Decentralisation, professionalisation and digitalisation of the system of state administration

The Croatian government on Thursday sent to parliament a bill on revamping the system of state administration in order to depoliticise it and make it more professional and cost-effective.

The future law plans downsizing the number of state administration bodies from 52 to 32, the establishment of professional management structures and the performance of state administration tasks at the levels closest to members of the general public.

Presenting the bill, Minister Lovro Kuscevic said that the new legislation would facilitate the government's reform-oriented measures.

Under the proposed legislative solution, there will no longer be assistant ministers, and they will be replaced by the heads of departments.

 "Thus, the number of office-holders who have the status of state officials will be cut by 96, and in parallel with the professionalisation, all this will make marked savings in the state budget," the public administration minister said.

Bill of amendments to speed up litigation, equalise court practice

A bill of amendments to the litigation law that the government forwarded into parliamentary procedure on Thursday is intended to accelerate court proceedings and to define a uniform court practice in similar cases.

Justice Minister Drazen Bosnjakovic said that the bill stipulates that communication with the court by state bodies such as prosecutors, court experts and bankruptcy trustees, as well as by attorneys representing parties in proceedings, must be in electronic format.

The bill also redefines the review system, the legal remedy that is decided by the Supreme Court, whose decisions serve to equalise court practice and ensure a uniform application of the law throughout the country.

The current review system is fairly complicated and proceedings last fairly long, and the bill introduces a system that will accelerate proceedings and provide a tool for the Supreme Court to be as efficient as possible, Minister Bosnjakovic explained.

Elections for local councils representing minorities to be held on 5 May

The Croatian government on Thursday decided that elections for local councils representing minorities in local communities would be held on 5 May.

The previous elections of this kind took place in Croatia on 31 May 2015.

The elections will be organised for 15 councils of ethnic Czechs, 33 councils of ethnic Albanians, 34 Italian councils in local communities, as well as 41 Romany, 58 Bosniak and 244 local councils for ethnic Serbs, according to a statement made by Public Administration Minister Lovro Kuscevic.

Text: Hina

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