Croatian Parliament Research Articles

Grandstanding Instead of Deliberative Policy-Making: Transitional Justice, Publicness and Parliamentary Questions in the Croatian Parliament

ABSTRACT Addressing the legacy of human rights violations in public can benefit victims, post-conflict societies and democracy building. But publicness of transitional justice (TJ) processes can also have opposite effects. We assess the relationship between publicness and TJ by leveraging the democratic deliberation theory concerned with the impact of publicness on the quality of policy-making. A comparative analysis of oral and written questions about TJ in the Croatian parliament (2004–20) shows that members of parliament use oral questions for nationalist grandstanding and written questions for substantive TJ policy deliberation. We demonstrate how publicness afforded by parliaments stymies TJ’s normative goals.

Discursive Interaction and Agency in Transitional Justice: A Conversation Analysis Perspective

ABSTRACT The article presents discursive interaction as an analytical framework for capturing agency in transitional justice (TJ). Embedded in the paradigm of Conversation Analysis, which foregrounds the interactive nature of communication, the framework sets out how the exercise of agency is facilitated or constrained at the micro level of talk in conversational sequences. The article shifts attention to the mechanics of interactions in TJ, which are demonstrated empirically with patterns of interactions in the Croatian Parliament. The reconceptualization of agency based on the systematic analysis of how speakers engage with each other advances emerging theories of interactive TJ both conceptually and methodologically.

Memory of Communist Crimes in Croatia and the Influence of the European Culture of Remembrance

Abstract Dealing with various aspects of 20th century history still poses a significant challenge to Croatian society. This also includes dealing with the socialist period. In the last fifteen years, propelled by the Eastern enlargement (2004, 2007), the EU has developed a common European memory of the totalitarian and authoritarian regimes of the 20th century, including communism. This article analyzes the impact of a common European culture of remembrance on Croatian commemorative culture, especially remembrance of communist crimes. The analysis will include the political discourse of selected mnemonic actors and commemorative practices. In 2011, the Croatian Parliament passed a law to commemorate the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of All Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes every August 23. However, the article argues that a shared European memory had only limited success on Croatian debates and conflicting narratives on communist crimes and the socialist period. The main reason is the dominantly antagonistic mode of remembering and representing of the communist period in Croatia.

Parliamentary Debates and Freedom of Speech of MPs as Defined in the Rules of Procedure of the 19th Century Croatian Parliament and Other Parliaments

This paper presents different aspects of regulating parliamentary debate in the second half of the 19th century in the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) and other parliaments in a comparative discourse. This includes parliament's constituent session, preparation and course of parliamentary debate, MPs’ motions and interpellations, MPs’ freedom of speech, voting and adoption of conclusions. The analysis will be based on a comparison of the rules of procedure of the Croatian Parliament (1861-1918), the 1848 Frankfurt National Assembly (Frankfurter Nationalversammlung), the 1848 Imperial Diet in Vienna (Reichstag), the Imperial Council (Reichsrat), the Hungarian Parliament and parliaments of some German lands in the second half of the 19th century as well as a collection of precedents serving as a basis for the operation of the British Parliament (the so-called Westminster procedure) and the rules of the United States Congress. Moreover, acceptance and modification of individual aspects of the Westminster procedure or provisions in the procedural rules of other countries will be presented as examples suggesting that the transfer of ideas and practices in parliamentarianism in Croatia and other European countries in the 19th century should be viewed through the prism of multidirectional influence and creative receptions.

Parliamentary Immunity in the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia in the Second Half of the 19th Century and Its European Models

The paper discusses the development of the English model of parliamentary immunity, which was limited to non-accountability immunity, and the French model. During the revolutionary events in France at the end of the 18th century, the French model established a two-tier system that included both non-accountability and inviolability immunities. With the development of parliamentary systems during the second half of the 19th century, the French model was adopted throughout continental Europe, including Austria, Hungary, and the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia. This paper focuses on the Law on the Inviolability and Non-Accountability of the Parliamentary Members, issued for the Croatian Parliament on May 16, 1867, and its application, especially during the early years of the administration of Ban Khuen-Héderváry.

