The proposed reforms are the result of the work of two working groups, one of which held as many as 12 working meetings in just 14 days to bring about key changes to the Criminal Code.
The Minister thanked all associates in the Ministry and the Directorate for Criminal Law, Deputy Prime Minister Davor Božinović and Minister of Health Irena Hrstić. The proposed amendments represent a combination of alignment with the European acquis and internal analyses to improve the justice system.
Introduction of life sentence and tighter monitoring
The new measures foresee that life imprisonment can be imposed for all offences for which long-term imprisonment of 21 to 40 years has been envisaged so far, and in case of concurrent sentences. The offenders will have a possibility of parole only after 25 years in prison.
'This is one of the strictest options, since, if we compare other countries of the European Union, they allow for such a possibility much earlier, after 15 to 20 years. Therefore, we have again opted for one of the strictest variants in the European Union", the Minister stressed.
In addition to life imprisonment, the law is introducing a special monitoring measure after the full execution of the prison sentence with the aim of protecting society from the most dangerous perpetrators.
The monitoring period is envisaged to last from one to five years, while for the most serious crimes committed against children it can last from one to ten years.
Ecocide, terrorism and animal protection
Significant novelties are envisaged in the field of environmental protection, too, where a new crime of particularly serious environmental crime, commonly known as ecocide, is being introduced.
The envisaged penalty for the offence is 10 years’ to long-term imprisonment, with the possibility of life imprisonment upon introduction of the penalty into the law. Furthermore, a provision will be added that the offence is not time-barred.
At the same time, penalties for aggravated terrorism resulting in death and for the most serious forms of crime against general security, such as fatal fires, are being significantly tightened, with envisaged sentences ranging from a minimum of five years’ to long-term or life imprisonment.
The package of amendments is also expanding the criminal law protection of animals by introducing two new criminal offences - sexual exploitation of animals and unauthorised veterinary practice, while tightening sanctions for existing offences. The Minister made a special mention of the animal protection associations which collaborated intensively on this draft law and thanked them for their contribution.
Tighter penalties for companies and changes in the business sector
The changes will also affect the business sector and the liability of legal persons.
In the Act on the Liability of Legal Persons for Criminal Offences, a significant increase is envisaged in the fines for the most serious offences, from the current 25 million to 50 million euros.
As part of the legislative amendments, amendments to the Companies Act were presented, transposing the EU directive on multiple-vote share structures in companies, the deadline for which is 5 December this year.
Multiple-vote shares (MVS) are shares which carry more votes per share than in another class of shares with voting rights on matters to be decided at the general meeting of shareholders, which is an exception to the principle that one share carries one vote. The purpose of these amendments is to expand funding sources for entrepreneurs, reduce dependence on traditional bank funding and open up additional investment opportunities.
The decision to issue multiple-vote shares will be taken by the votes of all the shareholders affected, the validity of such shares being limited to ten years, and renewable for a further five years.
Rounding off a comprehensive reform
Minister Habijan announced that the upcoming package would include amendments to the Execution of Prison Sentence Act, the Juvenile Courts Act, the Probation Act, the Criminal Procedure Act and new regulations from the domain of the Ministry of Health, rounding off a comprehensive reform of the criminal law.
'After the Croatian Parliament adopts this package of laws in the field of criminal legislation, Croatian courts, with respect for the separation of powers, their autonomy and independence, will have the proper tools at their disposal to use in cases of the most serious crimes', the Minister concluded.