After 25 years, the Constitutional Court has started a procedure which should end with a ruling about the legality of abortion.
As many as 25 years after a constitutional appeal was filed, Croatia’s Constitutional Court has started the process to assess whether the law which allows abortion is constitutional, reports Jutarnji List on October 11, 2016.
The information was confirmed by president of the Constitutional Court Miroslav Šeparović. “As I announced after I became president, the Constitutional Court will during my term address this issue. Today we have started with a meeting where we analyzed documentary materials, including a preliminary report, and we discussed the issue”, said Šeparović, who became president of the Constitutional Court in June this year.
“We will consider opinions of medical experts, specialists in family law, and then we will consult with international documents, the practice of European courts, various non-governmental organizations which have their opinions about it. We will put it all on the table, all the arguments will be considered and then we will make a decision”, he said.
He added that the case had been waiting for so long because it is an important worldview issue. “This is an issue which has caused divisions in Croatian society, and previous presidents of the Constitutional Court have reasonably concluded that it was not the right time to put the issue on the agenda, because such discussions would further deepen social conflicts. The Constitutional Court must act in a calming manner. I think that today Croatia is mature enough as a state for the circumstances to have changed, and it is time for the Constitutional Court to finally make the decision”, said Šeparović.
The request for review of the constitutionality of the Law on Health Care Measures for the Implementation of the Right to Freely Decide on Giving Birth to Children, which was originally adopted in 1978, was submitted in 1991 by Croatian Movement for Life and Family.
According to media sources, in addition to abortion, one of the priorities of the Court will be loans indexed to foreign currency and particularly loans denominated in Swiss francs.
