ZAGREB, 23 March, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović on Tuesday commented on the Constitutional Court's decision made earlier in the day, saying in a Facebook post that rigging a competition for a post was a criminal act and that Judge Zlata Đurđević continued to be his candidate for the Supreme Court president.

"Zlata Đurđević is still my candidate and the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), regardless of how difficult it may find it, will have to take a vote on her. For or against, and that will make everything clear," Milanović said after the Constitutional Court earlier in the day concluded by a majority vote that the President of the Republic can nominate for the post of the Supreme Court president only a candidate who has submitted an application following a public call by the State Judicial Council (DSV).

Milanović's candidate, Zagreb Law School professor Zlata Đurđević, was not among the three candidates who submitted their applications to the DSV.

Milanović also commented on statements made today by Constitutional Court President Miroslav Šeparović, alluding to media reports about his close friendship with senior HDZ member Vladimir Šeks.

"If public competitions, advertisements and public calls are possibly rigged, that is not the reason to abolish them but rather to enable the election of the best candidate through democratic control - so tells us Šeks's close friend at the Constitutional Court. And he adds that laws must be applied, I quote, 'meaningfully'," Milanović wrote on Facebook, adding "First of all, a competition and a public call are not the same. One more thing you have not learned. And rigging a competition is a criminal act. That goes for everyone, including close friends. You should have learned that."

The president described most Constitutional Court judges as the HDZ's bargaining chips whose role was to save the incumbent Supreme Court President Đuro Sessa, whom he described as "a soldier of the HDZ-run judiciary."

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ZAGREB, 23 March, 2021 - The Constitutional Court on Tuesday concluded that the Croatian President can select a nominee for the Supreme Court Chief Justice only from those applicants who sent their applications for that post after the State Judicial Council (DSV) publicly advertised the position. 

After receiving requests to test the constitutionality of the provision regulating the selection procedure under which the DSV advertises the position for the Supreme Court President, the Constitutional Court, which considered this issue, said that the provision concerned does not restrict the head of state's constitutional powers whereby he/she can nominate the candidate for the said post while it is the parliament that appoints the Supreme Court head.

The Constitutional Court says that the head of state is authorised to nominate one of the applicants who have sent their applications following the DSV's public advertisement.

The latest conclusion of the Constitutional Court was adopted with nine votes in favour and four votes against it. These four judges have announced their dissenting opinions, while four of the nine judges who voted for this conclusion have also announced the publication of their supporting opinions.

The Constitutional Court has received a few requests to review the constitutionality of the Courts Act which stipulates the procedure for the appointment of the Supreme Court President.

The issue has grabbed limelight since President Zoran Milanović decided not to select any of the three applicants who sent their applications after the State Judicial Council advertised the position.

After the expiry of the public call, Milanović proposed law professor Zlata Đurđević, insisting that the law regulating the procedure is not in line with the Constitution.

In the meantime, lawyers Sandra Marković and Jadranka Sloković have sent a request to the Constitutional Court to test the constitutionality of the said legislation, after a request for the review of its constitutionality was also forwarded by filmmaker Dario Juričan, who ran in the presidential election in 2019.

Constitutional Court president Miroslav Šeparović told Hina on Friday that the court would decide on Tuesday whether the latest request would be put on its agenda as a separate item or whether it would be discussed together with Juričan's proposal.

Milanović insists that it is his constitutional right to nominate the person he chooses. The decision of the parliament speaker not to add Milanović's motion to the parliament's agenda concerning professor Đurđević, who was not among the three applicants, prompted President Milanović to criticise the legislature for defending the status quo and "untouchable" top officials in the judiciary.

Last Friday, the parliament confirmed the opinion of the Committee on the Constitution that no mistake was made by Speaker Gordan Jandroković when he asked President Milanović to supplement his motion on the nomination of the Supreme Court president.

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ZAGREB, 17 March, 2021 - Minister of Justice and Public Administration Ivan Malenica said on Wednesday that he expects the State Attorney to urgently investigate claims made by football mogul Zdravko Mamić who has accused Supreme Court Chief Justice Đuro Sessa and Osijek County Court judges of corruption.

"I trust that the competent bodies will urgently check Mr Mamić's claims and the content of the (USB) stick which I am not familiar with at the moment, and that they will quickly determine whether the accusations, which I consider grave and serious, are founded," said Malenica, adding that Mamić said that he had given a USB stick with the material to the competent bodies.

Malenica told reporters that that case was now with the State Attorney, who had received the material and would now check it to determine if the claims were authentic after which certain procedures would be launched accordingly.

Asked whether it would be appropriate for the county court judges and chief justice whom Mamić mentioned to be temporarily suspended until the investigation was completed, considering the gravity of the accusations, Malenica said that that was up to the State Judicial Council.

