoration of a Yugoslav state community or to a Balkan state union of any form. This truly historic constitutional amendment politically expresses, and determines in terms of constitutional law, the firm and unanimous conclusion of the struggle of the Croatian people for national freedom and independence of its State: the Croatian people does not ever again want to be part of any Yugo-Balkan state community! This constitutional interdiction determines and proclaims, in the supreme way and on the basis of overall historical experience, the current and future essential and vital interest, I am confident, of the Croatian people and the Croatian State. In addition to these, essential changes, due mention should also be made of the amendment to the "Historical Foundations", specifying that, with the 1990 Constitution and its victory in the Homeland War (1991-1995), the Croatian people has manifested its determination with regard to the establishment and preservation of the Republic of Croatia as an independent, sovereign and democratic State. In initiating with my proposal on October 28, 1997, in keeping with Article 136 of the Constitution, the procedure for the amendment to the Croatian Constitution enacted on December 22, 1990, I have proceeded from the following judgments: First, that the amendment to the Constitution - the supreme legal act, and the basic political document of the State and of its view of the world, determining the principles of overall social life and State security, prescribing the structure of government, and guaranteeing the freedoms and rights of man and citizen - is an event of outstanding significance and of the highest importance in the life of every people and State. Second, that the present moment in history - considering overall past experience in the building of the sovereign and democratic Croatian State - does not require the amendment of any constitutional principles, provisions or spiritual tenets. That is, I believe that the Croatian Constitution of Christmas 1990 has been fully affirmed over the past seven years of its implementation. The organization of the Croatian State and society, as shaped and legally worked out by that Constitution, from its basic principles and provisions on the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, to the structure of government, and local and self-government, has withstood the test of time and successfully met the various challenges in both war- and peace-time circumstances. In keeping with such a judgment, the Constitution had to be amended only with regard to those of its provisions which were determined by the fact that the State of Croatia, at the time the Constitution was promulgated, was still in formally legal terms part of the former SFRY. Such provisions, as well as those which proved to be - in formal legal, value and even linguistic terms - remnants of the former system, were abolished or deleted, or amended. The constitutional amendments also determine more exactly all those constitutional concepts shown to lend themselves, in their implementation so far, to different interpretations. In the process, the original Croatian state law terminology has consistently been used throughout the text of the Constitution. Through the acceptance and promulgation of all these constitutional amendments, the Croatian Constitution of 1990 has been upgraded and perfected with respect to its substance, formal legal aspects and language; to put it picturesquely, it has been stylistically polished. Such a Croatian Constitution is truly, in its entirety and in all its provisions, the constitution of an independent, sovereign, democratic and social State such as the Republic of Croatia - in terms of constitutional law and in real terms. With its Constitution the Republic of Croatia fully aligns itself with those sovereign Central and West European States to which it has always belonged with regard to its civilization and history. Even today, certain people in the world, and even in this country, do not want or cannot grasp and accept this essential, historically grounded fact, saying that Croatia and the Croatian people are yet to integrate themselves or join contemporary democratic, political, legal and other frameworks of development and association of peoples and States in Central and Western Europe. In addition to the already mentioned testimonies, one could list quite a few others. In the Croato-Magyar community, equally under the crown of St. Stephen and under the Habsburgs, in late medieval and modern times, Croatian state law was first and foremost based on the understanding of that community as a personal union, and on the numerous conclusions and legal acts of the Croatian National Diet. The Diet grounded and defended the state subjectivity of Croatia, invoking the freedoms, rights and privileges of the Croatian Kingdom, and, at a later date, as early as of the 18th century, the natural right of peoples as well. Analogously, and simultaneously, all European peoples struggling for their statehood based their right to state independence, from which the concept of the right of peoples to self-determination, that is, to state sovereignty, was later derived and worked out. Finally, it should be remembered that the first form of parliamentary rule, the so-called Orléans parliamentarism, according to which the government is responsible both to the head of state and to parliament - which, by the way, is institutionally very close to the modern, so-called 'semi-presidential' variant of parliamentarism - was accepted in Croatia at the same time, and even before it was accepted in many other European states of the time. More precisely, it was accepted in 1848 when Ban Josip Jelacic appointed the Ban's Council which - in the capacity of government - was responsible both to him and to the Croatian Parliament. Along this line the Croatian Constitution as a whole and with its