ZAGREB, 17 Sept 2021- The Conflict of Interest Commission on Friday stated that it had suspended proceedings against Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and other senior officials after the High Administrative Court and other administrative courts ruled that the Commission could not act on Article 5.
The said article of the Conflict of Interest Act refers to rules of conduct and stipulates, among other things, that office holders are expected to perform their duties in a honorable, conscientious, fair, responsible and impartial manner.
The suspended case dubbed "Lex Agrokor" included Plenković, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić, the Bridge party leader Božo Petrov and a former economy minister, Martina Dalić. The case was opened against Plenković due to a lack of transparency in communication towards the general public during the process of the adoption of the so-called Lex Agrokor law.
The Commission's chairwoman Nataša Novaković said that the suspension was temporary.
In the event that the commission's proposal to the state prosecutorial authorities (DORH) is granted, the cases could be re-opened, however, she admitted that it could not happen soon.
Court rulings pertaining to such cases nix the decisions made by the Conflict of Interest Commission.
The administrative courts have overturned the Commission's decisions in the case of the appointment of Croatian ambassador Igor Pokaz to the U.K., after this case was raised by the Commission due to the fact that Pokaz was Plenković's best man.
The Zagreb-based Administrative Court also ruled in favour of PM Plenković in the case dubbed "Flight to Helsinki", after the Commission accused the premier of failing to provide it with the requested documentation on a visit to Helsinki.
The court also quashed the Commission's ruling against former SDP leader Davor Bernardić, who was granted a scholarship in the amount of HRK 263,000 from a private college in 2014 when he was a parliamentary deputy and the leader of the SDP Zagreb branch.
Novaković said that the Commission had requested extraordinary reviews after its decisions were quashed and the Supreme Court would have the final say.
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