Lawmakers clash over Constitutional Court judges as Sabor reconvenes

Croatian lawmakers returned to session on Thursday after a one-month break, as Parliament opened the ninth session of its current term.

Proceedings began with the customary question-and-answer period involving Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and members of his cabinet. Key topics included a dispute over filling three vacancies on the Constitutional Court, the appointment of the president of the Supreme Court, and the government’s recent increase in social benefits.

The opposition has sharply criticized Plenković’s proposal to bundle the three Constitutional Court appointments, under which two judges would be elected by the parliamentary majority and one by the opposition. Opposition MPs argue that the plan undermines the integrity of the selection process and reduces it to political bargaining. The disagreement led to tense exchanges in the chamber.

“Why do you reject the idea that Constitutional Court judges should be selected regardless of their political leanings or personal identity, through consensus rather than political horse-trading and a two-to-one deal?” asked SDP leader Siniša Hajdaš Dončić.

Plenković responded by accusing the SDP of politicizing judicial appointments in previous rounds, saying the party had demanded candidates share its political worldview.

“In contrast to you, we made no demands of anyone,” the prime minister said. “I am concerned by your fear of the principle of proportionality, which has been in practice here for years and is reflected in judicial appointments.”

Sandra Benčić of the Možemo party accused the government of confusing a negotiated agreement with coercion. Like the SDP, she called for separate selection processes for each judicial appointment.

“Many people would like to be a mini-Trump in their own neighborhood. Možemo will not be coerced in this way,” Benčić said.

Plenković countered that the HDZ had repeatedly reached out to left-wing parties in an effort to reach an agreement but was met with hostility.