substance reflects this constant European component of Croatian legal and state-political thought, and constitutional-law reality. In accordance with this, its legislative follow-up and actual implementation face the approximately same challenges currently facing the constitutional law systems of developed European democracies. Of course, this should also involve the specific features of each country, including, indeed, the specific features of Croatia to which particular attention should be drawn at this moment in Croatia's political, economic and social life. Mr. Speaker, Distinguished Members of the Croatian National Parliament, Taught by overall history, human wisdom teaches us that, in the solution of all vital, and constitutional, questions one should proceed from reality determined by the concatenation of internal and international circumstances. It is not surprising that certain immature, uninformed or naive people cannot - or do not want to or do not dare - genuinely come to terms with such reality and with all its intricacies. Such individuals - albeit, unfortunately, they are not the only ones to be involved, but whole peoples as well with them - fall prey to the forces controlling life and history. This is always the case when they prove to be immature in dealing with problems around them which thwart the achievement of their ideals or ideas. History has entrusted us with the task of establishing and defending the independent, sovereign and democratic Croatian State, and we still have the unavoidable commitment to fully implement the ideals incorporated in the Constitution, the ideals which are the aspiration of every Croatian citizen, of all classes, of the entire Croatian people. These ideals, which commit all of us, the founders of present-day Croatia, involve the assurance of Croatia's freedom and state sovereignty, and of all conditions assuring the equality of all citizens and the respect of the rights of man, a democratic multi-party system, social justice, economic development and prosperity, equity, and responsibility for one's deeds and words to the people and State. In order to implement these ideals incorporated into the supreme values of the Croatian constitutional order, I deem it not only necessary, but essential to refer in particular to two points. They are, in my view, the two basic conditions for the future overall progress of the Croatian society and State, and for the prosperity and happiness of all Croatian citizens. First, the Croatian democratic order, legally shaped by the Constitution and by law, must be implemented in a much more systematic and comprehensive way than has been the case so far. And this means the rule of law with all legal guarantees concerning the protection of human, civil and social rights. That is to say, at the legal level Croatian democracy is a match, without any exaggeration, to the most developed democracies in the world; in reality, however, much is still to be done in order to provide for its full implementation. Over the past few years, I have repeatedly drawn attention to red tape, arbitrary and unlawful phenomena, and abuses of power and public office; in particular, I referred to the fairly frequent violations of rights of citizens, but also of the lawful interests of the State - and not only criminal abuses, but also the usurpation of privileges. All such manifestations, and in particular inadequate determination in the prevention of economic crime and corruption, tardiness and inefficiency in the work of many bodies of government administration, the judiciary in particular, obviously involve many underlying causes, to which I have also referred in the past. They are determined not only by the consequences of former Yugocommunist rule and greater-Serbian aggression, but also by economic and social changes in the process of transition from the socialist system to the free market and private enterprise system. Such manifestations are dangerous in themselves because they affect the legal security and equality of citizens, i.e., the rule of law, and particularly because they slow down the development of Croatian democracy as a whole. Moreover, they are particularly dangerous for the future comprehensive development and progress of Croatia's civil society and of the Croatian State. Unless steps are taken to curtail them as soon and as resolutely as possible, they could lead the uniformed part of both Croatian and the international public to start attributing such manifestations to Croatian authorities as a whole, and not to individual citizens, officers and officials. Because of this all holders of government offices in all segments of government administration, all legislative, executive and judiciary authorities, and all government officials, must indeed understand the fact that they are performing a responsible duty, that they serve the Croatian people, because this democratic, independent and sovereign Croatian State has been created by the Croatian people for themselves and for all the Croatian citizens. Therefore, Croatia must truly be, in legal terms, the State of and for the people, a State exercising its authority to the benefit of all the people, all citizens, and not specific groups or individuals. Another issue to which I would like to draw the attention of all members of the Croatian Parliament refers to the coordination - at the present stage of development of Croatian economy and society - of the system of the free market economy and private enterprise with the requirements of the social State and with the fundamental principles of social justice. General experience cautions that free market enterprise - especially in its initial period - leads to unbridled capitalism unless it is matched and balanced by the regulations, principles and customs of the social State and social justice. This is also present in all other States, and particularly in the new