Doc. 8353

23 March 1999

Honouring of obligations and commitments by Croatia

Report

Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe

Rapporteurs: Mr Jerzy Jaskiernia, Poland, Socialist Group and

Mrs Maria Stoyanova, Bulgaria, Group of the European People's Party

Summary

      The Assembly welcomes the progress Croatia has made in honouring its obligations and commitments as a member state since its accession to the Organisation on 6 November 1996, notably as regards ratification of Council of Europe conventions, consultation with Council of Europe experts on bills or laws and co-operation between the Constitutional Court and the Venice Commission.

      On the one hand, aware that Croatia is still facing the consequences of the war, the Assembly expresses satisfaction with progress in the implementation of the Dayton and Erdut agreements. Referring to the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Croatia, the Assembly proposes a series of measures to be taken by the Croatian authorities with regard to citizenship legislation, validation of documents issued in the former UN protected areas, amnesty procedures and reconciliation. The Serb ethnic community is also asked to promote reconciliation. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers invite member states to increase their assistance in mine clearance and in reconstruction and development in the war-affected areas of Croatia.

      On the other hand, the Assembly regrets that little progress has been made by Croatia in honouring its commitments and obligations in the field of electoral reform, local self-government, administration of justice, constitutional protection of minorities and freedom of the media and calls on the Croatian authorities to take a series of concrete measures before the end of October 1999. It recommends that the Committee of Ministers address the Assembly’s concerns in the Programme of Activities for the Development and Consolidation of Democratic Stability (ADACS) and in its own monitoring procedure, and resolves to continue monitoring Croatia and to examine further progress at its April 2000 part-session.

I.       Draft resolution

1. The Assembly welcomes the progress Croatia has made towards honouring its commitments and obligations as a member state, since its accession to the Council of Europe on 6 November 1996:

i.       Croatia has ratified, within the deadlines, set up in Opinion No. 195 (1996), all Council of Europe conventions it had committed itself to, including the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11, the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages;

ii. a number of Croatian bills or laws have been or are being subject to expertise by the Council of Europe. This consultation should continue in order to ensure full compatibility of Croatian legislation with the Organisation’s principles and standards;

iii. co-operation between the Constitutional Court of Croatia and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (“Venice Commission”), as regards participation of international advisers in the work of the court in minority cases, has been satisfactory.

2.       The Assembly notes that Croatia is still facing the consequences of the war. Against this background, the Assembly is satisfied with the progress made by Croatia in honouring commitments related to the implementation of Dayton and Erdut agreements, in particular:

i. Croatia has co-operated with the United Nations Transitional Administration for the Danube region (UNTAES) until the expiry of its mandate on 15 January 1998. The region has since been peacefully re-integrated into Croatia;

ii. land and sea borderlines are being determined through negotiations. Normalisation of relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) is progressing through the conclusion of several bilateral agreements. Recent agreements have provided for special relations between Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and have ensured free passage of the nationals through each other’s territory and use of the Croatian port of Ploce by Bosnia and Herzegovina.

3. As far as co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is concerned:

i. the Assembly acknowledges that Croatia was among the first states to institutionalise its co-operation with the tribunal by adopting a constitutional law on co-operation with the ICTY ;

ii. it also acknowledges that Croatia has mediated the surrender of some indicted Croats to the ICTY;

iii. it notes, however, that the Croatian authorities have failed to honour fully their commitment to «co-operate with, and actively assist, the Prosecutor of the ICTY»: the latter has been complaining about obstructions and interference with investigations and prosecutions and about undue delays on the part of Croatian authorities in complying with requests and executing court orders.

4. With regard to the issue of return of refugees and displaced persons, the Assembly refers to its Recommendation … (1999) on the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Croatia, in which it welcomes the adoption of two fundamental programmes, one for the return and one for reconstruction, and urges the Croatian government to take concrete measures to fully implement them.

5. In respect of other obligations related to the consequences of the war, the following measures should be taken by the Croatian authorities:

i. clear instructions must be given to officials of the Ministry of the Interior to show flexibility in applying the 1991 citizenship law in respect of long-term residents of Croatia who are currently stateless and attempt to obtain citizenship through naturalisation; such applications should be treated most expeditiously; negative decisions must be motivated and appeals against negative decisions must be considered under urgent procedure by administrative courts;

ii. the validation of documents issued in the formerly UN protected areas, including those allowing access to pensions and other social rights, must be further facilitated and an information campaign on the conditions for validation must be organised;

iii. all amnesty procedures must be transparent, beneficiaries should be immediately informed of the decision granting them amnesty and the administrative authorities should execute such decisions without any delay;

iv. the process of reconciliation between the Serb and Croat ethnic communities should be accelerated, in order also to contribute to stopping the emigration of citizens of Serb ethnic origin in the Danube region; Croatian authorities should take urgent measures to reactivate, at both national and local levels, the implementation of the “Programme for the establishment of trust, accelerated return and normalisation of living conditions in the war-affected areas” (October 1997), which has so far been disappointing.

6. Representatives of the Serb ethnic community, for their part, should take concrete action to promote tolerance and reconciliation through, inter alia, more active participation in the National Committee to Establish Trust and the existing local trust committees, as well as in the Joint Council of Municipalities in the Danube region.

7. As for the international community, it must assist Croatia more actively in its efforts for mine clearance and reconstruction. In this context, the Assembly welcomes the approval by the Council of Europe’s Social Development Fund of two loans of 33,7 million dollars for the financing of two projects in Eastern Slavonia and further encourages similar initiatives on the basis of projects submitted by the Croatian government.

8. On the other hand, the Assembly regrets that little progress has been made by Croatia in honouring commitments and obligations related to the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe (democracy, rule of law and human rights):

i. none of the recommendations to change the electoral law, made by Council of Europe and other international observers in 1995, have been followed so far;

ii. despite ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, there is still no fully compatible law on local administration and autonomy;

iii. problems persist in the administration of justice, notably with regard to the huge backlog in cases pending before courts and the lack of enforcement of court decisions;

iv. as far as minority rights are concerned, no progress has been made in the preparation of a draft law on the revision of the suspended provisions of the 1991 constitutional law “on human rights and the rights and freedoms of national and ethnic communities and minorities”;

v. with regard to freedom of electronic media, amendments to the law on the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) were rushed through parliament disregarding most of the recommendations made by Council of Europe experts;

vi. as to the freedom of printed media, the fact that, outside Zagreb, distribution of newspapers and magazines is in reality monopolised by two companies threatens the existence of independent media, since distributors often withhold or delay sale revenues due to them; journalists of some media are faced with a large number of defamation lawsuits brought by the government and ruling party officials.

9. Accordingly, the Assembly calls on the Croatian authorities to take the following measures, within the deadlines set in agreement with the Croatian parliamentary delegation:

i. to amend the electoral law in time before the next parliamentary elections (due for end 1999 or beginning 2000), following consultations between the ruling and the opposition parties and in compliance with recommendations made by international organisations, notably concerning:

      a. revision of the special representational rights of Croatian citizens living abroad (for whose representatives twelve seats - 10% of the total - are reserved in the parliament);

b. consultations with representatives of national minorities and international experts on a system of minority voting which would ensure adequate representation of national minorities in parliament without violating the principle of voter anonymity ;

c. the independence and impartiality of the state broadcasting corporation (HRT) during electoral campaigns;

d. multi-party representation on electoral commissions at state and local level ;

e. accreditation of domestic, non-partisan, observers in all elections.

ii.       to pass legislation in the field of local self-government, in compliance with the European Charter of Local Self-Government and in consultation with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, by the end of October 1999 at the latest;

iii. to address shortcomings in the administration of justice in order to ensure respect of the rule of law and to adopt amendments to the law on the High Judicial Council, in the light of recommendations made by Council of Europe experts and with a view to strengthening the independence of judges, accelerating procedures for filling in vacancies in the judiciary and increasing the autonomy of the High Judicial Council, by the end of April 1999 at the latest;

iv. to adopt a constitutional law revising the suspended provisions of the 1991 law « on human rights and the rights and freedoms of national and ethnic communities and minorities », in compliance with the recommendations made by the “Venice Commission” and taking into account new realities, by the end of October 1999 at the latest ;

v. to continue national and international consultations with a view to further democratisation of the broadcasting media; to reconsider the decision not to privatise the third channel of the HRT in the light of the technical problems raised by the creation of a fourth channel; to reinforce the independence of the HRT, pending further changes to the HRT law and the telecommunications law in compliance with recommendations by Council of Europe experts, by way of implementing existing legislation;

vi. to solve the problems raised by the monopoly in the distribution of printed media, including by setting the conditions for competition in the distribution on equal terms and on a commercial basis; state officials should refrain from using defamation legislation to intimidate journalists.

10.       In the light of the considerations above, the Assembly concludes that, although certain progress has been made since accession, Croatia has not yet honoured all obligations and commitments it accepted as a member state of the Council of Europe. The Assembly therefore resolves to continue monitoring Croatia’s fulfilling, within the set deadlines, its commitments and obligations and to examine further progress at its April 2000 part-session at the latest.

II.       Draft recommendation

1.       The Assembly refers to its Resolution … (1999) on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Croatia in which it:

i. welcomes the progress made by Croatia in honouring its commitments and obligations, since its accession to the Council of Europe on 6 November 1996, in particular as regards the ratification, within the fixed deadlines, of all Council of Europe conventions it committed itself to, the on-going consultation with Council of Europe experts on bills or laws, and the co-operation between the Constitutional Court of Croatia and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (“Venice Commission”);

ii. notes that Croatia is still facing the consequences of the war and, against this background, expresses satisfaction with progress in the implementation of the Dayton and Erdut agreements, in particular with regard to co-operation with UNTAES and the peaceful re-integration of the Danube region into Croatia since expiry of its mandate (15 January 1998); the on-going negotiations on land and sea borderlines; the normalisation of relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY); agreements on special relations with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and on free passage of the nationals through each other’s territory and use of the Croatian port of Ploce by Bosnia and Herzegovina;

iii. acknowledges that Croatia was among the first states to institutionalise its co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and has mediated the surrender of some indicted Croats to the Tribunal, but notes that the Croatian authorities have failed fully to honour their commitment to “co-operate with, and actively assist” the Prosecutor of the tribunal;

iv. refers to its Recommendation … (1999) on the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Croatia, in which it welcomes the adoption of two fundamental programmes, one on return and one on reconstruction, and urges the Croatian authorities to take concrete measures to fully implement them;

v. proposes a series of measures to be taken by the Croatian authorities with regard to other obligations related to the consequences of the war, in particular application of citizenship legislation, validation of documents issued in the former UN protected areas, amnesty procedures and reconciliation;

vi. calls on the representatives of the Serb ethnic community to take concrete action to promote reconciliation;

vii. underlines that the international community must assist Croatia in its efforts for mine clearance and reconstruction and, in this context, welcomes the approval by the Council of Europe’s Social and Development Fund of two loans of 33,7 million dollars for the financing of two projects in Eastern Slavonia and encourages further similar initiatives;

viii. regrets that little progress has been made by Croatia in honouring commitments and obligations related to the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe (democracy, rule of law and human rights), notably in the field of electoral reform, local self-government, administration of justice, the revision of the suspended provisions of the 1991 constitutional law “on human rights and the rights and freedoms of national and ethnic communities and minorities”, in compliance with recommendations made by the “Venice Commission”, and freedom of expression, including freedom of electronic and printed media;

ix. calls on the Croatian authorities to take, before the end of October 1999, a series of measures in the areas mentioned in the above sub-paragraph.

2. Therefore, the Assembly strongly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i. address the Assembly’s concerns, as summarised above and illustrated in more detail in Resolution … (1999),

a. in the Programme of Activities for the Development and Consolidation of Democratic Stability for Croatia to help the country overcome the above-mentioned problems;

b. in its own monitoring procedure ;

ii. reiterate its appeal to member states :

a. to increase their financial assistance and expertise for mine clearance ;

b. to offer financial aid for reconstruction and development in the war affected areas of Croatia.

III.        Explanatory memorandum by Mr Jaskiernia and Mrs Stoyanova

Contents

INTRODUCTION        10

CHAPTER ONE

COMMITMENTS RELATED TO THE FUNADAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE: DEMOCRACY, RULE OF LAW AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

I . PLURALIST DEMOCRACY       11

      A.        Elections       11

      i.       Special representational rights of the diaspora       12

      ii.       Minority representation and voter anoynmity       14

      iii.       Independence of the state broadcasting corporation (HRT)       15

      iv.       Other issues       15

      B.        Local Self-Government       16

II.       THE LEGAL AND JUDICIAL SYSTEMS        17

      A.        Legislation       17

      B.        The judicial system       17

      i.       Independence of the judiciary       17

      ii.       Administration of justice       18

      iii.       The Constitutional Court       19

      iv.       Enforcement of court decisions       19

III.       HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS

      A.        Council of Europe Conventions       20

      B.       Freedom of the media        21

      ii       Printed media        24

      C.       Minority rights       24

      i.       Revision of the Constitutional Law        25

      Court        27

CHAPTER TWO

COMMITMENTS RELATED TO THE RESPECT OF DAYTON AND ERDUT AGREEMENTS

I.       RETURN OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS       28

      A.       Background       28

      B.       The Return and Reconstruction Programmes        28

      i.       The Return Programme and some trends        28

      ii.       The Reconstruction Programme       29

      C.       Elimination of discriminatory legislation        30

      D.       Property and housing issues        30

      i.       Housing Commissions        30

      ii.       Reconstruction of houses        31

      iii.       Actual repossession of property        31

      iv.       Tenancy rights       32

      E.       Issues related to documentation       33

      i.       Confirmation of citizenship status       33

      ii.       Issuance of temporary green cards       34

      iii.       Validation of documents       34

      F.       Reconciliation       35

      i.       The Trust Programme       35

      ii.       The Joint Council of Municipalities in the Danube Region       35

      G.       Amnesty       36

      H.       Mine clearance       37

II.       RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES BY PEACEFUL MEANS       37

III. CO-OPERATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL

CONCLUSIONS       39

APPENDIXES

I.       Programme of the visit of the rapporteurs to Croatia (10-13 November 1998)       42

II.       Excerpts from Opinion No. 195 (1996) on Croatia's request for membership        44

III.       Annex to the letter of 7 June 1996 of the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia        47

IV.       Recommendation 46 (1998) on the state of local and regional democracy in Croatia       49

V.       Letter of Mr Obuljen, Chairman of the Croatian parliamentary delegation, of 08.02.1999        53

VI.       Activities for the Development and Consolidation of Democratic Institutions: Programme 1999 for Croatia       54

INTRODUCTION

1. Croatia joined the Council of Europe on 6 November 1996. The monitoring procedure was opened immediately upon accession in accordance with paragraph 12 of Opinion 195 (1996) on Croatia’s request for membership.

