Linking the election of the President of the Supreme Court with the election of Constitutional Court judges undermines the constitutional order, and I will not participate in this
In accordance with Article 94, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, which imposes an obligation on the President of the Republic to ensure the regular and coordinated functioning, as well as the stability of the state authority, while taking into account the constitutional principle of the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary, and the principles and provisions regarding the position, and particularly the independence of the Constitutional Court, I am compelled to inform the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia of the following:
1. The judiciary in the Republic of Croatia is independent and autonomous, and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia, as the highest court, ensures the uniform application of the law and equality of all before it. The President of the Supreme Court is elected by the Croatian Parliament upon the proposal of the President of the Republic, following prior opinions from the competent parliamentary committee and the general session of the Supreme Court. The Government and the Prime Minister do not take part in the procedure for electing the President of the Supreme Court, and this election is in no way linked to any other procedure for appointing members of the judicial, legislative or executive branches.
2. The Prime Minister’s statement, which clearly implies that the election of the President of the Supreme Court will be linked to the election of Constitutional Court judges, represents a breach of the Constitution and the law, as well as a belittling and undermining of the independence of the judiciary. His public call for political bargaining in the process of appointing the highest officials of the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges is unprecedented in Croatian history and is directly aimed at undermining the constitutional order.
3. I call on the Prime Minister to respect the right of the Croatian Parliament, that is, the right of the parliamentary representatives, to fulfil their constitutional and legal duty within their mandates and elect the head of the Supreme Court without being forced into any kind of “trade-off” or other unconstitutional and illegal behaviours.
4. I stress that, as President of the Republic, I have not participated and will not participate in any political bargaining over the election of the President of the Supreme Court or in linking that election to the appointment of Constitutional Court judges.
5. As for the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, I remind that the judges of the Constitutional Court are elected by a two-thirds majority in the Croatian Parliament. The Government of the Republic of Croatia has no constitutional role in this election. Constitutional Court judges must not be elected based on their affiliation with or proximity to any ruling or opposition party.
6. The election of Constitutional Court judges as proposed by the Prime Minister would amount to a renewed party occupation of the Constitutional Court and an open admission that the Court is expected to issue rulings in line with Government expectations. This confirms what was already apparent – that the previous composition of the Constitutional Court acted and decided exclusively on the basis of instructions received from the Government. What had so far been a concealed effort by the Prime Minister to turn the Constitutional Court into an extension of the executive branch has now been clearly exposed. I call on the Croatian Parliament to decide responsibly and reject this undemocratic and fundamentally dangerous plan of the Prime Minister. The Constitutional Court must not become an outpost of any political party.