In a recent interview, Interior Minister Orepić said the Constitutional Court was the greatest threat to national security.
Reacting to a statement made by Interior Minister Vlaho Orepić in a recent interview, who said that the current members of the Constitutional Court were the greatest threat to national security, President of the Constitutional Court Miroslav Šeparović sent a letter to President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament, saying that authorities were obliged to act in order to defend constitutional order, reports Večernji List on December 8, 2016.
In his letter, Šeparović wrote that it was unacceptable that the Interior Minister was publicly accusing members of the Constitutional Court of corruption, and that at the same time he was not doing anything to investigate the case and prosecute it in accordance with the law. Writing about Orepić’s statement that “it is time for the Constitutional Court to step down”, Šeparović said that it was just one in a series of similar statements made by the Minister, in which he demands a collective resignation of all constitutional judges.
The Constitutional Court believes that the Minister’s statement, that the current members of the Constitutional Court are the greatest threat to national security, means that he has information that the judges are involved in organized crime, terrorism or some other serious crime which threaten the very existence of the state. Pointing out that under the Constitution everybody is equal before the law, which includes members of the Constitutional Court as well, Šeparović writes in his letter that the Interior Minister is obliged to launch criminal proceedings against the judge, just like against any other citizen.
“It is unacceptable that the Interior Minister publicly accuses a judge of the Constitutional Court that he is ‘corrupt’ and declares that ‘it is time for current members of the Constitutional Court to step down’, but at the same time he does nothing to investigate the case”, wrote Šeparović, adding that Orepić, with such behaviour, was taking over the roles of the police, a prosecutor, and a judge, which is only possible in a totalitarian state which Croatia certainly is not.
“Since these attacks are continuing, the Constitutional Court believes that the authorities should act to protect the constitutional order”, announced the Court, pointing out that such statements by the Minister not only call into question the dignity of the Constitutional Court as a guarantor of the rule of law, guardian of the Constitution and the underlying values of the constitutional order of Croatia, but also represent an attack on Parliament which appointed the judges whose election he now brings into question.
The Constitutional Court concluded that Orepić’s statements also damaged the reputation of the government, since it is possible to get the impression that his statements represent the official position of the government. Therefore, the Constitutional Court expects public reaction by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Speaker of Parliament and the government.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković distanced himself from the statements made by Interior Minister Orepić, saying that it was an inappropriate attack which undermined public trust in the highest constitutional authority of the country, which is why he met and discussed the issue with the Minister and warned him that such statements may not come from any member of the government.