2. A first visit of the rapporteurs on the monitoring of Croatia (Mr Jansson and Mrs Suchocka), together with the Chairman of the Committee (Mr de Marco), took place from 9 to 13 October 1997. Mrs Suchocka was subsequently replaced by Mr Figel who, together with Mr Jansson, presented a summary analysis of compliance with Croatia’s commitments in January 1998. Following an exchange of views with the Croatian parliamentary delegation, MM Jansson and Figel drew up a preliminary draft report which was transmitted to the Croatian authorities for comments in April 1998. Comments were received in July 1998.

3. Mr Jansson and Mr Figel were succeeded by Mr Jaskiernia and Mrs Stoyanova as rapporteurs, who paid a visit to Croatia from 10 to 13 November 1998. They visited Zagreb, as well as Vukovar and Osijek (in the Danube region), where they held meetings with representatives of the authorities (parliament and government), the judiciary, the opposition, national minorities, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, ambassadors of Council of Europe member states etc. The programme of their visit appears in Appendix I. The rapporteurs are particularly grateful to the Chairman of the Croatian parliamentary delegation, Mr Obuljen, who, assisted by Mr Torti, Secretary to the delegation, organised the visit in a most efficient manner and satisfied all requests for meetings and documents. Their sincere thanks go also to the UNCHR mission to Croatia, and in particular to the Head of the Mission’s Office in Osijek, Mr Kheradmand, who organised the visit to Vukovar and Osijek.

4. When Croatia joined the Council of Europe, it accepted the obligations incumbent upon all member states under Article 3 of the Statute: respect for the principles of pluralist democracy and of rule of law and enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It also entered into a series of specific commitments, amplified by expectations, which are listed in the Opinion 195 (1996) (see Appendix II), as well as in the Annex to the letter of 7 June 1996 of the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia (see Appendix III).

5. Croatia’s specific commitments can be divided into two main categories:

(i) One the one hand, a large part of the commitments constitute specific formulations of Croatia’s general obligations under the Statute. This is the case for commitments referring to elections, local democracy, the legal and judicial systems, the signature and ratification of Council of Europe conventions, freedom of the media, protection of minority rights (below, in Chapter One).

(ii) On the other hand, there are commitments related to the respect for the Dayton and Erdut Agreements; these are related to the consequences of the war in former Yugoslavia: commitments for the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes of origin, the peaceful resolution of disputes,1 including border disputes, co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (below in Chapter Two).

6. The second category of commitments show the specificity of Croatia’s accession to the Council of Europe. No other country recently joining the Council of Europe has had simultaneously to absorb the impact of external aggression, combined with internal rebellion by part of an ethnic minority, while managing the transition from a one-party dictatorship to a multi-party democracy and a market economy.

7. Direct war damage amounts to 27 billion US dollars, affecting 59 of 103 municipalities. The rapporteurs could see with their own eyes the size of destruction in the city of Vukovar – a city which still looks deserted despite great efforts for reconstruction. The consequences of the war are still evident and it is understandable that wounds cannot be healed easily. For Croatia, the real end of the war was only marked on 15 January 1998 (one year ago) when the UNTAES mandate expired and Croatia regained full control of its territory.

8. Unofficially, some Croatian politicians voiced the feeling of many Croats: “we will respect Serbs and accept them as neighbours, but do not ask us to love them”. Indeed, this is what the rapporteurs and the whole international community is asking from Croatia: to respect the rights of the Serb minority and encourage their return or stay in Croatia. “Love” is not a necessary precondition of good neighbouring; reconciliation and respect of each other’s cultural difference are.

9. Problems related to the Serb minority and the return of refugees and displaced persons was the main issue of the preliminary draft report, drawn up by the former rapporteurs, MM Jansson and Figel.

10. On 26 February 1999, the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on migration, refugees and demography adopted a report, including a draft recommendation, on this crucial issue [“Return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Croatia”, Rapporteur: Mr Olav Akselsen, Norway, Socialist Group, Doc. AS/Migr(1999)03rev2] for debate at the Assembly’s April 1999 part-session. This report deals in detail with population movements and procedures for return, in particular after the adoption of a “Programme for the return and accommodation of displaced persons, refugees and resettled persons”; it also deals with the conditions in which these persons are living, as well as, in a separate chapter, with the situation in the Danube region. To avoid duplication of work, the rapporteurs refer to this report.

CHAPTER ONE

COMMITMENTS RELATED TO THE FUNDAMENDAL PRINCIPLES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE: DEMOCRACY, RULE OF LAW AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

I. PLURALIST DEMOCRACY

11. Upon its accession to the Council of Europe, Croatia undertook to

12. The Ad hoc committee of the Bureau of the Assembly which observed the parliamentary elections of 1995 (under the Chairmanship of late Lord Finsberg and with Mr Bergqvist as Rapporteur, see Doc. 7430 Addendum I) had criticised the fact that “major changes on the electoral law” were decided “extremely hastily and without any real attempt to consult and seek consensus and compromises in parliament”. This “could not be considered to be in the true spirit of democracy”. This is why recommended adjustments to the electoral law should be made “well in advance” before the next parliamentary elections in Croatia. The report also recommended that a systematic survey be made of all experiences from the 1995 elections “immediately in order to give time for consultations to reach a consensus on a revised electoral law”. Consultations should be held at both national and international level.

13. Parliamentary elections are due for end 1999 or (at the latest) early 2000. During the recent rapporteurs’ visit, some interlocutors have suggested that elections could be held earlier, for instance in April or May 1999. In December 1998, the ruling HDZ party ruled out such a possibility. But even if early elections are to be excluded, next elections are only one year ahead so that recommended changes to the electoral law become a matter of urgency. No such changes have so far been adopted.

14. Today, the revision of the electoral law is not only a demand of the international community in conformity with Croatia’s commitments, but also one of the main demands of the six opposition parties in the country. It is one of the reasons why, on 12 November 1998, MPs from these six opposition parties, whilst keeping their mandate, resigned from their parliamentary functions (chairmanship, membership of committees etc.), including membership of delegations to international organisations, such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

15. The direct cause of the resignations has been the refusal of the opposition’s request for the establishment of a commission of inquiry to explore into the possible misuse of intelligence services.2 According to the opposition, such a refusal constituted a violation of Article 80 of the Constitution, which stipulates that parliament supervises the work of the government and public officials.

16. Representatives of the ruling party assured the rapporteurs during their visit that Parliament had not yet voted on a draft electoral law proposed by the opposition. The latter had been debated at committee level but had not reached the plenary. Thus, the possibility to discuss the contents of the electoral law with the opposition was left open. The Speaker of the Parliament, Dr Pavletic, confirmed that it was still possible to reach a consensus on a revised electoral law.

17. On 25 November, President Tudjman called on the opposition to co-operate with his ruling party on both domestic issues and foreign policy.

18. At the time of writing, the rapporteurs are not aware of any consultations taking place between the ruling party and the opposition on the revision of the electoral law.

19. As regards consultations at international level, representatives of the Council of Europe, the OSCE mission in Croatia and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) have made a series of concrete recommendations to the Croatian authorities on adjusting the electoral law in conformity with Croatia’s commitments.

20. More specifically, the following issues are raised by both the international community and the Croatian opposition:

21. The main criticism expressed by both the international community and the Croatian opposition with regard to the electoral system in Croatia concerns the special representation rights of the diaspora.

22. The criticism of the international community is twofold.

23. The first aspect of the criticism concerns the provisions of the Citizenship Law, according to which ethnic Croats living permanently abroad and even in the absence of any genuine link with Croatia are granted the right to citizenship and, thus, the right to vote, on purely ethnic grounds. Some 380,000 Croats of voting age have acquired citizenship in accordance with these provisions. A special problem of compatibility with the Dayton Agreement is raised with regard to the - approximately 330,000 - ethnic Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

24. The second aspect of the criticism concerns the special system of representation of Croatian citizens living abroad, provided by the Electoral Law: twelve parliamentary seats (out of a total of 127, thus approximately 10%) in the lower house are reserved for representatives elected by the diaspora voting block on the basis of special lists. While in other Council of Europe member states also citizens living abroad have the right to vote, such a special representation system for diaspora votes is without precedence. As to the choice of the precise number of seats to be reserved for the diaspora (12), it is based on the proportion between registered voters inside (3 634 233) and outside the country (approx. 460 000, i.e. approx. 10% of the total number of registered voters).

25. Criticism by representatives of the opposition concerns mainly this second aspect - the special list for ethnic Croats living abroad and the twelve seats reserved for their representatives - rather than their right to citizenship and thus their right to vote.

26. For their part, representatives of the ruling party explain the decision to grant citizenship to Croatian diaspora as a means to recognise its important contribution to the creation and development of the new independent Croatian state. But this argument cannot justify the need for a special representation system for diaspora voters. A different system could indeed be found to ensure the representation of diaspora in the parliament similar to that applied in other Council of Europe member states.

27. It is worth noting that the special system for the representation of diaspora voters had already been heavily criticised by the opposition in the 1995 elections as an improper way to favour the ruling party since it was known that that the diaspora supported President Tudjman and the HDZ party. This criticism was expressed to the Council of Europe observers of the 1995 elections prior to the election. Election results confirmed the preference of diaspora voters for the ruling party which obtained 90% of the votes from abroad compared to approx. 45% of the votes from inside the country. The turnout of the voters from abroad was much lower than inside the country so that finally citizens from abroad are better represented in parliament than citizens from inside the country.

28. During the 1995 elections, Council of Europe observers had criticised that decisions on the number of seats reserved for minorities were taken without prior national and international consultations, including consultation with representatives of the minorities themselves.

29. Moreover, it was found unacceptable that minority voters had to identify their ethnic affiliation, either by voting for a special minority list3 or by formally renouncing (by signing a special certificate) their right to vote for that list in favour of voting for the regular state list. According to the electoral law, all candidates must identify their ethnicity in order to register as a candidate.

30. Questions regarding minority representation could be solved in the framework of the revision of the 1991 Constitutional Law on the rights of minorities etc, the suspended provisions of which provided for special rights of representation. However, despite the relevant commitment of Croatia, no progress has been noted on the issue of revision of the 1991 Constitutional Law and no timetable for future action has been provided either. One can therefore hardly expect that such a revision could be completed before the next elections, which means that issues connected to minority voting and representation in parliament should be settled in the revised electoral law or in a separate piece of legislation as a matter of urgency.

31. The experts of the Council of Europe and OSCE/ODIHR have jointly recommended that the government should consult representatives of ethnic minorities in Croatia as well as the OSCE and Council of Europe on the most appropriate means to secure the political rights of minorities. The assistance of international experts should be sought with a view to amending the relevant provisions of the electoral law and other related legislation.

32. The subject was discussed at a meeting of the Venice Commission from 11 to 12 December 1998, with the participation of Mrs Busic, member of the Croatian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Jansson, as representative of the Assembly, Ambassador Guldimann, Head of the OSCE mission in Zagreb, Mr John Packer, Legal Adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities and Mrs Sanja Zoricic-Tabakovic, Chairperson of the Council of National Minorities of Croatia. The participants noted that the current electoral law and practice raised doubts of compatibility with the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities which Croatia ratified in 1997. Mrs Zoricic presented a legislative initiative of the council aiming at the creation of a new system of minority voting and representation of minorities in the parliament. Without concluding on details, it was commonly felt that it would be preferable to set up a different system than the current one, which would ensure adequate representation of national minorities in parliament without violating the principle of voter anonymity.4

33. During the rapporteurs’ visit to Croatia in November 1998, interlocutors of the ruling party had wondered why the international community was against a special list for the diaspora but did not react on the special minority lists.

34. In the light of the above considerations, the rapporteurs tend to agree that there is room for consultations with representatives of national minorities and international experts (Council of Europe and OSCE) on a different system of minority voting and representation of national minorities in parliament.

35. On the other hand, ethnic Serbs, who used to be long-term residents of Croatia but during the war became refugees in FRY or Bosnia and Herzegovina, meet difficulties when they want to have their Croatian citizenship confirmed and to exercise their right to vote.

36. This problem was raised in the report of the Assembly observers on the 1995 elections. The rapporteur had noted that ethnic Serbs, enjoying Croatian citizenship, had the legal possibility to either return and vote or vote as any other Croatian citizen abroad (Article 5, para. 2 of the electoral law). In practice, however, it was difficult for them to exercise any such right due to the problem of proving their Croatian citizenship.

37. Today, the Programme for Return, if effectively implemented, should facilitate procedures for confirmation of citizenship. In any event, the Croatian government should ensure that all ethnic Serbs who claim Croatian citizenship under the Croatian citizenship law, are enabled to have their citizenship confirmed expeditiously and without impediment so that they can vote in future elections.

iii.       Independence of the state broadcasting corporation (HRT)

38. The report of the Ad hoc committee on the 1995 parliamentary elections, as well as the OSCE/ODIHR report, had criticised the lack of independence and impartiality of the state TV and Radio during the electoral campaign (see Doc. 7430, Addendum I, section III). The role of the HRT during the presidential elections of 1997 has also been criticised in the OSCE/ODIHR report on these elections.

39. In view also of Croatia’s commitment in this area, Council of Europe and OSCE/ODIHR experts have insisted on the need to amend media legislation in Croatia. The recently adopted amendments to the law on the HRT will be examined below. Nevertheless, it can already be said here that these amendments do not sufficiently guarantee increased independence and impartiality of the HRT during the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

40. The Electoral Law provides that “Croatian Radio-Television shall be obliged during the electoral campaign, within the framework of its radio and television programming, to enable all political parties, minority communities, … which are taking part in elections…to put forth within an equal amount of time their election platforms”. This provision is too vague.

41. In practice, the main criticism is that there is an overwhelming coverage of representatives of the ruling party during activities not directly connected with the electoral campaign so that this coverage is not taken into account in the distribution of time among all political parties (see also below).

42. The problem could be - at least partly - addressed in the framework of the revision of the electoral law. More explicit provisions should be enacted guaranteeing electoral coverage that is independent and balanced in quantity and neutral in tone. The revised law should clarify which body regulates the HRT during electoral campaigns and place the content of election broadcasts under the control of neutral authorities.

iv.       Other issues

43. Council of Europe and OSCE/ODIHR experts have made several other recommendations to the Croatian authorities on the electoral reform, which the rapporteurs consider to deserve careful examination, notably:

44. Upon its accession to the Council of Europe, Croatia undertook to

45. Moreover, in accordance with commitments undertaken during accession procedure before the committee of Ministers, Croatia

46. Croatia ratified the European Charter of Local Self Government on 11 October 1997. Nevertheless, there is still no new law on local administration and autonomy compatible with the charter and shortcomings in this field persist. They have been dealt with in detail in Recommendation 46 (1998), adopted by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) on 28 May 1998. To avoid duplication of work, the rapporteurs refer to this text which appears in Appendix IV.

47. During the mini-session of the CLRAE in November 1998, the Deputy Minister of Administration of Croatia informed the Congress that a new Bill revising the Local Administration and Autonomy Act was being drafted and should take into consideration certain points made in Recommendation 46 (1998).