Women’s discursive agency in transitional justice policy-making: A feminist institutionalist approach

AbstractScholars have studied how women’s domestic and transnational civil society activism addresses the gendered nature of transitional justice. In contrast, they have paid scant attention to women’s impact on transitional justice policy-making in institutions. We leverage the feminist institutionalist perspective that makes visible gendered norms, rules, and discourses in institutions. Homing in on women’s influence in parliaments where women are outnumbered by men and marginalised by adversarial discourse, we develop a conceptualisation of women’s discursive agency. Foregrounding discourse in women’s ability to drive change, women’s agency is enacted through their linguistic communication style and substantive normative positions that constitute micro- and macro-level structures of domination. Quantitative and qualitative discourse analysis is applied to a corpus of parliamentary questions about transitional justice in the Croatian parliament from 2004 to 2020. Our results show that women adopt the adversarial style of questioning, which they use to broaden the scope of entitlements and press for reparations for female and male victims. They overcome constraints posed by partisanship and ideology, while constraints of nationalism are less easily broken. The article advances feminist transitional justice by demonstrating how women’s language contributes to dismantling men’s policy domination in institutions, with implications for mixed-sex interactions in non-institutional domains.

Authentic Interpretation of the Constitution in the Croatian Parliamentary Law

Having in mind that the authentic interpretation is an interpretation of a legal norm that, due to its ambiguity or misinterpretation in practice, is provided by the same body that enacted it, the paper examines whether Croatian parliamentary law empowers the Croatian Parliament, as a constitution-maker, for giving an authentic interpretation of the Constitution. In addition, the paper examines whether the Parliament has the power to give an authentic interpretation of constitutional provisions in the parliamentary law of three republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (the Republic of North Macedonia, the Republic of Slovenia, and the Republic of Serbia) which, like the Republic of Croatia, have retained the institute of authentic interpretation after gaining their independence. For that purpose, the paper analyzes the relevant provisions of the Constitution, laws, and parliamentary rules of procedure. It was concluded that in the Republic of Croatia, as well as in mentioned states, there is no interpretative power of the parliament in relation to the provisions of the Constitution. In concrete, individual cases the ordinary (non-authentic) interpretation of constitutional provisions is primarily given by the courts, and ultimately by the Constitutional Court, while the parliament has the power of amending vague or misinterpreted provisions in the procedure of amending the Constitution.

»We are with You, Ukraine« – analiza upravnih kapaciteta za implementaciju instituta privremene zaštite u Hrvatskoj

»We are with You, Ukraine« – analiza upravnih kapaciteta za implementaciju instituta privremene zaštite u Hrvatskoj

THE PRECONDITIONS OF DRAFTING A LEGAL REGULATION

This paper systematically deals with the matter of nomotechnical rules of drafting legal regulations with special reference to essential preconditions of drafting legal regulations. The national sources of law are studied relating to the procedure of drafting legal regulations, which arise from the Rules of Procedure of the Croatian Parliament and what possibilities the prescribed and unique methodological-nomotechnical rules have. The emphasis is on determining the essential preconditions for the enaction and drafting of legal regulations, and on the advantages that contribute to a better drafting of legal regulations in the national system. This is a very interesting topic since the so-called nomotechnical rules did not appear in scientific terms until the 19th century and are still evolving. The nomotechnical rules institute plays a very important role as a foundation of legal certainty.

The Politics of Differentiated Integration: What do Governments Want? Country Report - Croatia

This paper presents empirically substantiated answers on the salience of differentiated integration from the perspectives of Croatian governments between 2004 and 2020. Judging from our analysis, differentiated integration has been – and remains – a low salience issue for Croatian governments. The few times that DI salience peaked were in 2003-07 (the beginning of the EU accession negotiations), 2009-12 (the period leading to the conclusion of the accession negotiations), and finally a more prominent peak during 2015-16, prompted by the 2015 EU refugee crisis. This has allowed identification of the principal drivers of DI on the demand and supply sides. We find that in the Croatian case the peak-salience moments are largely driven by the broad mechanisms (e.g. either enhanced cooperation or opt-outs) and instances of DI (e.g. Rome III, Pesco), together with specific instances of DI that gained particular traction in Croatian political discourse (e.g. the opt-out from the Global Compact on Refugees and the ‘Marrakesh agreement’). For the most part, political reflection on DI has taken place in the Croatian parliament (cro. Hrvatski Sabor), while salience has been overall low in Prime Ministers’ (PM) speeches (annual parliamentary addresses, European Council reports) and government programmes. Lastly, over the same period, the position of Croatian governments on differentiated integration has largely been informed by a very broad and non-specific support for Croatia’s EU membership and advancing the integration process across policy areas.

