SDP says it won’t negotiation over Constitutional Court judges

After questioning the first five out of 15 candidates for three vacant judges’ seats on the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, the Parliamentary Committee for the Constitution, Rules of Procedure and Political System questioned the remaining ten candidates on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters about the process of appointing three new judges to the Constitutional Court, Committee member Tonči Restović of the opposition SDP reiterated that his party will not negotiate with the HDZ on the renewed attempt to fill the three vacancies: “Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has twice contaminated the process. This time we are going to select Constitutional Court judges the way we are supposed to elect them: in public and before the Committee. In spite of the HDZ's wishes, this time there will not be any deals, negotiations or various forms of political barter.”

Restović went on to say that only after the SDP analyzes each candidate's appearance before the committee will it make a decision on who it will propose for the three vacancies. He added however that this will not come before the fall session.

The SDP’s strong stand on the issue has prompted even the HDZ to cast doubts on their goal of electing the three new judges by the summer recess. The Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for the Constitution, Rules of Procedure and Political System and HDZ MP Ivan Malenica: “I'm not optimistic. I don't think it's likely that we'll get three new Constitutional Court judges anytime soon. Obviously, we will invite representatives from the opposition to join us in talks on the matter. Should they reject the offer, that in itself will represent their political responsibility for the failure to elect new judges to the Constitutional Court.”

The Constitutional Court has been operating with only ten judges since mid-April.

Source: HRT