48. In his letter of 8 February 1999, Mr Obuljen, Chairman of the Croatian parliamentary delegation to the Assembly, informed the rapporteurs that amendments to the law on Local Administration and Autonomy, in accordance with the European Charter of Local Self-Government, will be adopted by the end of October 1999 at the latest. He also stated that the CLRAE would be consulted in this process (see Appendix V).

II. THE LEGAL AND JUDICIAL SYSTEM

A. Legislation

49. Upon accession, Croatia undertook to

50. Following ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by Croatia, a working group of Council of Europe and Croatian experts was set up to examine the compatibility of domestic legislation with the requirements of the ECHR. Croatian authorities transmitted their comments on the first report prepared by the Council of Europe experts in October 1997. They also produced a specific timetable and plan of action. In September 1998, the working group met again. A report by the Council of Europe experts was prepared in October 1998 and transmitted to the Croatian authorities. The latter have agreed that any future legislation will be drafted in co-operation with Council of Europe experts in order to ensure compatibility with the ECHR.

51. A series of draft laws has been or is currently being subject to Council of Europe expertise, namely:

52. In the compatibility exercise, account is also taken of other commitments, for example as regards the creation of conditions to facilitate the return of refugees and displaced persons and non-discrimination between citizens of different nationalities.

53. The rapporteurs have examined several Croatian laws under several chapters.

B. The judicial system

54. The Croatian judicial system consists of municipal and district courts, commercial courts, an administrative court, a Supreme Court, a Constitutional Court, and a High Judicial Council. The High Judicial Council (composed of a President and 14 members from different sectors of the legal profession) appoints judges and public prosecutors. The upper house of parliament nominates candidates for membership of the High Judicial Council and from these candidates the lower house elects members for 8-year terms. The 11 judges of the Constitutional Court are elected for 8-year terms in the same manner, while other judges are appointed for life.

55. Judges are not allowed to be members of political parties. But despite this provision, which constitutes a positive step, several interlocutors complained about the decisive influence exercised by the executive over judges, in particular of lower courts. Reports by international and non-governmental organisations make similar observations.

56. One of the criticisms concerning the relation between the judiciary and the executive consists in the unavailability of full judicial review of decisions taken by administrative authorities: courts can only review the procedural aspects of such decisions and not their substance (involving often exercise of discretionary power).

57. Another issue regarding the judges’ independence is linked to the functioning of the High Judicial Council and the relevant legislation. When recommending the admission of Croatia to the Council of Europe, the Assembly had expressed its expectation that the application of the law on the High Judicial Council would respect Council of Europe standards.

58. The reason for this “expectation” was that the appointment of the first members of the Council had been seriously criticised for being unduly influenced by President Tudjman’s Office. The first decision taken by the Council, the appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court, had also been widely criticised and finally found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. Since Croatia’s accession to the Council of Europe, many judges, including the President of the Supreme Court, have been relieved of their posts by the High Judicial Council.

59. Currently, amendments are being prepared to the law on the High Council of Justice. In the opinion of Council of Europe experts, some amendments are improvements: the need for decisions in writing by the High Judicial Council on the appointment and dismissal of a judge, increased management autonomy, clearer rules on information on judicial vacancies etc.

60. Other proposed amendments, however, tend to strengthen the role of the Ministry of Justice in an ambiguous manner, by broadening its influence on the appointment of judges (especially on the appraisal of the merits of candidates), or otherwise threaten the independence of judges. Thus, a member of the Council may be removed by Parliament “if it is established as a fact that during his activity he injured the Constitution or the law of the Republic of Croatia in a grave manner.” One of the experts expressed fear that this formulation might open the possibility of removing a member of the Council on the basis of a “political trial” by Parliament. Other criticised amendments concern the creation of a new category of “light disciplinary offences” and the restriction of the professional independence granted to public prosecutors.

61. The rapporteurs expect the Ministry of Justice to take into account the recommendations of the Council of Europe experts so that the revised law will strengthen the independence of judges, accelerate procedures for filling in vacancies in the judiciary and increase the autonomy of the High Judicial Council.

62. In his letter of 8 February 1999, Mr Obuljen, Chairman of the Croatian parliamentary delegation to the Assembly, informed the rapporteurs that amendments to the law on the High Judicial Council will be adopted, in consultation with Council of Europe experts, by the end of April 1999 at the latest (see Appendix V).

63. During their visit to Croatia in November 1998, the rapporteurs discussed at length with the Minister of Justice the huge backlog of cases pending before courts. The Minister of Justice fully acknowledged the problem. His ministry had prepared a package of measures which had received the support of all political parties in parliament.

64. One of the explanations given by the Minister was that several seats in lower courts remained vacant because of low salaries. It has been proposed to increase these salaries and thus encourage candidates. Another explanation was the length of the current procedure to fill in vacancies in the judiciary, a problem which could be solved by proposed amendments to the Law on the High Judicial Council (see above).

65. The rapporteurs also discussed an instruction of the Chairman of the Supreme Court to judges of lower courts not to reveal directly to representatives of international organisations data concerning the number of cases pending before them and the length of proceedings. Such information should always transit through his office. The rapporteurs found this instruction ambiguous. Whilst it is clear that representatives of international organisations should never interfere with the administration of justice or ask for confidential information, it is difficult to understand why public data could not be directly supplied to them.

66. The Constitutional Court of Croatia has made numerous important rulings affecting individual rights, including decisions on the acquisition of citizenship, restitution of property to returnees, freedom of the press, coverage of electoral campaign by the Croatian Radio and Television etc. It has overturned many decisions of the government and parliament and has thus become an important counterbalance to the executive and legislative powers.

67. It is especially important that there has been extensive use of the right to individual appeals to the Constitutional Court.

68. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court has co-operated in a constructive manner with the Council of Europe “Venice Commission” by allowing participation of international advisers in minority cases, and, in particular, in both preparatory working sessions and official sessions (hearings and deliberations, see also below).

69. The rapporteurs are concerned about shortcomings in the enforcement of court decisions by the executive. They received, in particular, complaints concerning the execution of orders calling for the eviction of persons occupying other people’s property.

70. A special aspect of this problem concerns the enforcement of decisions of the Constitutional Court, many of which remain without execution. This situation weakens the otherwise important role the Court plays in the Croatian society.

III.       HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS

71. As it appears from the table below, Croatia ratified all Council of Europe conventions it had committed itself to within the required deadlines (with the exception of the Convention on assistance in criminal matters for which no deadline was set).

Fulfilment of commitments listed in Opinion No. 195 (1996)

YES

"i. to sign the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) at the moment of accession"

06.11.96

"ii. to ratify the ECHR and Protocol Nos. 1,2,4,7 and 11 within a year from the time of accession"

05.11.97

"iii. to recognise, pending the entry into force of Protocol No. 11, the right of individual application to the European Commission of Human Rights and the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (Article 25 and 46 of the Convention"

05.11.97

"iv. to sign within one year and ratify within three years from the time of accession Protocol No. 6 of the ECHR on the abolition of the death penalty"

05.11.97

"v. to sign and ratify within a year from the time of accession the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment"

11.10.97

"vi. to sign and ratify within a year from the time of accession the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter of Local Self-Government,...

11.10.97

...and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages;...

05.11.97

"x. to sign and ratify and meanwhile apply the basic principles of other Council of Europe conventions - notably those on extradition,... on the transfer of sentenced persons, ...

25.01.95

on the laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of proceeds from crime…

11.10.97

…on assistance in criminal matters”

MEDIUM

TERM

B.       Freedom of the media

72. Upon its accession to the Council of Europe, Croatia undertook

73. Croatia is further expected to guarantee effectively freedom of the media in compliance with the above-mentioned commitment.

74. Moreover, in accordance with commitments undertaken during accession procedure before the Committee of Ministers, Croatia

75. Since electronic and printed media raise specific problems, the rapporteurs will examine these separately.

      i.       Electronic media

76. Despite the development of local broadcast media, the state-run Croatian Television (HRT) is the sole TV broadcaster at national level and the main source of information for three quarters of the population. Hence, the importance of ensuring the independence of HRT.

77. In view of mounting domestic and international criticism about bias in the state-run TV, and following a suggestion by the OSCE Mission in Zagreb, the Council of Europe has drawn up recommendations for the further democratisation of the broadcasting sector in Croatia. Recommendations were made by experts for changing the Law on the Croatian Radio and Television (“HRT Law”) and the Law on Telecommunications.

78. According to these recommendations, endorsed also by the OSCE Mission in Zagreb and the European Union, the HRT Law should ensure that:

- if members of parliament were to be members of the HRT Council, they would correspond to party representation in the Parliament and form a minority in the Council;

- non-parliamentary delegates on the HRT Council would be appointed by their own organisations, representing various interests of the society, without the possibility for parliament or government to veto such appointments;

- the Managing Director and the members of the Supervisory Board would be appointed by the HRT Council which would also determine the inscription fee;

- staff in positions of management or editorial responsibility would be prohibited from holding political party office of being candidates for the same;

79. Moreover, experts have recommended the privatisation of the third TV channel on fair and transparent conditions. Such measure would strengthen the private broadcasting sector and help transforming HRT into a public service.

80. Concrete recommendations were also made on changes in the Law on Telecommunications.

81. In response to these recommendations, the HDZ parliamentary faction prepared draft amendments to the HRT Law. Council of Europe experts were invited by the leader of this faction to assess them. Their assessment would be distributed to all members of parliament.

82. Nevertheless, the HDZ amendments were rushed through and adopted by the parliament without giving the members any chance to consider the assessment prepared by the Council of Europe expert. No explanation was given by representatives of the ruling party on this rush to adopt the amendments proposed by their faction.

83. The only important recommendation made by Council of Europe experts which is incorporated in the amended version of the HRT law concerns the reduction of the number of MPs who are members of the HRT Council to ten - in relation to thirteen non-parliamentary delegates. Thus, MPs now constitute the minority and are appointed in proportion to party representation in the parliament. The amended law also extended the powers of the HRT Council, but not to the extent recommended by the experts.

84. The remaining recommendations of the Council of Europe experts were not followed.

85. Representatives of an association of independent electronic media journalists, Forum-21, told the rapporteurs that the amended HRT Law had made a minimal step forward in relation to the old version. They regretted that most of the Council of Europe recommendations were not included in the amendments, in particular the recommendations concerning the appointment of the Managing Director and of non-parliamentary delegates.

86. The most criticised aspect of the amended law, however, is the decision not to privatise the third channel of the Croatian Radio and Television. In the initial proposal for amendment, it was suggested to reduce to two the number of channels on which HRT would broadcast, thus providing for the opportunity to open a concession at national level for privatisation of the third channel.

87. This provision was removed in the final proposal for amendment. According to the explanatory memorandum, the reason was that “termination of the third programme would disrupt the cohesion of the programme that promotes the wholeness of national, cultural and civilisation values”; for instance sports shows would have to be moved to the second programme. Moreover, “experiences of some countries in transition (Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia) show that privatisation of some “national” channels has significantly endangered the quality of domestic production and a huge drop in viewing for cultural, musical and drama programmes of national importance”. The adopted solution also “respects the views of the employees of the HRT”. The explanatory memorandum concludes on this point by noting that “the Representatives’ Club of the Croatian Democratic Union [HDZ] will strive to have a concession for a fourth television programme on the national level offered for public tender as soon as possible”.

88. However, Council of Europe experts and representatives of the Forum-21 and of the Journalists’ Union have insisted that in practice viability of a fourth channel was doubtful. Three channels were already too much for the size of the Croatian audience. Launching a fourth channel would be a financial and technical adventure calling for an investment of 25 million German marks, since HRT monopolises control of transmission facilities. The whole project would in any case need years to be realised.

89. Representatives of the electronic media and of the opposition feared that, in the light of the above considerations, the HRT would retain its effective monopoly on nation-wide broadcasting and deprive the population of a plurality of sources of information.

90. As regards coverage of opposition parties in the state-TV, representatives of the HDZ party have stressed that opposition is often granted more time than the ruling party.

91. For their part, opposition representatives, followed by representatives of Forum-21, observed that their criticism of the state TV does not concern the total amount of minutes allocated to political parties as such. The main issue is that the governing HDZ party enjoys far greater coverage than any opposition party in the 7.30 pm news, the most influential media product in Croatia, watched by more than half of the population.

92. On 3 November 1998, the HRT Council discussed coverage of political parties’ activities. In response to allegations that HRT was serving exclusively the ruling party, one of the Council members proposed the adoption of a set of rules on the treatment and future coverage of Croatian political parties. Another member considered that counting minutes and seconds of HRT coverage of opposition parties was only one of the criteria. The rapporteurs are not aware of any follow-up that has been given to these reflections.

93. On 5 February 1999, the presidents of the parliamentary groups of six opposition parties expressed their dissatisfaction with the way state TV was presenting opposition party press conferences and their representatives’ work in parliament.

94. On 10 February 1999, the Deputy Director of the state TV resigned citing “clashes in editorial policies, a “one-sided approach” to news programming, and “interventions in reports” as well as the dismissal of an editor in charge of agricultural issues who had openly criticised the government. He considered such acts as “contrary to the spirit of open and public television”.

95. On 15 February 1999, the President of the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) refused membership of and participation in the work of the new HRT Council, set up in accordance with the amended law on the HRT, arguing that politics stayed in the editorial boards of Croatian TV (HTV), which should be a public television. The HRT Council also remains without the participation of two representatives of the group of the six opposition parties and without a representative of religious communities.

96. To sum-up, the rapporteurs regret that the assessment made by a Council of Europe expert on amendments to the HRT law proposed by the HDZ parliamentary faction, upon the request of the faction itself, was not taken into account since the amendments were adopted before the assessment even reached the parliament. National and international consultations should continue with a view to further democratisation of the broadcasting media in Croatia. In particular, new changes to the HRT Law and amendments to the Telecommunications Law should be considered in the light of Council of Europe recommendations. In the meantime, implementation of current legislation should allow strengthening the independence of the Croatian Radio and Television. Rapporteurs suggest that privatisation of the third channel should be re-examined.

ii.       Printed media

97. There are a number of independent and private newspapers, weeklies and monthlies in Croatia. Some 7000 Croatian and even more foreign publications are available to the public.

98. Nevertheless, independent printed media suffer from the distribution monopoly of two companies – Tisak and Slobodna Dalmacija – with allegedly close ties to the ruling party. These companies repeatedly withhold or delay some of the sale revenues due to independent newspapers.

99. The owner of the independent weekly “Nacional”, followed by representatives of other independent papers, strongly complained about this monopoly adding that court proceedings had not helped them to recover such revenue. This form of economic pressure was perceived by the representatives of the media as politically motivated, especially since only independent papers were victims.

100. Some days after his meeting with the rapporteurs, the owner of Nacional announced financial collapse unless its distributor Tisak paid some 515,000 dollars it owed to the magazine.6 The bank account of the independent satirical weekly “Feral Tribune” was recently blocked because of debts by the distributor company, resulting in a delayed payment of employees’ salaries.

