.png)
Zagreb - Parliament on Friday adopted amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act aimed at modernising, simplifying, and expediting court proceedings.
The amendments were supported by 79 MPs, while ten abstained and 37 were against.
Under the amendments, a court of appeals will be able to only once quash a verdict and return it to the trial court with precise instructions on which facts to consider.
Before the vote, Natalija Martinčević (Reformists) said this ruling coalition party would table its own criminal procedure bill.
She said the EU and Croatian citizens perceived Croatia as a corrupt state with good reason, saying "the corruption is deep and systemic in local government, state institutions and public companies.
She said the judiciary was inefficient in prosecuting corruption, notably in prosecuting state officials as trials lasted ten years or more.
The Reformists propose that state officials' criminal offences be heard in court in continuity until the end of the trial, without constant delays, and that a court of appeals delivers its decision within one year, Martinčević said.
Mišel Jakšić of the Social Democratic Party said the amendments of the Criminal Procedure Act and all other judicial laws on today's agenda were not enough. The situation in the judiciary is not good and Croatian citizens' trust in it is the lowest in the EU, he added.
"It's not enough to debate laws which professionals are against, all four law schools in Croatia, the Criminal Law Department of the Supreme Court," he said.
Parliament also adopted by majority vote a final bill of amendments to the Civil Procedure Act aimed at enhancing the protection system, ensuring the application of EU regulations and digitalising the judiciary.
Also adopted by majority vote were the Electronic Communications Act and amendments to the Open-Ended Investment Funds with Public Offering Act.