Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday amended the Criminal Procedure Act, adding the offence of bribing Members of Parliament to the catalogue of criminal offences.
This means that an investigating judge will now be able to order special investigative actions at the request of a state attorney if there are grounds to suspect that the crime of bribing an MP has been committed. These amendments are being introduced in order to align with the legal standards of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The amendments also introduce a new obligation for the police to inform victims about the release of detainees and prisoners. The deadline for the introduction of mandatory audio recording of hearings has been postponed from 1 May 2025 to 1 July 2027.
Cemeteries Bill sent to second reading
The Cemeteries Bill has been sent to a second reading, proposing the removal of monuments erected after 30 May 1990 that glorify the Serbian aggression against Croatia.
The bill stipulates the removal of monuments that offend the religious, moral or national feelings of Croatian citizens and glorify the aggressor army in the 1991-1995 Homeland War. Once the bill is passed, anyone will be able to report such controversial gravestones, and there is also a proposal to set up committees at the county level to provide opinions on their appropriateness.
The Parliament also voted in the new Sports Inspection Act, which strengthens inspections in sports, as well as the State Information Infrastructure Act, which requires state administration bodies, other state bodies, and public institutions whose founder is Croatia to use the national information infrastructure.
MPs also adopted an official state cartography programme for the period 2025–2034, under which the entire area of Croatia will be covered by aerial photogrammetric and LIDAR imaging, and official state maps of Croatia will be created.
The Act Implementing the EU General Product Safety Regulation was also passed, which, among other things, establishes stricter requirements regarding product traceability. The EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement was unanimously ratified.
Several reports were also adopted, including the Report on the Use of European Structural and Investment Funds and EU Pre-Accession Assistance Programmes for the period from 1 January to 30 June 2024.