101. On 26 January 1999, following a meeting of Tisak with publishers and Prime Minister, Mr Zlatko Matesa, it was agreed that between January 27 and February 9 1999, Tisak’s entire daily income (approximately 800,000 US dollars) would go to publishers to settle Tisak’s debts. This was made possible after banks and other creditors of Tisak agreed to withdraw their demands for payment and unblock Tisak’s bank account. A final agreement on Tisak’s restructuring, allowing banks to take up 80% of the distributor and publishers to take up a minority stake, should be reached by 9 February 1999.

102. Another problem some independent printed media have to face consists in the large number of defamation lawsuits brought by members of the Executive and of the ruling party. According to the law, Croatian officials can sue journalists for causing “mental anguish” even if their reports were factually correct. Some 500 lawsuits against journalists are pending. The fines imposed are also extremely high. For example, only in October 1998, the Feral Tribune and the Nacional paid several hundred thousands of German marks for damages.

103. The rapporteurs urge the government to take measures to solve these problems which threaten the existence of independent media in Croatia. On the one hand, competition should be allowed in the distribution of papers on equal terms and on a commercial basis. On the other hand, state officials should refrain from using the defamation legislation to intimidate journalists. Some of the pending lawsuits might be reconsidered.

C. Minority rights

104. As stated above, Croatia ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities on 11 October 1997 and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages on 5 November 1997, in compliance with its relevant commitments.

105. Croatia had further undertook upon accession

106. In this context, the Venice Commission recommended that:

-       the suspended provisions of the 1991 Constitutional Law on Human Rights and Rights of Minorities be revised as soon as possible in order to ensure that persons belonging to minorities are guaranteed rights in the field of local autonomy in accordance with the European Charter of Local Self-Government and Recommendation 1201 (1993);

-       in order to subject the protection of minorities to a certain degree of international supervision, that an enlargement of the Constitutional Court be provided for so as to allow it, when deciding upon cases concerning the rights of minorities, to comprise international advisers.

107. Furthermore, under Committee of Ministers Resolution (96) 31, Croatia was required

      i.       Revision of the Constitutional Law

108. The suspended provisions of the 1991 Law - whose adoption was one of the conditions for the international recognition of Croatia’s independence - conferred specific rights of representation and participation in public institutions (parliament, government and supreme judicial bodies) to all minorities representing at least 8% of the population. These provisions were designed mainly to protect the largest minorities in Croatia, particularly the Serb minority, by granting them effective representation at different levels of the legislative, executive and judicial institutions. Although there are 16 minorities in Croatia, only the Serb minority was affected by these provisions.

109. All provisions relating to the rights of minorities amounting to at least 8% of the population have been suspended. This also applies to provisions granting special status to districts with a Serb majority. The reason put forward for the suspension is that, following population movements, there are no more units where the Serb population constitutes a majority and that, consequently, the conditions for implementation of the provisions was not met.

110. The Venice Commission recommended that, precisely for these reasons, it would not be appropriate to re-introduce the suspended provisions of the Constitutional Law of 1991 in their original version. Instead, these or any other provisions of the law should be revised, with a view to ensuring an effective participation of minorities in public life, taken into account new realities.

111. In October 1996, the government of Croatia established a commission entrusted with the task to propose a revision of the Constitutional Law and the Venice Commission appointed some of its members to participate in the work of this commission. Following consultations between the Croatian commission on the revision and members of the Venice Commission in the course of 1997, the following steps were taken:

(a) A consultative body (now called «Council of National Minorities») was set up in January 1998, comprising representatives of minorities. The council can sit and discuss with government representatives and officials questions concerning minority protection policy and propose laws or amendments to laws. The creation of the Council is definitely a positive step. Its Chairperson participated in the meeting of the Venice Commission held on 11-12 December 1998 and presented some legislative initiatives taken by the Council.

(b) The Venice Commission presented to the Croatian authorities, in June 1997, a memorandum containing the orientations and conclusions concerning the revision of the Constitutional Law.7

(c) The Croatian authorities agreed to elaborate a draft Law on the Revision of the Constitutional Law which would be the basis for further work on the revision.

112. Regrettably, one year and a half have elapsed after this agreement was reached and no draft law on the revision of the Constitutional Law has been elaborated.

113. The creation of the Council of National Minorities, as other positive steps, mark a de facto progress with regard to participation of minorities in public life: Serb MPs sit in the Croatian Parliament, some members of the Serb minority have positions in the administration, a Joint Council of Municipalities composed of Serb representatives operates in the Danube region (see also below). However, neither the existence and functioning of the Council of National Minorities nor any of the above “rights” granted in practice to the Serb and other minorities are enshrined in a legal authority of constitutional value. This is precisely the gap that the revision of the 1991 Constitutional Law should fill in.

114. During their visit in November 1998, the rapporteurs raised repeatedly the issue of the revision of the Constitutional Law but did not receive a satisfactory explanation on the reasons for the delay. No timetable for future action was given either.

115. On the rapporteurs’ request, the Venice Commission discussed this issue at its December meeting. As stated above, Mrs Busic, member of the Croatian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Jansson, as representative of the Assembly, Ambassador Guldimann, Head of the OSCE mission in Zagreb, Mr John Packer, legal adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities and Mrs Zoricic-Tabakovic, Chairperson of the Council of National Minorities of Croatia, took part in that meeting. The rapporteurs share the conclusion drawn up by the Venice Commission that the Croatian authorities should take urgent measures to grant constitutional basis to minority protection.

116. In his letter of 8 February 1999, Mr Obuljen, Chairman of the Croatian parliamentary delegation to the Assembly, informed the rapporteurs that a law on human and minority rights would be adopted by the end of October 1999 at the latest to replace the suspended provisions of the 1991 law, in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission (see Appendix V).

117. With regard to minority representation in Parliament, the rapporteurs refer to the chapter on elections (see above).

ii.       Participation of international advisers in the work of the Constitutional Court

118. In compliance with Croatia’s relevant commitment (see above), it was agreed that international advisers (nominated by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe) would participate in the work of the Constitutional Court in minority cases. The advisers are authorised to participate in the deliberations of the Constitutional Court, without the right to vote; the Court decision should mention their participation; and their opinions should be published.

119. The Constitutional Court has so far invited the international advisers to participate in its work in five cases. These concern legislation on property, access to public functions of members of minority groups and curricula in minority language schools. Informal preparatory meetings have been held between the advisers and the Court and the advisers’ preliminary opinions have been sent to the Court.

120. Overall, the co-operation with the Constitutional Court is satisfactory, although, until now, no formal session of the Court (hearing and deliberations) has been held with the participation of the international advisers. It is expected that the first hearing with such participation will be held in January or February 1999.

CHAPTER TWO

COMMITMENTS RELATED TO THE RESPECT OF DAYTON AND ERDUT AGREEMENTS

121. Upon its accession to the Council of Europe, Croatia committed itself to

122. The UNTAES mandate expired on 15 January 1998 and the region in question (often called “Danube region”) has been re-integrated in Croatia. During the UNTAES mandate, Croatia has co-operated with UNTAES.

123. The other above-mentioned general commitments are specified in more concrete commitments concerning the return of refugees and displaced persons to Croatia and/or to the Danube region, co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and resolution of international as well as internal disputes, including border disputes, in accordance with the principles of international law (an obligation incumbent upon all member states of the Council of Europe).

I. RETURN OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS

A.       Background

124. The break-up of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia resulted in a substantial movement of population within, into and out of Croatia. The initial stages of the war resulted in the displacement of some 84,000 people of mainly Croat ethnic origin from the Danube region to other parts of Croatia. Between 1991 and summer 1995, as many as 200,000 Croatian Serbs (out of a total of 600,00) left the country. Following the 1995 military operations (“Flash” and “Storm”) some further 190,000 persons, mainly Croatian Serbs, left their homes of origin. Approximately 46,000 ethnic Serbs moved to the Danube region, some 50,000 went to the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the remaining (approximately 300,000) to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). 35,000 refugees arrived in Croatia, 500 from FRY and the others from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

125. Under the Dayton Agreement, Croatia committed itself to recognise the unconditional right of all displaced persons and refugees to unobstructed return to their home of origin. Upon its accession to the Council of Europe, Croatia reiterated and extended this commitment by undertaking to

126. As stated in the introduction, on 26 February 1999, the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on migration, refugees and demography adopted a report, including a draft recommendation, on this crucial issue [“Return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Croatia”, Rapporteur: Mr Olav Akselsen, Norway, Socialist Group, Doc. AS/Migr(1999)03rev2] for debate at the Assembly’s April 1999 part-session. This report deals in detail with population movements and procedures for return, in particular after the adoption of a “Programme for the return and accommodation of displaced persons, refugees and resettled persons”; it also deals with the conditions in which these persons are living, as well as, in a separate chapter, with the situation in the Danube region. To avoid duplication of work, the rapporteurs refer to this report.

B.       The Return and Reconstruction Programmes

127. Following years of consultations with the international community and in compliance with its commitments under the Dayton agreement, a comprehensive Programme for the return and accommodation of displaced persons, refugees and resettled persons was adopted by the Croatian parliament on 26 June 1998. The Return Programme constitutes a major step forwards, mainly for the following reasons:

128. For detailed figures about return before and after the adoption of the Programme, the rapporteurs refer to the report of Mr Akselsen. They wish to limit themselves to summing up some positive trends which followed the adoption of the Programme, despite the generally low rate of returns. These trends include spontaneous returns of refugees (mainly Croatian Serbs) to Croatia; spontaneous returns of displaced persons (citizens of Croat and other nationalities) to the Danube region; and spontaneous returns of displaced persons (mainly Croatian Serbs) from the Danube region to their places of origin. By contrast, no progress has been made in facilitating the return of Croat refugees to their place of origin in neighbouring countries, or in stopping the continuing departure abroad of citizens of Serb ethnic origin from the Danube region.

129. The Government also adopted a non-discriminatory Reconstruction Programme on 14 October 1998, again after long consultations with the international community.

130. Pending changes in the Law on reconstruction, which was considered to contain discriminatory provisions (see also below), and in order to address the inherent contradictions between this programme and the law, the Government agreed to issue Mandatory Instructions for the implementation of the Reconstruction Programme. These instructions, after considerable pressure by the international community, were drawn up on 3 December 1998.

131. The Reconstruction Programme and the Mandatory Instructions were published in the Official Gazette on 14 December 1998.

132. After the adoption of these two fundamental programmes for return and reconstruction, the First Conference on Reconstruction and Development was held in Zagreb from 4 to 5 December 1998 with 550 participants representing 47 countries and 27 international organisations, including the Council of Europe’s Social Development Fund. The conference closed with no specific commitments undertaken by the international community for assistance to Croatia pending further progress in the implementation of the fore-mentioned programmes.

133. The following legislative and other measures may affect the implementation of the programmes or the process of return and reconstruction.

134. Under the Return Programme, the Croatian government committed itself to “guarantee, ensure and support return by defining measures in order to remove all the obstacles to return, especially by the creation of a favourable …legal framework for the implementation of return”.

135. In compliance with its relevant commitment, the government repealed in July 1998 two laws which discriminated Croatian citizens on the basis of ethnicity: the 1995 Law on temporary take-over of specified property (LTTO) and the 1995 Law on lease of apartments in liberated areas. This step has been welcomed.

136. The government had also committed itself to propose to Parliament, within three months from the adoption of the Return Programme (i.e. by 26 September 1998), changes to other laws in order to ensure equal treatment of all categories of persons who have the status of returnee.

137. Following consultations with the international community, three laws were identified as containing discriminatory provisions, mainly on the basis of ethnicity: the “Law on the status of displaced persons and refugees”, the “Law on areas of special state concern” and the “Law on reconstruction”. Beginning of November 1998, the government accepted the recommendations of international and Croatian legal experts regarding changes to these three laws and promised to initiate parliamentary proceedings pending which mandatory instructions and binding legal interpretations would be issued. While consultations with international experts were on-going, the government announced (on 29 November 1998) that it did not have authority to issue interpretations of the law. Instead, parliamentary procedures for the repeal of the above-mentioned three laws and adoption of new laws would start “as soon as possible”.

138. Finally, the provisions of the laws which needed to be changed or abolished, were appended to the Mandatory Instructions for the Reconstruction Programme. This appendix was not published in the Official Gazette. The rapporteurs ignore why.

139. As a result of the above, the Croatian government has only party met its commitment under the Return Programme to eliminate discriminatory legislation. The rapporteurs urge the Croatian government to start parliamentary proceedings for amending or abolishing the three laws. The parliament, for its part, should pass legislation on this issue as a matter of absolute priority.

D.       Property and housing issues

140. Progress in the return and reconciliation process largely depends on the possibility to solve the problems related to property and housing.

141. Under the Return Programme, Housing Commissions have been established to address repossession of property in municipalities and cities of return. They are responsible, inter alia, for finding temporary or alternative accommodation for returnees until their house is restored through the system of reconstruction, and to provide accommodation in state-owned apartments to persons who, under the Law on temporary take-over of specified property – now repealed – are housed in temporarily used property.

142. The efficient functioning of Housing Commissions is a key-element for the successful implementation of the Return Programme. One of their major problems seems to be the lack of clear and detailed instructions from authorities at national level. The Government Commission on Return is expected to issue regularly such instructions and undertake systematic meetings with Housing Commissions in areas where problems have been identified.

143. To facilitate and accelerate repossession of property, Housing Commissions should, in compliance with the Return Programme, undertake unilateral action to resolve cases of illegal occupancy, including multiple occupancy. Evictions should be executed properly and expeditiously and measures should be taken to prevent illegal reoccupation of properties after evictions have taken place. The Government has promised that its Commission on Return will develop a mechanism to prevent or resolve current cases of illegal occupancy based on a distinction among three categories: (a) cases of multiple occupancy; (b) cases of illegal occupancy of houses for which a request for restitution of property has been made; (c) illegal occupancy of houses for which no claim for restitution has been made.

144. Transparency in the reconstruction process is essential to establish trust and encourage return. The Government has committed itself to publish lists of individual applications and decisions for reconstruction assistance. The lists should be up-dated monthly for public information and inquiries. A new deadline has been established for acknowledgement of receipt of the reconstruction assistance applications. Immediate attention should be given to the problem of returnees who are currently inadequately housed. Provision of reconstruction grants to these people should be accelerated, especially in the light of bad weather conditions.

145. According to the Ministry of Reconstruction and Development, as of November 1998, 80,000 housing units had been rebuilt using available methods of reconstruction, including loans, direct grants and organised reconstruction.

146. The Ministry is not in a position to provide a breakdown on the basis of ethnicity. However, according to reports of international observers in the field, only very few ethnic Serbs have received reconstruction assistance from the government.

