Croatian Constitutional Court Judges Boycott Leadership Vote

The news in Croatian

1. nastati
   početi postojati; dogoditi se ↩︎
2. rasprava  (f.)
   razmjena mišljenja o nekoj temi ↩︎
3. bojkotirati
   svjesno izbjegavanje sudjelovanja ili podržavanja ↩︎
4. samit  (m.)
   sastanak na visokoj razini između država ↩︎
5. obrana  (f.)
   zaštita od napada; branjenje ↩︎
6. složen
   koji ima mnogo dijelova ili aspekata; kompliciran ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What did the judges of the Croatian Constitutional Court do?

Question 2: What was Prime Minister Plenković’s opinion on the judges’ actions?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
nastati	arise
rasprava  (f.)	debate
bojkotirati	boycott
samit  (m.)	summit
obrana  (f.)	defence
složen	complex

Read the full story

Recently, a significant debate has emerged in Croatian political circles following a decision by five constitutional court judges to boycott the vote for a new president of the Constitutional Court. This move has stirred discussions about the role and conduct of constitutional judges, with reactions from various political and legal figures, including Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

The judges—Lovorka Kušan, Goran Selanec, Andrej Abramović, Sanja Bezbradica Jelavić, and Biljana Kostadinov—opted to abstain from the recent voting process. They argued that the election should be delayed until three additional judges were appointed. This decision has drawn criticism from Prime Minister Plenković, who is currently attending a summit in Copenhagen. He remarked that the judges’ actions were politically motivated and that they deviated from their mandated role to uphold the rule of law, rather than engage in politics.

Prime Minister Plenković underscored that the election process follows standard procedure, given that the term of the current president, Miroslav Šeparović, ends in two weeks. He cited constitutional expert Professor Sanja Barić, who also criticised the judges for creating unnecessary conflict. Barić described their actions as “a circus for the sake of a circus,” urging them to engage in rational and meaningful behaviour aligned with their duties.

In a broader context, these developments coincide with ongoing discussions on national security and defence spending in Croatia, as well as the country’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. At the Copenhagen summit, Plenković reiterated his government’s pledge to allocate 3.5% of GDP to defence. He also noted Croatia’s backing of using frozen Russian assets as a guarantee for compensation for Ukraine’s war damages.

The prime minister’s remarks indicate a stance of adhering to procedural norms within Croatia’s constitutional framework, while addressing international issues with diplomatic and legal precision. This dynamic reflects the complex intersection of domestic legal procedures and broader geopolitical concerns.

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