The amendments will contribute to speeding up court proceedings, meeting the requirements for accession to the OECD, and to remedying the shortcomings identified in the Hann-Invest judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU
At today's session of the Government, Minister Damir Habijan presented the final proposals for amendments to the Courts Act, the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Act, the Act on the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime and the Act on the Protection of Reporters of Irregularities.
"The amendments to the Courts Act have been made primarily to implement the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the case
Hann-Invest and Others", the Minister explained.
This legal proposal imposes a ban on the receipt of gifts, thus fulfilling a recommendation from the process of accession of Croatia to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The weight of the quality and quantity criteria in the appraisal of judges’ performance has also been increased.
Another novelty in this legal proposal is the establishment of a court division specialising in corruption and organised crime cases at the Varaždin County Court, as well as the establishment of special organisational units in all courts for providing information on the work of courts, to be headed by court spokespersons.
Furthermore, the amendments include a transfer of jurisdiction for deciding on requests for the protection of the right to a trial within reasonable time from the president of the directly superior court to the president of the court before which the proceedings are pending.
New offence against life, limb and property through AI system to enter the Criminal Code
The Final Proposal of the Act on Amendments to the Criminal Code includes amendments aimed at further harmonisation with OECD standards.
"It is proposed to expressly lay down rules on the territorial validity of the criminal legislation of the Republic of Croatia in relation to legal persons, applying the principle of active personality", said Minister Habijan.
"When it comes to aligning our legislation with the EU acquis, it is important to underline that with these amendments we are transposing the Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and strengthening criminal justice protection against trafficking in human beings. A new objective of committing the crime of trafficking in human beings is being introduced and new qualified forms of this crime", underlined the Minister.
"These amendments to the Criminal Code introduce a new criminal offence of causing danger to life, limb and property through an AI system, taking into account the fact that technology is developing, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence", concluded Minister Habijan.
In relation to the first reading, it is important to mention the tightening of the criminal sanctioning policy for the criminal offence of illicit drug production and trafficking by proposing to increase the minimum prison sentence for this criminal offence from one to three years’ imprisonment.
Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act will have an impact on speeding up criminal proceedings
“The primary objective of the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act is to speed up criminal proceedings in the indictment panel stage and to change the concept of illegally obtained evidence”, the Minister explained.
The proposed legislative solution modifies the concept of the indictment panel by envisaging the examination of the indictment for all offences at the session of the indictment panel, without the participation of the parties as a rule, with two exceptions: when a judgment is to be delivered based on a plea agreement and when deciding on the legality of evidence.
Moreover, it is proposed that no special appeal should be allowed against the decision on (non-)exclusion of illegally obtained evidence, unless the court decides otherwise.
The proposed legislative amendments also include adjustments to address the shortcomings identified in the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the
Hann-Invest case.
More efficient operation of USKOK
Presenting the Final Proposal of the Act on the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime, Minister Habijan said that it should enable USKOK to act quickly and proactively.
“The aim was to reduce the burden on the County Court in Zagreb by extending the jurisdiction to deal with USKOK cases to the County Court in Varaždin. The aim is to speed up court proceedings in complex corruption cases by providing for the duty of care of the panel chair and the possibility of a concentrated hearing.”
The proposed amendments enable USKOK to act as a special prosecutor’s office in cases of terrorist offences, terrorist financing and terrorist association.
Tighter penalties for retaliation against whistle-blowers
The Final Proposal of the Act on Amendments to the Act on the Protection of Reporters of Irregularities relates to the implementation of OECD recommendations in the process of accession.
The legislative proposal lays down time limits for the expedited conduct of court proceedings, 15 days’ time limit for response to a lawsuit, holding of the main hearing within 30 days of receipt of the response, and conclusion of the first instance proceedings within six months, while the second instance court is obligated to decide on an appeal within 30 days of its filing.
“At the same time, the upper limits of misdemeanour penalties for retaliation against reporters of irregularities are increased to EUR 100,000 for legal persons and EUR 15,000 for a sole proprietor (natural person), and to EUR 6,000 for a natural person”, Minister Habijan concluded.
Photo: HINA
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