147. According to official data from the ODPR, in early November 1998, approximately 5,300 displaced persons and refugees families had filed a claim for repossession on their property since the adoption of the Return Programme. Housing Commissions had annulled decisions for temporary occupancy of 1,029 properties. However, by that date, only approximately 10% of all applicants had succeeded in repossessing their property. A serious constraint in the repossession of property was the lack of alternative accommodation for the temporary occupants.

148. According to OSCE field reports, the provisions of the Return Programme on repossession of property are in practice implemented in a manner favouring ethnic Croat returnees (to repossess their property temporarily occupied by an ethnic Serb) or Bosnian Croats (temporarily occupying property belonging to an ethnic Serb). In the latter case, Housing Commissions allegedly respond that a claim for repossession cannot be accepted because no alternative accommodation is available for the temporary occupant.

149. Non-discriminatory implementation of the Return Programme, including the provisions on repossession of property, is an essential element for its success and the rapporteurs urge the Government Commission on Return to supervise the work done by the Housing Commissions at local level in order to ensure that no abuses or arbitrary decisions against ethnic Serbs are taken. As regards the problem of alternative accommodation in general, the Government has acknowledged the need to accelerate identification of alternative accommodation for returnees pending reconstruction of their property, as well as for persons who have to leave houses they are occupying upon the return of the owners. For this purpose, the horizontal communication between Housing Commissions about the availability of housing in different areas must be improved and transparency in their work must be increased. For the same purpose, additional resources must be made available for the “Land Bank” (APN) and the Ministry of Development and Reconstruction.

iv.       Tenancy rights

150. In the urban areas of former Yugoslavia, the right to occupy a socially-owned apartment (occupancy or tenancy right) was the main form of real property. This right could be acquired by an individual who fulfilled certain conditions prescribed by law and had virtually all characteristics of a private property right except the right to sell. The European Court of Human Rights has held that the right of a tenant to occupy socially-owned property is protected by the ECHR (Article 8).8

151. Through discriminatory legislation passed during the war, including unreasonably short deadlines for applications to preserve tenancy rights, holders of such rights who fled their homes have been deprived of their right to live there, without any prior notice, hearing or a possibility of appeal. The properties were declared abandoned and the government granted other individuals the right to occupy them. In cases where such properties were privatised, the current tenancy right holder was granted the right to purchase the property. Former tenancy rights holders who attempted to challenge the sale of the apartments they used to live in were told by Croatian courts that that they could not do so since they had permanently lost their tenancy rights and thus had no legal standing in the proceedings. Thus, these persons have had no effective remedy either to reclaim the apartments they formerly occupied, or to be provided with substitute accommodation of comparable location, size or value, or to receive fair compensation.

152. The resolution of the tenancy rights issue is seen by the international community as a determining factor for the return of refugees and displaced persons, since many of them do not have any other property in Croatia. Despite recommendations to the contrary by international organisations, this issue was not dealt with in the Return Programme. In September 1998, UNCHR, OSCE and UNPSG, in a joint action, have suggested concrete steps that the government should take to find a non-discriminatory solution for individual cases.

153. The rapporteurs have raised the issue with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Reconstruction and Development, Mr Radic. Their impression was that the Minister considered this as part of the communist past, for which the government could not be held responsible. He confirmed this position in his closing statement at the First Conference on Development and Reconstruction, in December1998.

154. The rapporteurs urge the government to reconsider their position on this issue and to start consultations with experts on a solution along the lines of the recommendations made by the international organisations.

155. The report by the Refugees Committee describes the procedures which have to be followed by the returnees who do not have a certificate of Croatian citizenship. Their application must be confirmed by the Croatian Ministry of the Interior, which must also instruct the Croatian Embassy or Consulate where the application was made, to issue a travel document (in the form of a “Travel Letter”) authorising the applicant’s return. Appeals against negative decisions have to be lodged within 30 days. The report also describes the difficulties applicants may face in procuring the required documents. The rapporteurs limit themselves to adding some remarks on the Citizenship Law and Convalidation Law and welcoming more recent developments about the issuance of temporary green cards.

156. Apart from the practical and technical difficulties in proving citizenship, the 1991 Croatian Citizenship Law itself is at the origin of some of the problems. In fact, the Croatian Citizenship Law does not provide for the automatic grant of citizenship of the new Croatian state to all former citizens of the defunct Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) who were formally residents on its territories. It automatically grants such citizenship only to those who – in addition to SFRY citizenship – also held citizenship of the Socialist Republic of Croatia at the time when the new Citizenship Law was enacted (8 October 1991), and this regardless of their ethnic origin. Thus, Croatian republic-level citizenship, which was rather irrelevant in the context of the SFRY - since all rights and obligations flawed essentially from citizenship at federal level – has become a decisive criterion.

157. As regards citizens of the former SFRY who did not have such a Croatian republic-level citizenship in October 1991, a distinction is made between ethnic and non-ethnic Croats. For ethnic Croats, it is sufficient to prove registered domicile in Croatia in 1991 and to submit a written statement to the competent authorities declaring that they consider themselves Croatian citizens. No such “fast-track” procedure is provided for non-ethnic Croats who also had registered domicile in Croatia at the same time.

158. Thus, for non-ethnic Croats, the simplest way to obtain confirmation of citizenship status is to prove that

159. If none of these two possibilities is available to them, non-ethnic Croats, even if they were long-term residents in Croatia, have to apply for Croatian citizenship according to the naturalisation requirements (Article 8 of the Citizenship Law).

160. The latter scenario implies the most complicated and difficult procedure for refugees wishing to return, since, having fled during the war, they can hardly prove uninterrupted registered domicile in Croatia for the last five years (prior to the submission of their application). For the other cases, referred to in paragraph 153, difficulties consist in the procurement of the necessary documents to support the application for confirmation of citizenship, which may have been lost or destructed. To face this particular problem of loss or destruction of papers, the Mandatory Instructions attached to the Return Programme allow for a variety of means of proof, including witnesses’ statements and other indirect evidence. If applied correctly, they should alleviate at least part of the problems that applicants faced in the past.

161. During his meeting with the rapporteurs, the Minister of the Interior assured them that less than 1% of applications for acquisition or confirmation of citizenship had been rejected. In some cases, applicants who saw their application initially rejected, were finally granted confirmation of citizenship. Approximately one thousand applications were currently being processed.

162. For her part, a representative of the Civil Rights Project, an NGO which assists persons denied citizenship, complained about the lack of justification in the negative decisions of the Ministry of Interior and the length of proceedings before the Administrative Courts which made the right to appeal ineffective in practice. Cases are currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights for violation of several provisions of the ECHR

163. Since confirmation of citizenship status is a pre-condition for authorising organised return of refugees to Croatia, such applications must be handled most expeditiously and efficiently by officials of the Ministry of Interior who should be given clear instructions.9 For the same reason, appeals against decisions denying citizenship must be considered under urgent procedure by administrative courts.

ii.       Issuance of temporary green cards

164. In the past, another problem related to documentation consisted in the delays for issuing an identity card (ID) to returnees (up to two months), without which they could not obtain the so-called “green card” (confirming returnee status). The green card is indispensable for access to entitlements and benefits, such as application for reconstruction assistance, provision of food aid, of cash assistance and of free medical care for 6 months etc.

165. The rapporteurs welcome the practice introduced by the Croatian government in October 1998 to issue temporary green cards to returnees, valid for one month, which would allow returnees immediate access to rights and benefits pending the issuance of their ID and other related documents. They further encourage the Croatian authorities to allow similar access to temporary green cards in respect of non-organised (spontaneous) returnees.

iii.       Validation of documents

166. One of the factors which may discourage return is uncertainty in respect of recognition of entitlements to pensions and other social rights acquired during 1991-1995 in the formerly UN protected territories. A Convalidation Law was adopted in October 1997 and three related decrees were issued in April 1998 to allow validation of documents issued on these territories. In the implementation of this legislation, progress has been noted with regard to administrative matters and judicial decisions. But validation of documents related to pensions and other social benefits has proven to be more problematic. At least one deadline for applying for such validation expired in June 1998 and two others expired in October 1998.

167. In order to encourage and facilitate return, in compliance with Croatia’s relevant commitments, the rapporteurs consider that the government should remove all obstacles for the validation of documents and ensure a public information campaign to clarify the terms of validation.

168. In the light of Croatia’s recent history, reconciliation and establishment of trust between the Serb and Croat communities is an essential factor for encouraging Serbs to return to or stay in Croatia (see also above in the introduction).

169. In October 1997, the Government adopted a Programme for re-establishment of trust, accelerated return and normalisation of living conditions in the war-affected regions, which was warmly welcomed by the international community.

170. Nevertheless, implementation of this Programme in practice has been disappointing. No significant progress has been made in realising the ambitious goals set by the Programme. The National Committee to Establish Trust has mainly limited its action to the Danube region, addressing issues on an ad hoc basis. Committees at local and county levels, answerable to the National Committee, have either not been established or tend to be passive, waiting for instructions from national level.

171. The indifference that representatives of national and other minorities themselves have shown towards implementation of the Programme is one of the reasons for its failure so far. This attitude may be explained by the fact that the composition of committees does not enable important actors of the society, such as the media, churches and non-governmental organisations, to participate.

172. By contrast, outside the framework of the Trust Programme, some individual steps of reconciliation have been reported by OSCE observes on the spot. Thus, some Catholic and Orthodox priests have established good relations and have encouraged their co-religionists to do likewise. Ethnic Croat residents have on their own initiative provided practical assistance to returnees of Serb ethnic origin.

173. The Croatian authorities should take urgent measures to reactivate implementation of the Trust Programme at both national and local levels, by reconsidering, if need be, the composition of the committees. Representatives of Serb and other national minorities, for their part, should show more interest and use the committees established by the Trust Programme as a forum to take concrete action on the ground to promote tolerance and reconciliation.

174. In compliance with the Erdut Agreement, a Joint Council of Municipalities (JCM) has been set up as an advisory body to co-ordinate the interests of the Serb community in the Danube region, in particular with regard to government policies and measures for the reintegration of the region and promotion of reconciliation. Its members are elected from among town and municipal councillors all over the region.

175. The report drawn up by Mr Akselsen includes an analysis of the financial difficulties met by this Council which threatened its very existence. The rapporteurs refer to this document which confirms what they also heard from representatives of the JCM. They wish, nevertheless, to add positive developments that occurred after the visit of Mr Akselsen to Vukovar and partly after their own visit.

176. Apart from finance, the other major problem the Council faced was the absence of any legal status. This problem was solved, on 21 October 1998, by the publication in the Official Gazette of the Government’s decision reconfirming the “Protocol on the Joint Council of Municipalities: organisation, status, composition and financing”, concluded on 23 May 1997 with the JCM and witnessed by the Transitional Administrator of UNTAES.

177. As regards financing of the JCM, an agreement was signed between the Government Office for National Minorities and the JCM on 1 December 1998. It sets forth a plan for the government’s co-financing of the JCM, i.e. coverage of expenses until the end of 1998 and allocation of funds of a total amount of approximately 560,000 US dollars over the next three years (1999-2001). This agreement provides for the financial security which are needed for the JCM to become fully operational.

178. A next important step is the agreement between the JCM and the Government on the debts accumulated by the JCM during its financial crisis. The Government has committed itself to reimburse the JCM by 31 December 1998 provided that such an agreement is reached. An independent international expert assists the parties.

179. The rapporteurs mostly welcome the solution of these two major problems for the proper functioning of the JCM: status and financing. The JCM now has a realistic opportunity to embark on concrete action and, in compliance with the Agreement of May 1997, develop into an organisation representing the interests of the ethnic Serb community and contribute to integration and reconciliation. In this context, it is worth noting that the first number of the JCM magazine, “Novosti ZVO” (JCM News), was published on 18 January 1999. The magazine, partly financed by the Croatian government and partly by voluntary contributions, will be published twice monthly and will deal with issues and events concerning the Danube region.

G.       Amnesty

180. An amnesty law was adopted in 1996 but uncertainty about its implementation remains. According to the government, more than 12,000 persons have been amnestied. But lack of clear information about the number, status and resolution of amnesty cases fosters insecurity amongst refugees who may wish to return but fear criminal charges.

181. The Government has made a commitment to the United Nations not to issue new war crimes indictments without informing the international community in advance. War crimes charges against 43 individuals in the Danube region were reconsidered following contacts of the OSCE Mission to Croatia and the Ministry of Justice and the charges were subsequently dismissed.

182. During the UNTAES mandate, the Government made a verbal commitment relating to a small number of individuals who had been convicted in absentia for war crimes. The Government agreed that if any of these individuals applied for retrial, he would remain at liberty pending completion of new trials. At the end of August 1998, the international community closely followed the government’s handling of the cases of three individuals covered by this agreement. The individuals were released after a brief period of detention, during which time their applications for retrial were confirmed.

183. The rapporteurs welcome the government’s honouring of these commitments. In order to increase security and encourage return, Croatian authorities should provide clear information about all amnesty cases.

H.       Mine clearance

184. The threat of mines remains one of the most serious obstacles to safe and successful return of refugees and displaced persons. Mine contamination is also one of the obstacles to economic revitalisation of areas of return.

185. Amendments to the Law on mine clearance have streamlined the chain of command and competencies of agencies involved in the government’s de-mining effort and allowed for international participation in mine clearance. De-mining plans have been developed for all regions.

186. While the government has marked significant progress in de-mining, the rapporteurs regret that international participation in this field remains very limited. They share the concerns of the OSCE Mission in Croatia which has repeatedly called for increased international involvement in de-mining programmes as an urgent necessity for which no preliminary political conditions should be made.

II. RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES BY PEACEFUL MEANS

187. Upon its accession to the Council of Europe, Croatia undertook

188. The peaceful reintegration of the Danube region and Croatia’s co-operation with UNTAES clearly show Croatia’s adherence to the principle of settling internal disputes by peaceful means.

189. Croatia has no border or territorial disputes, and after dissolution of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, land and sea borderlines are being determined through negotiations.

190. Croatia continues to work on normalisation of relations with FRY with which it has signed several bilateral agreements. On 17 December 1998, FRY opened a general consulate in Vukovar, the first in Croatia.

191. As regards the strategic Prevlaka peninsula, this is part of the Croatian territory recognised by the international community. Nevertheless, Croatia has accepted to open discussions with FRY, referring to this issue as a security and not as a territorial one, with a view to finding a solution which would be satisfactory for both sides. For this purpose, Croatia has proposed demilitarisation of the region on both sides of the frontier and co-ordinated development of its tourist potential, a solution rejected so far by FRY.

192. In this context, the rapporteurs particularly welcome that in January 1999, Croatian authorities opened two border crossings into Montenegro (Debeli Brijeg and Konfin) to facilitate movement of goods and persons. This develoment, openly welcomed by the authorities of Montenegro, is being opposed by the Belgrade governement.

193. As regards the international border with Slovenia, the Commission on delimitation has finished its work concerning the land boundary. The question of territorial sea in the Piran Bay remains (i.e. Slovenia’s request to have access to the international waters).