"The accusations are grave, but if we were to react to all the accusations against individual judges and suspend them, I don't know where we would be," said Malenica.

Asked whether the reaction was sufficiently prompt considering the fact that Mamić sent the USB stick last October, Malenica said that he was not familiar with the content of the documents and what sort of reaction they required from the competent bodies that need to determine their authenticity based on defined procedures before any conclusion can be released. He said that the question was for the State Attorney's Office to say how fast it should have, could have or would have to react.

"I cannot say if there is anything contentious, however, I do expect the State Attorney to react as soon as possible if there are any grounds based on those claims to launch certain proceedings, and that will certainly reflect on the status of those judges," said Malenica.

He believes that Supreme Court Chief Justice Đuro Sessa and the other judges Mamić mentioned, need to react to Mamić's claims. "I expect Sessa, as does the entire public, to react to the allegations but I think this isn't the first time Mamić has mentioned Sessa," said Malenica.

Malenica added that he can't say whether this will affect Sessa's chances of being re-elected as Supreme Court Chief Justice but he believes that accusations against him are grave and serious.

After the Supreme Court upheld a first instance ruling sentencing Mamić to six and a half years in prison, during a press conference in Mostar yesterday, Mamić accused Sessa and Osijek County Court Judges Zvonko Vekić and Darko Krušlin of corruption while calling the chief justice of that court, Judge Zvonko Vrban, a criminal.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that Sessa had no intention of reacting to the "absurd and untrue claims," whereas the USKOK anti-corruption office said that "Zdravko Mamić had sent his statement on a (USB) stick to the State Attorney on 8 October last year and as soon as the stick was received, USKOK began investigating its content and the investigation is still ongoing."

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ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović on Friday said that Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković has done something that is unprecedented and impermissible by asking him, as the proposer, to supplement his draft decision on the selection of the Supreme Court president.

Jandroković sent back Milanović's draft decision after identifying some shortcomings.

Milanović said that Jandroković put his recommendation for the Supreme Court candidate "in a drawer," underscoring that Jandroković has no right to do so.

"He has no right to do that, whatever the HDZ majority in the Committee on the Constitution, thinks," Milanović told reporters in Požega after attending an oath giving ceremony by the 29th generation of volunteer army recruits.

Only thing protecting Jandroković from consequences is his immunity

Milanović said that the Speaker had done something he is not allowed to and the "only thing protecting him from the consequences is his immunity."

"He stole the document I sent to the parliament and allowed himself to interpret it... and assess the legality of my recommendation," claimed Milanović, adding that only the parliament can decide on the legality of something and not Jandroković.

"In future too he or anyone else can do what they want with documents and proposals. That is (ruling party) HDZ's message to parliament and its partners in the government... and if they want to agree to Jandroković shelving issues at his discretion and conducting a legislative analysis of a proposal's admissibility, let them do so. That is the road to tyranny," underscored Milanović.

Jandroković has privatised the position of Parliament Speaker

Milanović called out Jandroković for "privatising the position of Parliament Speaker," which the "HDZ majority in the parliamentary Committee on the Constitution gave him the right to do."

Milanović underscored that his recommendation for president of the Supreme Court, Zlata Đurđević, is a good choice, reiterating his stance that a public call for applications for the position is not transparent and that he as the president of the country has the authority to recommend a candidate.

"If you don't like it, abolish it, but it exists - all my authority and duty is to make a recommendation and I did so and that is the most transparent way possible. The public call is not transparent. Hundreds of Croatian lawyers are perhaps scared and don't want to participate in a travesty... Professor Đurđević is my candidate. Reject her, I dare you!" said Milanović.

He also commented on criticism by some constitutional law experts of his refusing to support one of the candidates that applied for the position, saying that these were people who wish to become Constitutional Court judges and are just waiting outside the Constitutional Court door waiting for a public call so they "can jump in."

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ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Wednesday called on President Zoran Milanović to supplement his motion concerning the nomination and election of the Supreme Court President.

The request to amend the motion ensued after some shortcomings were noticed in the submitted motion, a source from the Office of Parliament Speaker said.

Under Article 170 of the legislature's rule book, the sponsor of a motion can be asked to resubmit the amended motion within 15 days, after the parliament speaker establishes that the initial motion has not been submitted in accordance with the rule book of the national parliament.

Otherwise, the motion shall be considered null and void.

On Monday, Milanović announced his plan to nominate the Zagreb law school's professor Zlata Đurđević as his candidate for the Supreme Court President, and said that he would send the relevant proposal to the Sabor on the same day.

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ZAGREB, 19 February, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović has announced that he will not support any of the three candidates running for President of the Supreme Court and that he will reveal the name of his candidate shortly.

