The Croatian Justice Minister, Drazen Bosnjakovic, commented on Tuesday the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Lex Agrokor.
Earlier today, the Croatian Constitutional Court ruled that Lex Agrokor, the law on state-appointed emergency management, was legal, dismissing the proposals from 12 applicants who asked for certain provisions of the law to be examined.
“This law was a novelty in our legal system. I would love it if it were not implemented ever again because that would mean that no other company systemically important to Croatia is in the kind of problems which could jeopardise the economic and financial stability of Croatia,” the minister said.
Lex Agrokor was passed in April 2017, after the beginning of the debt crisis in the Croatian food and retail conglomerate Agrokor. The law allows government intervention in big companies, deemed “systemically important” for the economy at large.
The critics interpreted the law as a violation of the principles of the free market and the equal treatment of all companies guaranteed by the Constitution.
All the complaints brought forward at the time the law was passed, and during its implementation, were shown to be unfounded, the minister said.
“The passing of this law created a legal framework to solve and prevent a situation of instability, the loss of jobs, and many bankruptcy procedures for which we are not infrastructurally prepared. It has resulted in a stable budget, and saved jobs,” Bosnjakovic said, adding that he hoped this situation would never happen in Croatia again.
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