16 December 2008 - The Judges of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia were received today by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Stjepan Mesić. In an-one-hour working meeting the President of the Constitutional Court Professor Jasna Omejec informed President Mesić and his advisers about the workings and activities of the Court and stressed the existing problems in the domestic constitutional judicature. In particular she stressed the difficulties concerning the abstract control of constitutionality that derive from the fact that everybody can lodge a proposal for the review, and also to the difficulties caused by the enormous number of constitutional complaints (procedure for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms) which do not deal with the violation of constitutional rights but they are rather classic appeals or revisions on the points of law - as if the Constitutional Court were ordinary court. The point was also made to the lack of the Court jurisdiction over the situations where there are no decisions, either made by courts or by other state bodies, because the matter is about activities (or lack of activities) of the state bodies over which the Court has no jurisdiction. The exit from this paradox situation, in which, on one hand the Court has too broad jurisdiction and on the other it lacks some fundamental competencies which it should have had, can be sought in the new normative regulation of the constitutional judicature. Thereby the jurisdiction of the Court would be harmonized with the needs of the modern Croatian society.

Presentation - Working meeting with the President of the Republic of Croatia