democracies, former socialist States. The free market by itself brings about a condition in which individuals can aspire to ruthless enrichment, forgetting the fact that economic progress is impossible without the provision of decent living to all working people and classes of society. We must be aware of the fact that the social State does not only or principally involve care for the socially handicapped people having insufficient basic resources for living. The basic task of the social State is the achievement of social justice. This, primarily, means the assurance of the right to work, and the right of employed persons to earnings with which they can provide to themselves and to their families a free, decent, secure, happier and richer life, depending on given economic conditions and personal abilities. Croatian government - and it must be the government of the State for the people and of the social State - should devote particular attention to insure appropriate living conditions to retired Croatian people, primarily by increasing pensions as much as feasible. The implementation of the social State and social justice does not allow for a narrow-minded understanding of economic efficiency according to which any allocation of resources to ensure social justice is not necessary. On the contrary, one should grasp the fact that there is no economic development or civilizational progress without a guaranteed justice in the distribution of the social product and national wealth. It should be borne in mind that social balance is one of the fundamental factors of progress and social stability, which are not possible without the solidarity and partnership of employers and employees with an efficient mediation of the State. I believe that many facts suggest the conclusion that our economic life, because of the introduction of the free market and private enterprise, involves certain negative phenomena typical not only of current, but also of early capitalism. In a way, such manifestations are inevitable, but inadequate effort is focused on their prevention and curtailment through regulations and professional rules, and even moral customs of the social and law- governed State. The question is what is to be done in order to achieve social balance and prevent negative features without thwarting private enterprise and entrepreneurship but, rather, promoting it. In principle, the answer is not easy, but rather complex. from the standpoint of both current and future Croatian economic and social reality. Balance can only be achieved by a development-focused economic policy intended to provide, as soon as possible, higher employment and higher earnings, as well as, of course, higher pensions. One should also, in my opinion, consider certain other approaches which would, at least to a degree, redistribute national wealth, and profit, to the advantage of poorer Croatian citizens. This can first of all be made possible by appropriate tax system and tax policy measures. Through specific financial solutions, i.e., progressive taxation of earnings and property, the richer and especially the richest can be made to contribute more, in proportion to their wealth, to meeting public expenditure. This is also a constitutional obligation. Article 51 of the Constitution specifies that "everyone shall participate in the defrayment of public expenses in accordance with their economic possibilities", and that "the tax system shall be based on the principles of equality and equity". In announcing the new faith, Jesus of Nazareth told the people: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law ... I am come to fulfill it." Ante Starcevic's thought was all focused on explaining, primarily to all public officials, and on convincing all the Croatian people, about the crucial importance of the State in life and for the life of every people, especially because of the historical circumstances in which the Croatian people were not given their due. All the teaching of Antun and Stjepan Radic, and of the ideologues of the Croatian left before and after them, was centered on explaining the fact that no State is justified unless of its a State for the people, a social State, and unless it operates in the interest of the working classes of the population - the peasantry according to the former, the working class according to the latter. Today, in our State for the people which must also be a social State, the working classes do not include only the peasantry and the workers, but all citizens, intellectuals, cultural and scientific workers, and this fact, indeed, should not be questionable to anyone! Let me conclude, distinguished members of the Croatian National Parliament: I am convinced that - now that we have completed our constitutional work, our freedom, and full sovereignty as we are about to reach again our Danubian frontiers - the time has come when we can and must initiate discussion of all the essential issues of our peace-time everyday life which are of vital importance for the people at large. This is called for if we are to achieve the ideals incorporated in our Constitution - the very ideals which guided us in our struggle for the national and social liberation of the Croatian people, for the free and independent Croatian State. If we wanted and were capable of achieving this historic dream of the Croatian people, if we were capable of defeating the aggressor in spite of his vast superiority in our Homeland War, and overcoming all external obstacles, I am sure that we are capable of achieving all our current goals as well. On the threshold of the 21st century let us all be determined and united in implementing the holy ideals of our sovereign and democratic, our unique and everlasting Croatia, for the lasting freedom of our Homeland, for the prosperity and happiness of all Croatian citizens, and for a secure future of the Croatian State. (hina) vm jn 181400 MET dec 97