194. Finally, as regards its relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, after yearlong talks and arguments, signed, on 22 November 1998, an agreement on special relations with the (Muslim-Croat) Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzgovina). Another agreement, signed on the same day, grants Bosnia and Herzgovina free passage through the Croatian port of Ploce and Croatia free passage through the port of Neum on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The US Special Envoy of Bosnian-Croat relations mediated the negotiations and welcomed the agreements. The “special relationship’ agreement is expected to end alleged uncontrolled aid by Croatia to Bosnian Croats by defining forms in which Croatia can help them without violating the integrity of the Bosnian state.

III. CO-OPERATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA (ICTY)

195. Upon its accession to the Council of Europe, Croatia undertook

196. Croatia was among the first states to institutionalise its co-operation with the ICTY by adopting the Constitutional Law on Co-operation with the ICTY, and thus enabling its citizens to appear before the Tribunal. Negotiations are on-going between the Tribunal and Croatia on the enforcement of sentences in penal institutions of Croatia.

197. One indicted person was transferred by the Republic of Croatia to Croatia and ten indicted persons have presented themselves voluntarily through the mediation of the Croatian government. Three of them were subsequently released for lack of evidence.

198. As regards co-operation with the ICTY’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, the latter has been complaining about delays, obstructions and interference on the part of Croatia with investigations and prosecutions. Difficulties exist also in cases which have come to trial, mainly because of the failure of Croatian authorities to comply with requests and to execute court orders without undue delay.

199. Disagreement remains between the ICTY and the Government on whether the former has jurisdiction over events which took place during the “Flash” and “Storm” operations. Croatia considers these to be “internal police operations” and claims that persons who have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law have been brought before its own courts. But this is contradicted, according to the Tribunal, by the fact that the vast majority of such cases concerned minor charges only and did not cover military personnel or major incidents.

CONCLUSIONS

200. Some Croatian personalities told the rapporteurs that the West has been treating Croatia unfairly, changing constantly the conditions for financial assistance and integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. The rapporteurs are not in a position to judge on behalf of other organisations. They wish to stress for their part that, as far as the Council of Europe is concerned, they have been verifying the honouring of commitments and obligations accepted by the Croatian authorities themselves before or upon accession. They have not embarked upon an abstract review of Croatia’s attitude but have been going through a concrete list checking point by point, to the extent possible, the state of compliance.

201. Thus, the rapporteurs welcome the progress Croatia has made towards honouring part of its commitments and obligations as a member state. It has notably ratified, within the deadlines, all Council of Europe conventions it had committed itself to, including the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11, the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages.

202. A number of Croatian bills or laws have been or are being subject to expertise by the Council of Europe. This consultation should continue in order to ensure full compatibility of Croatian legislation with the Organisation’s principles.

203. As regards the participation of international advisers in the work of the Constitutional Court, the rapporteurs are satisfied with the on-going co-operation between the Court and the Venice Commission.

204. Progress has also been noted in honouring commitments related to the implementation of Dayton and Erdut Agreements, in other words, those related to the consequences of the war in former Yugoslavia.

205. More specifically, Croatia has co-operated with the United Nations Transitional Administration for the Danube region (UNTAES) until the expiry of its mandate on 15 January 1998. The region has since been peacefully re-integrated in Croatia. Land and sea borderlines are being determined through negotiations. Normalisation of relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) is progressing through the conclusion of several bilateral agreements. Recent agreements with Bosnia and Herzegovina have ensured free passage of the nationals through each other’s territory and provided for special relations between Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (i.e. the Muslim-Croat entity).

206. With regard to the crucial issue of return of refugees and displaced persons,10 the adoption of a comprehensive Programme for the return and accommodation of displaced persons, refugees and resettled persons in June 1998 constitutes a major step forwards. The rate of returns of refugees of Serb ethnic origin - mainly from FRY - has subsequently increased whereas organised returns from Republika Srpska have also started. The delivery of temporary “green cards” allowing access to social benefits and other entitlements to returnees immediately upon their return has contributed considerably to improving their living conditions. The recent solution of the issues related to the status and the financing of the Joint Council of Municipalities, as an institution representing the interests of the Serb community in the Danube region, is also warmly welcomed and should enable this body to contribute to reconciliation. A non-discriminatory Reconstruction Programme, adopted after long consultations with the international community, also marked an important step in the right direction. The positive momentum gained by the adoption of these two fundamental programmes has enabled the international community to participate in the First Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Croatia, held in Zagreb, from 4 to 5 December 1998.

207. Nevertheless, many measures have still to be taken to implement these two programmes. In particular, implementation of the Return Programme should gradually allow the solution of not only “easy cases” (i.e. cases of family reunification for which houses are already available) but also of more “difficult cases” (i.e. cases in which alternative accommodation must be found for people living temporarily in houses belonging to returnees). Other measures that need to be taken to encourage the return of refugees and displaced persons include:11 elimination of discriminatory legislation which should be given priority by both government and parliament; settlement of property and housing issues; regulation of documentation requirements; acceleration of the process of reconciliation between the Serb and Croat ethnic communities, notably through reactivation of the implementation of the Programme for the establishment of trust, accelerated return and normalisation of living conditions in the war-affected areas (October 1997), which has so far been disappointing; provision of clear information and transparency in all amnesty procedures.

208. Representatives of the Serb ethnic community should for their part make use of the possibilities to take concrete action on the ground to promote reconciliation: inter alia the National Committee to Establish Trust and the local trust committees – wherever established – in which they should participate more actively, as well as the Joint Council of Municipalities in the Danube region.

209. In respect of other commitments related to the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe (democracy, rule of law and human rights), progress has been less significant.

210. Thus, none of the recommendations concerning changes in the electoral law, made by Council of Europe observers in 1995, have been followed so far. The lack of national consultations on this matter has led to the decision by the six opposition parties to resign from their parliamentary functions (chairmanship, membership of committees etc), including membership of delegations to international organisations, such as our Assembly. The most crucial issue remains the special representational rights of Croatian citizens living abroad: for their representatives twelve seats are reserved in the parliament. Other important issues which need to be settled in the immediate future include minority voting and the independence and impartiality of the state broadcasting corporation (HRT) during electoral campaigns.

211. Despite the ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, there is still no new law on local administration and autonomy, compatible with the Charter. Legislation in the field is being prepared but without consulting the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

212. Problems persist with the administration of justice, notably with regard to the huge backlog of cases pending before courts and the enforcement of court decisions. The rapporteurs expect that the measures recently proposed by the Ministry of Justice will help solving, at least, the first problem.

213. As far as freedom of the electronic media is concerned, the rapporteurs regret that amendments to the Law on the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) were rushed through parliament without giving the latter the opportunity to take into account the assessment made by a Council of Europe expert. The amended version of the law is only a small step forwards. National and international consultations should continue with a view to further democratisation of the broadcasting media in Croatia. Pending further changes in the light of the recommendations by Council of Europe experts, implementation of current legislation should allow strengthening the independence of the HRT. The rapporteurs suggest that the decision not to privatise the third channel of the HRT should be re-considered in the light of the technical difficulties for a fourth private channel.

214. With regard to the freedom of printed media, the rapporteurs urge the government to take measures to respond to the problems created by the monopoly of distribution of newspapers. Moreover, state officials should refrain from using the defamation legislation to intimidate journalists.

215. As far as minority rights are concerned, the rapporteurs regret that no progress has been made in the preparation of a draft law on the revision of the 1991 Constitutional Law on the rights of minorities etc, some provisions of which have been suspended. Urgent measures should be taken to give constitutional basis to minority protection.

216. Since progress was lacking in the above-mentioned areas, the rapporteurs are particularly satisfied with the deadlines for concrete action that the Chairman of the Croatian parliamentary delegation, Mr Obuljen, has proposed in a letter dated 8 February 1999 (see Appendix V). They have taken into account these deadlines in their draft resolution and recommendation.

217. It should be born in mind that Croatia is the youngest member of the Organisation and is still facing the consequences of the war in former Yugoslavia (see also the introduction above), including the economic burden of reconstruction and de-mining that can only allow large scale of return of refugees and displaced persons. Although certain progress has been made since accession, it is not astonishing that, in these circumstances, this new member state has still some way to go before complying with the commitments and obligations it accepted upon its accession to the Council of Europe.

218. In this context, the rapporteurs are particularly satisfied about the intensive co-operation between the country and the Organisation in the framework of the Council of Europe’s Programme of activities for the development and consolidation of democratic stability (see Appendix VI).

219. Moreover, the Council of Europe’s Social Development Fund has recently approved two loans of 33,7 million dollars for the financing of two projects in Eastern Slavonia, one concerning the reconstruction and rehabilitation of schools and the other of hospitals. These loans have been approved with the additional advantage of an interest subsidy through the Fund’s Selective Trust Account. The rapporteurs welcome this decision and encourage similar initiatives. They are convinced that the Council of Europe has the duty to accompany and help Croatia in its efforts to honour its commitments, not only through dialogue and advise in the framework of the on-going monitoring procedure, but also through concrete action on the ground.

APPENDIX I

Programme of the visit of the rapporteurs to Croatia

(10-13 November 1998)

Tuesday 10 November 1998

4.00 pm        Meeting with Ambassadors (Hungary, Greece, Poland, Bulgaria, Austria)

5.30 pm       Reception hosted by Mr Varga, Chargé d’affaires of Hungary, with the participation of representatives from international organisations (UNHCR, EU, ECMM, OSCE), MPs, NGOs and representatives of the Serb minority

8.00 pm        Dinner hosted by Ambassador Guldimann, Head of Mission of the OSCE

Wednesday 11 November 1998

7.30 am       Working breakfast with representatives of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

8.30 am       Meeting with Dr Ivo SANADER, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs

9.15 am       Meeting with media representatives

10.15 am       Meeting with NGO representatives

11. 30 am       Meeting with HDZ representatives

12.00       Meeting with Vlatko PAVLETIC, Speaker of the Parliament

12.30 am       Lunch hosted by Dr Zarko DOMLJAN, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament

2.00 pm       Meeting with the representatives of the parliamentary opposition parties

3.00 pm       Meeting with Dr Milan RAMLJAK, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice

4.00 pm       Meeting with Mr Ivan PENIC, Minister of the Interior

5.00 pm       Departure for Vukovar

Thursday 12 November 1998

9.00 am       Meeting with representatives of UNHCR and OSCE

10.30 am       Meeting with the representativers of the Joint Municipal Council

11.30 am       Meeting with Mr Rudolf KÖNIG, Prefect of Vukovar-Srijem County

12.30 am       Lunch hosted by Mr Rudolf KÖNIG, Prefect, and Mr Vladimir STENGL, Mayor

2.30 pm       Field visits of Vukovar-Srijem County :

4.00 pm       Briefing by the Head of the UNHCR Osijek Office

4.30 pm       Meeting with NGOs for Human Rights

6.00 pm       Departure to Zagreb

Friday 13 November 1998

8.00 am       Meeting with the Ombudsman of Croatia

8.30 am       Meeting with Mr Jadranko CRNIC, President of the Constitutional Court

9.30 am       Meeting with Mr RADIC, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reconstruction and Development

10.00 am       Meeting with Colonel Ivan GRUIC, Chairman of the Commission for Detained and Missing Persons of the Government of the Republic of Croatia

10.30 am       Meeting with Editors-in-Chief from :

11.15 am       Meeting with the Croatian parliamentary delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

12.00 noon       Working lunch hosted by Mr Nikola OBULJEN, Head of the Croatian parliamentary delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

APPENDIX II

OPINION No. 195 (1996)

on Croatia’s request for membership

Excerpts

…

9.On 15 March 1996, the President of the Republic Croatia and the President of the Croatian Parliament signed a document stating that, in order to fulfil the requirements for admission to the Council of Europe, Croatia was formally undertaking the following commitments:

i.to sign the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) at the moment of accession;

ii.to ratify the ECHR and Protocol Nos. 1, 2, 4, 7 and 11 within a year from the time of accession;

iii.to recognise, pending the entry into force of Protocol No. 11, the right of individual application to the European Commission of Human Rights and the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (Articles 25 and 46 of the Convention);

iv.to sign within one year and ratify within three years from the time of accession Protocol No. 6 of the ECHR on the abolition of the death penalty;

v.to sign and ratify within a year from the time of accession the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

vi.to sign and ratify within a year from the time of accession the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter on Local Self-Government, and the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages; to conduct its policy towards minorities on the principles set forth in Assembly Recommendation 1201 (1993), and to incorporate these principles into the legal and administrative system and practice of the country;

vii.to implement the recommendations resulting from the opinion of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the "Venice Commission") on the constitutional law on human rights and the freedoms and rights of national and ethnic communities and minorities and human rights protection mechanisms;

viii.to take all necessary measures, including adequate police protection, to guarantee the safety and human rights of the Serb population in Croatia, in particular in the former UN Protected Areas, to facilitate the return of people who left these areas and to allow them, through a specific procedure established by law, effectively to exercise their rights to recover their property or to receive compensation;

ix.to study, with a view to ratification, the Council of Europe's Social Charter, and meanwhile to conduct its policy in accordance with the principles contained therein;

x.to sign and ratify and meanwhile apply the basic principles of other Council of Europe conventions - notably those on extradition, on mutual assistance in criminal matters, on the transfer of sentenced persons, and on the laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of proceeds from crime;

xi.to settle international as well as internal disputes by peaceful means;

xii.to comply strictly with its obligations under the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, and to co-operate fully with the United Nations Transitional Administration for this region (UNTAES);

xiii.to co-operate fully and effectively in the implementation of the Dayton/Paris Agreements for Peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina;

xiv.to co-operate with, and actively assist, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in bringing before the tribunal without delay persons indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide;

xv.to settle outstanding international border disputes according to the principles of international law;

xvi.to implement the recommendations of Council of Europe experts on legislation relating to the media, such as the law on public information, the law on telecommunications and the law on protection of competition;

xvii.to continue with the procedure of electing a mayor of Zagreb in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Croatia and taking into account the recommendations of the Council of Europe;

xviii.to pursue reforms with a view to bringing all legislation and practice in line with Council of Europe principles and standards;

xix.to comply, well before the next elections, with the recommendations made by the election observers of the Council of Europe and other international organisations, in particular with regard to the special voting block for the diaspora, minority representation, voter registration lists, voter anonymity, the need to increase the independence of the state broadcasting corporation (HRT) and to undertake a census of the population as soon as possible;

xx.to sign and ratify within a year from the time of accession the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe and its additional protocols;

xxi.to co-operate fully in the implementation of Assembly Order No. 508 (1995) on the honouring of obligations and commitments by member states of the Council of Europe, as well as in the monitoring process established by virtue of the Committee of Ministers' declaration of 10 November 1994 (95th session).

