Zagreb - Justice Minister Damir Habijan said in parliament on Thursday the aim of the amendments to the law on the State Attorney’s Office (DORH) was to improve the organisational structure of the institution and to enhance its efficiency.
The amendments provide for the establishment of a specialised team to combat cybercrime, as well as the possibility of creating other specialised teams to fight different types of crime. A department for representation in international arbitrations is also being established.
The amendments also regulate communication with the public and the media regarding the DORH's work. “Communication must be accessible and open in order to increase transparency,” Habijan said.
A new provision stipulates that state attorney’s advisers will be exempt from the application of general civil service rules on performance evaluations. In addition, mandatory security background checks during hiring in state attorney’s offices will remain in place only for staff working on corruption and organised crime cases.
The main reason for this, the minister explained, is that such checks are discouraging candidates from applying and take a long time, which has led to staffing problems at the DORH and has burdened the Security and Intelligence Agency.
The amendments introduce a provision that an upheld indictment for a criminal offense that makes the state attorney general unfit to perform their duties will be grounds for dismissal.
In Slovenia, a final conviction is required to dismiss the state attorney general, whereas we have taken a step further in that respect, Habijan said.