Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ZAGREB183
2006-02-10 16:08:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Zagreb
Cable title:
NEW JUSTICE MINISTER INHERITS SOLID JUDICIAL
how-toVZCZCXRO2597 OO RUEHAG RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHVB #0183/02 0411608 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 101608Z FEB 06 ZDK FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5689 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 02 ZAGREB 000183
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO; EUR/SCE ENGLISH, BELL;
S/WCI-HODGKINSON; L/EUR JOHNSON; INR MORIN
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO NSC BRAUN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KAWC PGOV PREL HR
SUBJECT: NEW JUSTICE MINISTER INHERITS SOLID JUDICIAL
REFORM PROGRAM
***********************
* Missing Section 001 *
***********************
ZAGREB 00000183 002 OF 002
courts to those with lighter caseloads has for the first time
since Croatian independence reversed the trend of an
ever-increasing case backlog. With well over a million
pending cases, the process of eliminating the backlog is a
long term one.
7. (U) Skare Ozbolt also spearheaded an initiative to
rationalize the number of Croatian courts and had plans this
year to merge many municipal courts, saving on court
administration and infrastructure costs. The GoC also put
more than USD 300 million in 2005 into modernizing court
facilities to bring the remaining courts up to European
standards.
FINALLY SOME JUDICIAL DISCIPLINE
--------------
8. (U) Skare Ozbolt was the first MoJ to get serious about
judicial discipline. Her new judicial inspectors have
already hit a number of courts and exposed irregularities
leading to the dismissal of two municipal court presidents.
The Minister's powers in this area, however, are limited to
naming and removing court presidents. The next step --
actually removing a judge from office -- can only be taken by
the judiciary itself, which has been slow to act against its
own.
LAND REGISTRY: CRITICAL TO FOREIGN INVESTMENT
--------------
9. (U) When Skare Ozbolt took office, Croatia's land registry
was plagued with backlogged cases and multiple (and sometimes
contradictory) records. After the introduction of licensed
land registry clerks who took much of this workload off the
desks of municipal judges, conflicts are being resolved and
the backlog is set to be eliminated by the end of this year.
Much of the data has been digitized and is now available
on-line, the first E-Government service in Croatia.
Technical and legal preparations are now complete for the
creation of a single, nationwide land registry.
A STRENGTHENED JUDICIAL ACADEMY FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION
-------------- --------------
10. (U) The MoJ established a Judicial Academy in 2004 to
provide for the ongoing professional education of judges and
prosecutors. In addition to the headquarters in Zagreb, the
Academy has two regional training centers, with three more
scheduled to open this year. With USG and EU assistance, the
Academy has offered training in such topics as witness
protection, war crimes evidence, verdict writing,
intellectual property, labor law, family law, and European
Union law, among others. Attendance at Judicial Academy
training was recently made a pre-condition for career
advancement, ensuring fully trained judges and continuity of
jurisprudence across Croatia.
FRANK
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO; EUR/SCE ENGLISH, BELL;
S/WCI-HODGKINSON; L/EUR JOHNSON; INR MORIN
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO NSC BRAUN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KAWC PGOV PREL HR
SUBJECT: NEW JUSTICE MINISTER INHERITS SOLID JUDICIAL
REFORM PROGRAM
***********************
* Missing Section 001 *
***********************
ZAGREB 00000183 002 OF 002
courts to those with lighter caseloads has for the first time
since Croatian independence reversed the trend of an
ever-increasing case backlog. With well over a million
pending cases, the process of eliminating the backlog is a
long term one.
7. (U) Skare Ozbolt also spearheaded an initiative to
rationalize the number of Croatian courts and had plans this
year to merge many municipal courts, saving on court
administration and infrastructure costs. The GoC also put
more than USD 300 million in 2005 into modernizing court
facilities to bring the remaining courts up to European
standards.
FINALLY SOME JUDICIAL DISCIPLINE
--------------
8. (U) Skare Ozbolt was the first MoJ to get serious about
judicial discipline. Her new judicial inspectors have
already hit a number of courts and exposed irregularities
leading to the dismissal of two municipal court presidents.
The Minister's powers in this area, however, are limited to
naming and removing court presidents. The next step --
actually removing a judge from office -- can only be taken by
the judiciary itself, which has been slow to act against its
own.
LAND REGISTRY: CRITICAL TO FOREIGN INVESTMENT
--------------
9. (U) When Skare Ozbolt took office, Croatia's land registry
was plagued with backlogged cases and multiple (and sometimes
contradictory) records. After the introduction of licensed
land registry clerks who took much of this workload off the
desks of municipal judges, conflicts are being resolved and
the backlog is set to be eliminated by the end of this year.
Much of the data has been digitized and is now available
on-line, the first E-Government service in Croatia.
Technical and legal preparations are now complete for the
creation of a single, nationwide land registry.
A STRENGTHENED JUDICIAL ACADEMY FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION
-------------- --------------
10. (U) The MoJ established a Judicial Academy in 2004 to
provide for the ongoing professional education of judges and
prosecutors. In addition to the headquarters in Zagreb, the
Academy has two regional training centers, with three more
scheduled to open this year. With USG and EU assistance, the
Academy has offered training in such topics as witness
protection, war crimes evidence, verdict writing,
intellectual property, labor law, family law, and European
Union law, among others. Attendance at Judicial Academy
training was recently made a pre-condition for career
advancement, ensuring fully trained judges and continuity of
jurisprudence across Croatia.
FRANK