10.The Assembly further expects Croatia:

i.to observe strictly the provisions of international humanitarian law, including in the event of armed conflict within its territory;

ii.to co-operate with the international humanitarian organisations and to take all necessary steps to solve the remaining humanitarian problems in the wake of the recent conflicts, notably in connection with prisoners and missing persons;

iii.to ensure that the application of the law on the High Judiciary Council respects Council of Europe standards;

iv.to guarantee effectively the rights and freedoms of national and ethnic minorities in compliance with the commitments undertaken by the Croatian authorities;

v.to guarantee effectively freedom of the media in compliance with the commitments undertaken by the Croatian authorities;

vi.to grant, without delay, a general amnesty for all former combatants not suspected of war crimes, in order to encourage the return of Croatian Serbs;

vii.to actively assist the OSCE mission in its work;

viii.to consult the Council of Europe experts on the revision bill of the draft local administration and autonomy act sufficiently in advance of its second reading in parliament;

ix.to solve, in accordance with the standards and principles of the Council of Europe, the problems related to the confiscation of property during the fascist and communist regimes.

11.On the basis of these commitments and expectations the Assembly believes that Croatia, in the sense of Article 4 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, is able and willing to fulfil the provisions for membership of the Council of Europe as set forth in Article 3: "Every member of the Council must accept the principles of the rule of law and of the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and collaborate sincerely and effectively in the realisation of the aim of the Council ...".

12.With a view to ensuring respect for these commitments, the Assembly resolves to monitor closely, and with immediate effect from the day of accession, the situation in Croatia according to its procedure under Order No. 508 (1995).

13.The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers, on the basis of the commitments set out above:

i.invite Croatia to become a member of the Council of Europe;

ii.allocate five seats to Croatia in the Parliamentary Assembly.

APPENDIX III

Annex to the letter of 7 June 1996 of the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia

ACCESSION OF CROATIA TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

List of commitments and expectations

1. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PEACE AGREEMENTS

1.1       Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

According to the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was also signed by Croatia, the latter is under the obligation to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law. In accordance with this obligation, Croatia should immediately arrest and turn over to the Tribunal indicted individuals ("Stupni Do" and "Lasva Valley" indictments) who are suspected of having committed war crimes or other violations of international humanitarian law.

Croatia should furthermore immediately cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal regarding all other matters relating to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law.

1.2       Implementation of agreements relating to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

As co-signatory of the Washington agreements, Croatia is under the obligation to implement fully the provisions relating to the establishment and functioning of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Accordingly, Croatia should immediately:

-       see to it that conditions exist for the organisation of free and fair elections on schedule, including in Mostar where elections will take place not later than 30 June 1996;

-       guarantee full freedom of movement of persons according to the measures agreed at the Rome Meeting on 18 February 1996 (and subsequent meetings);

-       assist in the creation and functioning of the United Federal Police Force, committed to efficient law enforcement and the respect for democratic processes.

HUMAN RIGHTS, MINORITIES, REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS

With reference, inter alia, to the implementation of provisions of the Peace Agreement and of the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, concerning the respect for human rights and the protection of minorities - as well as refugees and displaced persons - and of the relevant human rights standard-setting texts of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the UN:

2.1       Croatia should provide information on the state of implementation of a plan for the return in stages of displaced persons and refugees, including in particular Serbs previously residing in the formerly occupied territories, and on measures taken to encourage, and to create the necessary conditions for such return in safety and dignity. These conditions include the safety of persons, the free return of displaced persons and refugees and the restoration of, or compensation for property.

2.2       Croatia should provide information on the number of persons prosecuted for and convicted of crimes against persons and property, in the formerly occupied territories (as well as persons under investigation or indictment for war crimes and other violations of humanitarian law).

2.3       Croatia should immediately enact a Law on Amnesty in conformity with Article VI of Annex 7 to the Peace Agreement and revise the Law on Amnesty regarding Eastern Slavonia with a view to facilitating its application.

2.4       Croatia should pursue discussions with representatives and experts of the Council of Europe with a view to the implementation of the Constitutional Law on Human Rights and Minorities of 1991.

2.5       Croatia should refrain from adopting legislative and other measures which would compromise ratification of the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities and the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

3.       MEDIA

Croatia should take immediate steps to stop all interference in the exercise of freedom of information and expression inter alia in the press and the electronic media, and should not exert any pressure on the media and journalists.

Croatia should furthermore resume discussions with Council of Europe representatives and experts concerning the content of, and the practice under, the Law on Telecommunications and the Law on Croatia Radio and Television, as well as the preparations for a new Bill on Information in line with Council of Europe standards.

4.       LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

-       Croatia should cooperate with the Council of Europe on the revision of the Law on Public Local Administration, so as to ensure compatibility with the European Charter of Local Self-government and to facilitate transfrontier cooperation with neighbouring countries.

-       Following the decision of the Constitutional Court, Croatia should provide a time-table for early new elections in the municipality and region of Zagreb.

* * *

It should be understood that the above mentioned commitments and expectations are without prejudice to those contained in Assembly Opinion No. 195.

APPENDIX IV

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe

FIFTH SESSION

(Strasbourg, 26 - 28 May 1998)

RECOMMENDATION 46 (1998)

ON

THE STATE OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY IN CROATIA

1.       Pursuant to Resolution 58 (1997) on the situation of local democracy in member countries, in particular para. 11, listing Croatia as one of the countries in which major problems of local democracy exist, and para. 13, specifically devoted to this country;

2.       Having regard to para. 9.vi of Opinion No. 195 (1996) of the Parliamentary Assembly on Croatia’s request for membership of the Council of Europe, which states that Croatia undertook to sign and ratify the European Charter of Local Self-Government within one year of its accession (6 November 1996) and to consult the Council of Europe experts on the bill revising the draft Local Administration and Autonomy Act;

3.       Having regard to the results of the many visits made by the CLRAE to Croatia since 1993 and the Conclusions of the various reports on the situation of local and regional democracy in Croatia, adopted by the Bureau and the Standing Committee of the Congress in February 1996;

4.       Having sent a delegation composed of two co-Rapporteurs, Helene Lund (Denmark, L) and Josef Leinen (Germany, R), accompanied by a consultant, to Croatia in October 1997 and again in February 1998;

5.       Thanking the Croatian authorities and the local democracy embassies in Croatia for their support during these visits;

6.       Considers it necessary to address to the Croatian government authorities the following considerations and recommendations, based on the report appended to this Recommendation:

6.1       Welcoming the fact that the Croatian Government signed and ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government on 19 September 1997, within one year of its accession to the Council of Europe, in accordance with the commitments entered into upon its accession;

6.2       Regrets, however, that when ratifying the Charter the Croatian Government made considerable use of the options in Article 12 of the Charter and consequently did not accept certain important provisions, such as those provided for in Article 4 paras. 3, 5 and 6, Article 8 para. 3, Article 9 paras. 5 and 7 and Article 10 para. 2 of the Charter;

6.3       Considers that, in view of both the spirit of the undertaking to ratify the Charter given by Croatia on its accession and the aim of Article 12, the Charter should be ratified as fully as possible, and therefore calls on this country to extend the scope of applicability of the Charter, in particular to the articles mentioned in para. 6.2 above, as rapidly as possible;

6.4       Considers that, in the meantime, as the Charter is in the process of becoming generally acknowledged as a principle of European law, the instrument of ratification deposited by Croatia on 11 October in Strasbourg does not exempt this state from respecting all the fundamental principles that it incorporates;

6.5       In view of a number of specific examples of actions of the Croatian government, in particular the election of the Mayor of Zagreb and of the Regional Assembly of the Zupanja of Primorsko Goranska, considers that the Local Administration and Autonomy Act does not effectively guarantee local self-government and compliance with election results and that it is therefore imperative that it be urgently amended;

6.6.       Regrets that, despite renewed promises to amend Croatian legislation on local self-government with the assistance of Council of Europe experts in accordance with the commitments entered into upon its accession, no progress has been made in this respect and reiterates its support and its readiness as and when required to implement the Croatian Government’s proposal that a joint committee, composed of experts from the Croatian Parliament and from the Council of Europe, be set up, in consultation with representatives of the Croatian Government authorities, and local and regional authorities, to make a detailed examination of the various parts of the law which need to be amended, given that the present report can on no account be considered a full opinion on the matter, as the Congress has not yet been able to examine the bill revising the law;

6.7        Firmly reiterates the call in para. 13a of Resolution 58 (1997) for rapid revision of the provisions of the law instituting the duality of office of the County Governors and the Mayor of Zagreb and conferring discretionary power on the President of the Republic to confirm their election, or otherwise, so as either :

6.8       Recommends that the Croatian authorities ensure that the legislative reform also includes a right enabling Croatian local and regional authorities to ask a competent and independent court, to examine government decisions interpreting the law, in accordance with Article 11 of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which was accepted by Croatia when it ratified the Charter;

6.9       Notes with satisfaction that the Croatian local and regional authorities believe that their situation has generally improved over the last few years but considers the persistent lack of clarity with regard to the distribution of powers between the various levels of government and the inadequacy of resources made available to local and regional authorities to exercise these powers to be a serious source of concern;

6.10       Stresses the need for a clearer distribution of powers, accompanied by resources commensurate with the responsibilities of the various levels of authority; distributed according to well-established procedures, in accordance with the principles of the Charter;

6.11       Considers some provisions of Section 11 of the Local Administration and Autonomy Act to be contrary to the spirit of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and in particular Article 10 thereof, since these provisions make it impossible in practice to set up a legally recognised association of local authorities if it is composed of fewer than half of the municipalities and towns, and has doubts as to whether this provision is compatible with Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights;

6.12       Welcomes the fact that statutory provisions on transfrontier co-operation designed to clarify the possibilities offered to local and regional authorities in this field are being drafted and calls on Croatia to sign and ratify the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities and its Additional Protocol as soon as possible;

6.13       Aware of the fact that, following the establishment of the Republic of Croatia, the legal situation of immovable property and the tourist industry - which were previously self-managed – has not been completely settled, calls on the Croatian Government to clarify the matter as rapidly as possible;

6.14       Aware of the fact that other Bills on local self-government are currently being drafted, particularly on local finances and the distribution of powers between municipalities, towns and Zupanije, urges the Croatian authorities, given the fundamental importance of all these instruments - including those concerning transfrontier co-operation - for the proper functioning of local self-government, to involve the Council of Europe experts from the outset in the review of the laws concerned;

6.15       Expresses its concern at the situation in the zone previously administered by UNTAES and the major operating difficulties encountered by the local institutions elected in 1997, which may cause the population in this zone to lose confidence in the ability of these institutions to make an effective contribution to improving their living conditions and therefore tarnish the credibility of the principles of local self-government and asks the Croatian Government to keep it informed of changes in the situation in Eastern Slavonia and in the operation of the institutions of local democracy in this part of the country and furthermore calls on it to hasten the return of displaced persons and refugees so as to strengthen local democracy in both the municipalities from which they originate and their host municipalities;

6.16       Calls on Croatian local and regional authorities and their Associations, and the Croatian Government, to organise, as soon as possible, in conjunction with the Congress, a major conference on the progress of local and regional democracy and the relevant legislative reforms, as proposed in the CLRAE’s report on the situation of local and regional democracy in Croatia at the time of its accession;

7.       Welcomes the initiative taken by the Croatian Government and the Osijek local democracy embassy in organising training schemes for elected local and regional representatives and asks the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to support this important initiative through the LODE Programme and the voluntary contributions set aside for local and regional democracy in Croatia;

8.       Calls on the Committee of Ministers to take account of these recommendations in its assessment of the honouring of the commitments entered into by Croatia at the time of its accession and to support, by providing sufficient funds, and promote co-operation programmes, if possible, with the assistance of other international organisations and the European Union, particularly within the framework of the Congress, the LDEs and the LODE programme, with a view to carrying through the necessary reforms in the field of local and regional self-government, putting civil society back on a sound footing, facilitating the return of refugees and displaced persons and supporting the economic reconstruction of the country, which has been seriously affected by the armed conflict in this part of Europe.

APPENDIX V

Letter of Mr Obuljen, Chairman of the Croatian parliamentary delegation

CROATIAN NATIONAL PARLIAMENT

Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the

Council of Europe

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Strasbourg

Dear Mr Ausems,

1.       Croatia will be able to adopt amendments to the Law on Local Self-government and Administration in accordance with the European Charter on Local Self-government not later than the end of October of this year. The Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe will be consulted in this process.

2.       Croatia will pass amendments to the Law on the State Judiciary Council, also in consultation with Council of Europe experts, not later then the end of April of this year.

3.       In accordance with the recommendations of the Venice commission, Croatia will adopt the Law on Human and Minority Rights, which will replace the suspended provisions from 1991, not later than the end of October of this year.

Very sincerely yours,

Nikola Obuljen

Head of the Delegation

of the Republic of Croatia

Zagreb, 8 February 1999

APPENDIX VI

Activities for the development and consolidation of democratic stability (ADACS)

Programme 1999

VOTE IX

The activities in brackets [ ] are pro-memoria

Human Rights

European Convention on Human Rights (and other control mechanisms)

Compatibility exercise for examining the compatibility of domestic law with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights, (both pre- and post-ratification)

Follow-up meeting with the Compatibility Working Group, to look, inter alia, at the practical implementation of earlier recommendations, organised in co-operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ad hoc expertise and advice on current or pending domestic legislation and its compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights

Continuation of ad hoc expertises on new and draft legislation, especially concerning matters relevant to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Assistance in setting up and running Government Agent's offices

Study visit to become familiar with the practical aspects of running a Government Agent’s office. Proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Expert meeting in Croatia between the Government Agent and Government Agents from other member states.

[Provision of human rights materials to the Governmental Agent’s office.]

Training Programmes

Training seminars for public officials, judges, lawyers, representatives of non-governmental organisations and students on the European Convention on Human Rights, its Protocols and case-law, organised in co-operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Law Faculty of the University of Zagreb. Proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Follow-up seminar in March-April in Zagreb for judges, lawyers and representatives of non-governmental organisations on the European Convention on Human Rights and its application to refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons, organised in co-operation with the UNHCR Mission to Croatia. Proposed by the UNHCR.

Training seminar for judges on the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights as part of a two-year project on "Promotion of the Independence of the Croatian Judiciary" run by the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights. Proposed by the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights.

[Workshop for lawyers active in the field of human rights law on the law and practice of the European Convention on Human Rights, in particular the areas of property, fair hearings, domestic remedies and discrimination, organised in co-operation with the Attorneys in Aid. Proposed by the Attorneys in Aid through the OSCE mission to Croatia.]

Study visits

[Study visits to become familiar with the proceedings and decision-making mechanisms of the new European Court of Human Rights. Proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.]

Human Rights Documentation

[Translation and publication of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission of Human rights, as well as documentation about the European Convention on Human Rights and other human rights materials to be organised by law professors, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and translators. Proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.]

[Provision of human rights materials to the Centre for the Direct Protection of Human Rights and contribution towards publication of the periodical "Kroki" published by the Centre for the Direct Protection of Human Rights. Proposed by the Centre for the Direct Protection of Human Rights.]