NOVE KONCEPCIJE DRŽAVNE SUVERENOSTI I ORGANIZACIJE VLASTI U SRPANJSKIM USTAVNIM AMANDMANIMA IZ 1990. - UZ TRIDESETU GODIŠNJICU USTAVA RH

In the year marking three decades since the adoption of the Christmas Constitution, the importance of constitutional amendments promulgated by the Croatian Parliament at the end of July 1990, which together with the February Constitution from the time of the still existing Socialist Parliament form the basic preconditions for initial democratization of the Croatian constitutional system. From a legal-historical and constitutional point of view, the authors consider this issue important for the modern Croatian state. Traditional Croatian historiography analyzes these amendments exclusively in their substantive sense of regulating the new state coat of arms, the flag and abolishing the socialist attributes. Although the amendments are normatively not numerous, their meaning is much broader. At the heart of this analysis lie the issues of a new understanding of state sovereignty and reform interventions in state organization. The authors analyze the relevant provisions through the original records of parliamentary debates. They first point to the basic trends of constitutional changes comprised in the July amendments, referring primarily to the identity level, and then they point to the strengthening of state sovereignty and changes in the direction of developing the features of modern parliamentary democracies. The planned reorganization of the executive -administrative power is especially considered here. At the end, the feed back of the July constitutional amendments and the beginning of work on the new Constitution of the Republic of Croatia are presented.

THE HYPO BANK CASE: HOW THE CROATIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT (MIS)INTERPRETED THE HISTORICAL MEANING OF THE PRINCIPLE OF LEGALITY

Croatia has undergone significant infrastructural changes since the 1990s. The difficult process of transition to statehood caused far-reaching consequences of unemployment, increase of domestic and foreign debt, and growth of systemic corruption. In 2010 the Croatian Parliament amended the Constitution and abolished the statute of limitations for privatization and ownership transformation crimes committed during the Homeland War and peaceful reintegration. The abolition of the statute of limitations enabled Croatian justice to prosecute former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader for his part in war profiteering during the early 1990s, with the result that he was sentenced to long-term imprisonment in the Hypo bank case. However, in 2015 the Constitutional Court overruled this ruling, arguing that the abolition of retroactivity cannot be applied to those criminal offences for which the statute of limitations has expired before the Constitutional amendment entered into force. This decision made all criminal proceedings against war profiteers legally impossible, since in almost every case the statute of limitations had already expired in 2010. In this text, authors will analyze the decision of the Constitutional Court in the Hypo bank case, critically examining the reasoning of the Constitutional Court in the context of historical interpretation of the nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege principle – as one of the most esteemed values of enlightenment philosophy – concluding with an explanation of their own standpoint on the topic.     &nbsp

The (Lack Of) Demand for Performance Information by the Croatian Parliament

This paper explores the demand for performance information by members of the Croatian Parliament, and the supply thereof by the Croatian public administration. The research consists of data content analysis of parliamentary questions and answers in the first six months of 2015. The results show that the demand for performance information by MPs is lower than its supply by the administration. The MPs’ personal characteristics have an influence on the demand for performance information since higher demand is shown by those belonging to opposition parties, while those most experienced politically are the ones requesting least information. The influence of MPs’ education on the demand for performance information is not unequivocal. Two issues are further discussed: development of the performance management system and an increase in the power of executives, which can be a result of the Europeanization process.

Granični sporovi Bosne i Hercegovine sa Republikom Hrvatskom

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been fighting for centuries through centuries in order to remain a unique, complete, independent and sovereign state. Throughout its many years of history, the various rulers who shared, appropriated, gave and took parts of its territory without any consequences were replaced in its territory. Following the independence referendum held on February 29 and March 1, 1992, the international recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina followed on 6 April 1992 by the European Community (EC) in its existing borders. On June 30, 1999, Bosnia and Herzegovina signed the Border Agreement with the Republic of Croatia, but it has never been ratified by the Croatian Parliament or by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Parliament. When it comes to the territorial demarcation of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the neighboring countries, the opinion of the Badinter Arbitration Commission of the Conference on Yugoslavia, which defined the boundaries of delimitation based on some rules of international law, is important. In this regard, it is necessary to point out the legal significance of Opinion no. 3. Arbitration commissions which read: "The borders between former federal units are considered to be the borders of the successor states, and can not be changed by force, but only by agreement". The principle of "uti possidetis" can serve as a basis for defining the land borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina with neighboring countries. The gaining of Bosnia and Herzegovina's independence and its international recognition has sparked an interest in the issue of identification, that is, determining its land borders with neighboring countries, as well as the sea delineation with the Republic of Croatia. The international recognition of new states implies clearly and undoubtedly the limits of its sovereignty.

