President Milanović: Very soon, during March, we will discuss Supreme Court candidates

02. March 2021.
19:52

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović announced on Tuesday, during his visit to Vodnjan, that he would acquaint Prime Minister and HDZ President Andrej Plenković very soon, during March, with the name of the person whom he would nominate for President of the Supreme Court.

“I will probably first acquaint Mr. Plenković – during March, very soon – with my proposal. We’ll talk about the person. And the law which was adopted contrary to the Constitution, they should repeal it. I can’t abide by it because I would be in breach of the Constitution and I took an oath that I would protect it”, said President Milanović.

Given the differing opinions on the procedure for proposing and electing the head of the Supreme Court, the President inquired: “If every time I was in a dilemma I had to run to someone for their opinion on what is written in the Constitution, why then did I run for President? Why did the Croatian political corps elect me and why did I take an oath that I would protect the Constitution – something I am, I guess, familiar with? Opinions differ, but the fact remains that I am the only one responsible for what I swore to uphold and that is how I will behave”.

He also commented on the statements made by Prime Minister Plenković, who said that he “has a scenario” for the election of the President of the Supreme Court, which he would propose to the President of the Republic. “Maybe I have a scenario for things under his jurisdiction, but that’s not my job. This is not his job either. Parliament chooses – as is crystal clear, clearly written in the Constitution. It only needs to be applied directly, without fabricating laws that undermine the President”.

When asked if he already has the name of a candidate, the President replied: “Not right now, but I’m thinking about it. The deadlines expire in July, but I’ll do my best so that we can talk about a candidate this month already. We have a lot of time ahead to analyse and question this person. The President of the Supreme Court can do little, but I want that little in action. So far I haven’t seen even that”.