"I will not accept any of those persons. It's nothing personal. This is a serious deviation in constitutional practice and custom," Milanović said in an exclusive interview with the commercial television channel Nova TV on Thursday evening marking his first year in office.

"I have been thinking about this for a while, talking about it and trying to keep it discreet. I want to come out in public with my proposal in good time, proposing a person who meets my criteria and who is acceptable to both the ruling majority and the opposition," the president said.

He said that he would discuss the matter with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party, "and possibly with someone else so that I do not go with a candidate who is a thorn in someone's side, but that we try and find a compromise."

Asked when the public would learn the name of his candidate, Milanović said that it would be "in due course". He said he did not want it to be like four years ago "when the current Supreme Court president was chosen at the last minute because the president (Kolinda Grabar Kitarović) had her own candidate who was unacceptable to (Prime Minister) Plenković." He added that he wants the person he opts for to be present in the public for a while and that it would be good if that person was not a Supreme Court judge.

Speaking of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, Milanović said that Croatia should look after its own interests and that the government' should buy this vaccine because it was its "fundamental duty and loyalty to its people".  

Commenting on the appointment of Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb and Ljubljana as the new patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Milanović described Porfirije as a high dignitary of the SPC "who is above the standard of those before him." 

"He will come under great pressure because the SPC is part of the Serbian state, while the Catholic Church in Croatia is not part of the Croatian state," Milanović said, adding that the SPC wielded great influence on politics, particularly in Montenegro. "It now has great influence in Montenegro, and not good influence at that. We will see. There are a lot of challenges."

 Milanović said he could not see how the new SPC leader could serve as a bridge to his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić. "We are secular statesmen. I am the president of a democratic European country, while Vučić is the president of a country with a different political system and a different approach to democracy," he added.

On the subject of local elections in May, Milanović said he would not vote because he wanted to be consistent. "I should be consistent here. I did not vote (in the parliamentary election) because I strongly believe that in the present scheme of things the President of the Republic should not vote and provoke questions as to who he voted for. The President should be exempt from that. You will not see me in the polling station."

Asked about his presidency, Milanović said that being President "is not a job, but a calling, it's a lifestyle." Asked what he will be remembered for, he said: "You will remember the year, not me, for bad things." He added that "there were certainly some good things and some less good things, and some things were possibly too impulsive."

Milanović said that his style was unique and that his voters were aware of it. "People knew very well who they were voting for and I do not think they were surprised at all. What you see is what you get."

As for his relationship with Prime Minister Plenković, Milanović said that it was such that "in all sensitive and difficult matters" he was sympathetic and supportive. "I did not analyse too much, I did not criticise, nor did I follow every move made by the government and comment on each of its tactical measures because that would be unfair."

He said that he was against the state of emergency in the country imposed by "a group of unknown and unelected people who have been formally deciding about our fundamental human rights and freedoms for a year now."

Asked about his Facebook comments on women victims of sexual violence, which were seen by some as downplaying their plight, Milanović said that he was elected by Croatian citizens, both men and women, and that he treated women "gender neutrally, as conscious autonomous beings fighting for their rights."

ZAGREB, Dec 19, 2020 - The Supreme Court has dismissed a motion to review a Zagreb County Court ruling in favour of a Geology Institute employee who sued her employer over the non-payment of a base pay rise under an agreement dating back to the Ivo Sanader cabinet, Jutarnji List reported on Saturday.

This means the state risks being sued by many public sector employees which would cost the budget by over HRK 2 billion if the government does not reach an agreement with the unions which have already filed pilot lawsuits, all of which have been ruled in their favour, the daily said.

The pilot lawsuits have been filed over the non-payment of a 6% base pay rise in 2016 to which the Sanader cabinet committed in 2006. The global financial crisis followed, and the government and unions agreed in 2011 that the base pay would rise by 6% annually when GDP increased by 2% or more year on year over two consecutive quarters.

Said increase occurred in 2015, yet the government and the State Bureau of Statistics claimed that the GDP increase had not gone up by 2% but that, for the first time, they rounded it up to four decimals and that the increase was therefore 1.9998%.

That was when the first pilot lawsuits were filed. The Preporod union claims that 400 have been ruled in workers' favour and that 170,000 public sector employees could eventually benefit from this. Courts have awarded them amounts ranging from HRK 5,500 to 9,000.

On September 3, the education ministry ordered schools to initiate reviews if they lost the lawsuits. The ministry's position is that the prerequisites for applying the 2006 agreement were not met, given that it stipulates the deferral of the rise by as many quarters as GDP decreased, and that the rise therefore should have occurred only in January 2019, the newspaper said.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)