Populism in the Early Parliamentary Election for Members in the Croatian Parliament in 2016

Abstract Based on the previously published researches of the phenomenon of populism and its presence in the Republic of Croatia, and using methodological contents analyis matrix, which has been developed by B. Šalaj and M. Grbeša Zenzerović, this paper deals with the research of the presence of populism in the early Parliamentary election held in 2016. The researches of the phenomenon of populism have been intensified on both local and global level, and populism, as a concept, is becoming increasingly present in social and political discourse. However, everyone and everything is then easily classified as populistic. In the context of the Republic of Croatia, which has been through numerous state orders throughout its political history, this paper is going to examine if there was populism, as an aspect of political action, in the 2016 elections, and it is going to potentially identify the political actors, who have been using populistic features in their political careers. Furthermore, it is going to examine which kind of populism it is.

The Croatian Parliament and the Idea of Subdualism (1914-1918)

The Croatian Parliament and the Idea of Subdualism (1914-1918)

WOMEN ON CORPORATE BOARDS IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION DIRECTIVES AND NATIONAL POLICIES

Gender equality is a very important topic in todays business world that involves the prevention of discrimination and different protection measures for women promotion not only in activities of human resource management such as recruitment, working conditions, training and different benefits, but also in corporate management functions, at board and top level of management. Countries take different approaches in terms of institutional support and setting quotas to increase women presence at boards and top management of the corporations.Across Europe different policies and initiatives are undertaken to increase number of women on corporate boards. In 2011 the Croatian Parliament adopted the National Policy on Gender Equality This policy aims to create a gender balance of supervisory and management board members in the public and private sectors by ensuring that the share of the women to the Act on Gender Equality, does not fall below 40%. This Policy does not appear to be properly implemented in practice. Statistical data from 2017 shows that share of women on boards of the leading Croatian companies is 17.3%, according to the CROBEX Index which measures the share of women in management positions in the most important companies on the Zagreb Stock Exchange. In 2017 share of women in corporate boards decrease comparing with 2015 and 2016 when it was above 20%. According to the latest available data from the European Commission in April 2016, women are most numerous on corporate boards in France (37.1%), Sweden (36.1%),Italy (30.0%) and Finland (29.8%). The aim of the paper is to analyse position of women on corporate boards in the Republic of Croatia and do the comparison among Croatia and other EU countries with the critical approach to the analysis of secondary data, European Union directives and national policies.

FORMIRANJE VLADE U REPUBLICI HRVATSKOJ U KOMPARATIVNOJ PERSPEKTIVI – JEDAN PRIJEDLOG USTAVNE PROMJENE

The paper deals with some open constitutional issues that have caused different interpretations and disputes in the professional public in the process of constituting the Croatian Parliament and the formation of the government in the Republic of Croatia, especially in light of the experience after the parliamentary elections held in November 2015. Based on comparative experiences with constitutional regulations of the process of government formation in some European countries, certain changes of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia are proposed. Firstly, it would be necessary to prescribe the deadline for the Parliament to be constituted, after the parliamentary elections, as well as the deadlines for the implementation of various procedures for giving mandate to form government (or giving a vote of confidence in proposed government or the president of the government). Furthermore, the process of forming a government should be made easier and, unlike the current solution, it should be possible to form also a minority government. Certainly, a constitutional solution should be sought, whereby the confidence of a simple majority of MPs would be sufficient, ultimately, to form a government, so that the repetition of parliamentary elections would not be the only option for solving the crisis of government formation. Additionally, in the process of forming a government, the role of the Croatian Parliament should be strengthened, and the role of the head of state should be reduced. This can be achieved by enabling a certain number of MPs to propose candidates for the Prime Minister. It is also proposed to delete the constitutional provision from Article 112 according to which the President of the Republic has the power to appoint a provisional non-partisan government in the event that he has not assigned a mandate to form government, i.e. no candidate has the confidence of the majority of deputies. However, the President of the Republic would still have the power to announce early elections if the Parliament does not constitute itself or in case no government could be formed. The paper also presents a proposal for the possible introduction of the constructive vote of no-confidence.

New Archival Legislation: the Witch Hunt

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 entered in force in Croatia on May 25, 2018. General Data Protection Regulation regulations still have to be applied. On June 29, 2018 the Croatian Parliament has proclaimed Law on Archives and Archival Records. Personal data of the persons that filled public posts and were members or collaborate of the security services till the May 30, 1990 are accessible without any restrictions regarding the part on performing duties or services. In Croatia there is no person that has been subject to trial only because he/she filled public posts and was members or collaborates of the security services during the socialism. There is no law that will make such trials possible. There are no official registers, released by the competent bodies, which list public officers, members or collaborates of the security service till the May 30, 1990. The unavoidable question arises regarding what criteria archivist should use to determine these persons, where to find relevant data. Why a task that is not and should not be competence of an archive is enforced on archives.

The Croatian Parliament and the Establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovens 1st of December 1918

The Croatian Parliament and the Establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovens 1st of December 1918