Human rights education and awareness, including projects forming part of the « Police and Human Rights – 1997 – 2000 » programme

[Study visit of members of the National Committee for the Rights of the Child on the role of the media in the promotion of children’s rights, organised in co-operation with the National Committee for the Rights of the Child. Proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.]

Seminar for police officers on human rights and the police, organised in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior, to include an examination of Croatia’s participation in the "Police and Human Rights - 1997-2000" programme. Proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Training of teachers in human rights education. Provision of experts. Organised in co-operation with the Human Rights Education Associates and the Croatian National Committee for Human Rights Education. Proposed by the Human Rights Education Associates.

Co-operation with non-governmental human rights organisations and human rights institutes

Seminar for representatives of non-governmental organisations on the possibilities of co-operation between national non-governmental organisations and the Council of Europe as regards the political and legal mechanisms of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, organised by the Centre for the Direct Protection of Human Rights. Proposed by the Centre for the Direct Protection of Human Rights.

European Social Charter

Exercise for examining the compatibility of domestic law with the requirements of the European Social Charter or the revised Social Charter, (both pre- and post- ratification)

Expertise to assist the Croatian Working Group established to examine the compatibility of relevant Croatian legislation with the European Social Charter.

Expert missions related to the ratification of the Charter or the revised Charter, or to the ratification of Protocols of the Charter.

[Meeting on social protection: Council of Europe experts to provide the Working Group of the Croatian Government with guidance on social security and in particular, pension reform in Croatia.]

[Meeting on social protection: Council of Europe experts to provide the Working Group of the Croatian Government with guidance on social security and in particular, on the protection of specifically deprived social groups. ]

Study visit

[Study visit to Strasbourg for officials from public administration bodies to become acquainted with the functioning of the supervisory mechanisms of the European Social Charter, organised by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.]

Equality between women and men

Information seminars

Seminar on domestic violence, to be organised by the Government Commission foe Equality issues, in co-operation with NGOs.

Training, awareness-raising on equality issues and research

[Contribution to a research project on the participation of women in society and research on domestic violence.]

Contribution to projects or activities organised by third parties

Contribution to seminars organised by the Centre for Women’s Studies aimed at informing and educating university students on equality issues.

Contribution to a seminar on “Women and politics: the situation in central and eastern Europe”, organised by the Women’s Information and Documentation Centre in Zagreb.]

[Contribution to a project “Desa Centre for Occupational Training”, aiming to integrate women victims of war into the new social environment and economy, organised by the Desa Centre in Dubrovnik, in co-operation with the National Federation of Women’s Solidarity in Paris.]

Documentation/Translations

[Translation of Council of Europe documents concerning equality between women and men.]

Media

Study visits

Study visit for an expert from the Croatian Broadcasting Company on legislation in the field of the electronic media

[Study visit for an member of the National Committee for the Rights of the Child to a member state of the Council of Europe]

Seminars

[Seminar on public and private broadcasting.]

Seminar on regulation and self-regulation of the media

Contribution to activities organised by third parties

[Training programme for journalists from Eastern Slavonia, in co-operation with AIM.]

[Creation of a resource centre in Osijek/Vukovar, in co-operation with AIM, to enable young professionals to have access to reference books and documents on professional ethics, reporting diversity in a multi-ethnic environment, international law and conventions, etc.]

[Seminar on access to information in co-operation with the EJC]

[Workshop on professional conduct and journalism ethics, organised in co-operation with the EJC]

Social Cohesion

New strategy for social cohesion/Activities of the European Committee for Social cohesion and the specialised Unit

Programme of technical co-operation to develop local integrated housing and area developmental plans for communities living in extreme poverty. Focus on strengthening social infrastructures, promoting access to services and community participation.12

Expert missions

Fact-finding mission to undertake a needs assessment in consultation with representatives and members of the communities concerned, including preparation of a developmental plan.

Missions to provide technical expertise to local partners from government, private sector business and non-governmental organisations responsible for the implementation of the developmental plan.

Training programmes

Training seminar for the local actors from government, private sector business and non-governmental organisations responsible for the implementation of the developmental plan.

Treatment and care of drug abuse and drug addicts

Legislative expertise on: the law on illegal drugs and precursors.

Education, Culture, Heritage and Sport

Education

Human rights education and education for democratic citizenship

Training course "Education for Democracy and European Studies"

This project is placed within the Action for education for democratic citizenship decided by the Second Summit and is closely linked to the CDCC/Education Committee project in this area. With a view to fostering the knowledge about the principles and practices of democracy, as well as the skills and competencies of responsible and democratically minded citizens, in other words, to provide for a

process of education for democratic citizenship. The overarching objectives of the project "Education for Democracy and European Studies" are:

The target group will be educators, teachers, and teacher trainers, multipliers in adult education, education administrators, officers of non-governmental organisations, co-ordinators of sites of citizenship.

The project will be organised as a two year training cycle including two seminars per year (one in Croatia and one in Strasbourg) and distance-education methods. The training would be completed by a certification recognised by the educational authorities.

The seminars planned for 1999 are continuation of the pilot seminar in 1998.

The project will be organised as a co-operation between the Council of Europe, the European Union, national authorities and NGOs

-       training seminar in Croatia: travel and subsistence costs, trainers, interpretation

-       training seminar in Strasbourg: travel and subsistence costs, trainers, interpretation

-       Secretariat official journey

Education for minorities

Following work began in Eastern Slavonia during the UNTAES mandate, when three seminars on human rights education and conflict resolution were organised for teachers and education officials, activities focussed upon education provision for minorities in Croatia will be developed. The programme will focus upon in-service teacher training for minority populations, initial teaching training in human rights education and human rights in the school. The programme will be undertaken in co-operation with the National Committee for Human Rights Education.

Seminar in Croatia for participants from Initial Teacher training institutions and universities to exchange experiences and to develop human rights education for minority populations.

Youth

Follow-up in focus countries

Training course for youth NGO leaders and civil servants dealing with youth matters.

Following a proposal from the governmental authorities, the organisation of a training course for youth NGO leaders and civil servants dealing with youth matters. This course would be the continuation of the training course organised in Croatia in 1995.

Health

Health systems

[Restructuring of blood transfusion systems. Task Force mission to evaluate the reorganisation of the blood transfusion services]

Local Authorities

Legislative expertise

Expert appraisal of the conformity of legislation on local authorities with the fundamental principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government:

Local finance and management of public services

Application of legislation concerning the financing of local and regional authority activities, including the preparation, implementation and supervision of the municipal budget.

Professional training, manuals, study visits and multilateral conferences

Training of civil servants and local elected representatives.

Legal co-operation

Access to justice and the efficiency of justice

The judiciary and judges in a state governed by the rule of law

- Study visits

[Study visit on the access to justice (to be organised by the Ministry of Justice).]

The public prosecution service in a state governed by the rule of law

- Study visits

[Study visit to familiarise with other European judiciary systems (to be organised by the Ministry of Justice).]

The role of court registrars and Rechtspfleger in improving the efficiency of the justice system

- Study visits

Study visit on the organisation of the Registry (to be organised by the Ministry of Justice).

The enforcement of judicial decisions in civil and commercial matters

- Bilateral meetings

Expert meeting on the enforcement of judicial decisions in civil matters.

Legal regulation of relations between individuals

Legal framework

Property law

- Bilateral meetings

Expert meeting on the application of the property law.

Legal security

The role and status of the notary

- Bilateral meetings

Seminar to familiarise Croatian notaries with the notary practice in the member countries (to be organised by the Ministry of Justice and the Notary Public Association) - follow-up of the 1998 seminar.

- Study visits

[Study visit to familiarise with the practice and legal standards of notaries in Austria (to be organised by the Ministry of Justice and the Notary Public Association).

Study visit to familiarise with this aspect of the European legal systems; also aimed to reinforce the role of the notary (to be organised by the Ministry of Justice and the Notary Public Association).

Study visit to familiarise junior notaries with legal practice of the member states]

The land register and cadastre

- Study visits

[Study visit (to be organised by the Ministry of Justice).]

Crime problems and law enforcement

Criminal law and criminal procedure

The enforcement of sentences (implementation of sanctions and measures)

- Bilateral meetings

Expert meeting on the enforcement of sentences (follow-up of the expertise).

Fight against crime and corruption

Prevention and control of criminality

- Bilateral meetings

[Bilateral seminar on credit cards fraud.]

Law enforcement agencies

The police in a state governed by the rule of law (former Themis 1)

- Bilateral meetings

Bilateral seminar on community policing.

- Study visits

[Study visits on police and public relations (in conjunction with the Directorate of Human Rights).]

- Legislative expertise

[Comments/expertise of the Council of Europe on new Croatian legal texts on Police Law (to be organised by the Ministry of the Interior in co-operation with the Council of Europe).]

The penitentiary system (former Themis 4)

- Bilateral meetings

Meeting to modernise the penitentiary system in Croatia on the basis of the comparative analysis of the situation in other member states and regards the European Prison Rules

Administrative law and administrative justice

Judicial control of administrative acts

- Bilateral meetings

Expert meeting in the field of judicial control of administrative acts.

- Study visits

Study visit on the judicial control of administrative acts.

- Legislative expertise

Expertise on the law on petty offences.

Aliens and nationals/citizens

The law on foreigners and the rights of asylum

- Bilateral meetings

[Follow-up seminar on the European Convention on Human Rights and its application to refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons (in conjunction with the Directorate of Human Rights) [proposal of the UNHCR].]

Nationality/Citizenship and aliens’ permanent residence

- Bilateral meetings

Bilateral meeting on legal standards in the field of nationality/citizenship and aliens’ permanent residence (in co-operation with the UNHCR) [proposal of the UNHCR].

Scientific revolution and the legal protection of the human being

Bioethics

- Bilateral meetings

[Bilateral meeting on bioethics.]

[see Joint Programme CE/CoE, DEBRA]

The new information society and the protection of personal data

- Bilateral meetings

[Bilateral meeting on the protection of medical data]

Expert meeting to discuss specific issues relating to data protection (follow-up of the expertise).

Civil Society

Training course for non-governmental Organisations leaders

Training workshop on the development of co-operation structures among NGOs.

Minorities

NB: Co-operation activities in the field of National Minorities will be primarily implemented in the context of the new Joint Programme EC/CoE on National Minorities.

Information Meetings on the Framework Convention for the Protection of Minorities

[Meeting of experts on the implementation and incorporation into domestic legislation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, organised in co-operation with the Ministry of Administration. Proposed by the Ministry of Administration.]

[Information seminar for representatives of non-governmental organisations on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, organised in co-operation with the Centre for the Direct Protection of Human Rights. Proposed by the Centre for the Direct Protection of Human Rights.]

Expert missions and policy development assistance

[Study visit to draw on the experiences of other member states in implementing the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Proposed by the Ministry of Administration.]

[Ministry of Administration.][see Joint Programme EC/CoE on national minorities]

Reporting committee: Committee on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Member States.

Budgetary implications for the Assembly: to be assessed by the Committee on the Budget.

Reference to committee: Resolution 1115 (1997) of 27 January 1997.

Draft resolution and recommendation unanimously adopted by the committee on 10 March 1999.

Members of the committee: MM. Mota Amaral (Chair), Sole Tura (Vice-Chair), Mrs Gelderblom-Lankhout (Vice-Chair), MM. Sinka (Vice-Chair), Akselsen, Atkinson, Averchev, Mrs Aytaman, MM. Bársony, Baumel, Bindig, Brunetti, Columberg, Dagys, Davis, Diana, Dinçer, Domljan, Dumitrescu, Mrs Durrieu, MM. Eltz, Enright, Eörsi, Eversdijk, Frunda, Gjellerod, Glotov, Gross, Gusenbauer, Hornhues, Irmer, Jansson, Jaskiernia, Jurgens, Mrs Kautto, MM. Kelam, Kiratlioglu, Korakas, Kostytsky, Koulouris, Kuzmickas, Magnusson, Marmazov, Moeller, Muehlemann, Myrvoll, Nedelciuc, Mrs Nemcova, Mr Pahor, Mrs Poptodorova, Mr Ramirez Pery, Mrs Ringstad, MM. Ruffy, Schwimmer, Mrs Sehnalova, Mrs Severinsen, MM. Shishlov, Smorawinski, Steolea, Mrs Stoyanova, MM. Surjan, Urbain, Valkeniers, Vella, Weyts, Mrs Wohlwend, Mr Xhaferi.

N.B. The names of those members who took part in the meeting are printed in italics.

Secretaries to the committee: Mr Ausems, Mr Dufour and Mrs Chatzivassiliou.

1 An obligation incumbent, at any event, upon all member states of the Council of Europe.

2 A report on the “control of internal security services in Council of Europe member states” has been adopted by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights with a view to an Assemby debate at the April 1999 part-session. It contains a draft recommendation, including guidelines to be incorporated in a “Framework convention on internal security services” which the Committee of Ministers is recommended to elaborate.

3 According to the electoral law, seven representatives of national minorities are elected from the special minority lists, three by the Serb minority, one by the Italian, one by the Hungarian, one by the Czech and Slovak and one by the Ruthenian, Ukrainian, German and Austrian minorities.

4 With regard to the findings of this meeting as far as protection of minority rights in general is concerned, reference is made to the relevant chapter below.

5 A similar wording was used for one of the “expectations” contained in Assembly Opinion 195 (1996), paragraph 10, viii.

6 The incident was followed by a press statement issued by the OSCE mission in Zagreb on 20 November 1998, calling for urgent steps to be taken “to alleviate these pressures”.

7 In its report of March 1998, the “Venice Commission” suggested that the Croatian authorities include in the Revised Constitutional Law the guarantees of political representation and educational and cultural autonomy which are included in the "Letter of intent of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the peaceful reintegration of the region under transitional administration". In particular, the Revised Constitutional Law should

-       “set out the principle of representation of the Serb ethnic community notably from the region [formerly] under transitional administration [i.e. the Danube region] in state bodies and bodies of local self- government acting in the region;-s

-       set out the framework for the functioning and competence of the "Joint Council of Municipalities" and of the "Council of the Serb Ethnic Community", in accordance with the principles enshrined in the European Charter of local Self-Government, the Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities and Recommendation 1201 (1993) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe;

-       guarantee educational and cultural autonomy;

-       set out the principle of proportional representation of the Serb ethnic community and other national minorities in the Parliament.”

8 Case of Larkos v. Cyprus (Application no. 29515/95), Judgment of the Court of 18 February 1999.

9 The rapporteurs refer to the “Principles on Citizenship legislation concerning the Parties tro the Peace Agreements on Bosnia and Herzegovina”, 1996 (see also the provisions of the 1997 European Convention on Nationality on state succession).

10 See also the conclusions of the report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography.

11 For detailed recommendations on these issues, see the relevant sections of Chapter Two.

12        Subject to confirmation from the national authorities.