The Conflict of Interest Commission on Friday decided with a majority vote that Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic had violated the principle of conscientious and transparent conduct because he failed to declare that Igor Pokaz was his best man when proposing him for the position of ambassador to the United Kingdom.

“The commission decided with a majority vote that the official violated the principle of conscientious and transparent conduct because he failed to inform both the bodies participating in the appointment and the public, when that fact became public, that Pokaz was his best man,” the commission’s chairwoman Natasa Novakovic said.

In debating this issue, commission deputy chair Davorin Ivanjek said that no one could be considered to be objective in personal matters and underlined three principles, “declare, exempt and delegate,” that the commission has insisted on since being established. Plenkovic should have declared his connection with Pokaz, he added.

Commission member Aleksandra Jozic-Ilekovic, however, had a dissenting opinion and claimed that Plenkovic was not in conflict of interest because he was not the only person to decide on appointing Pokaz.

The appointment of an ambassador is confidential, Jozic-Ilekovic said and added that there was no reason why Plenkovic had to declare his personal relationship with Pokaz.

The commission unanimously decided not to launch proceedings against former public administration minister Lovro Kuscevic, who had been reported for making negative statements about the People Decide and the Truth about the Istanbul Convention referendum initiatives while heading the institution that checked the signature petition lists.

The commission, however, did decide to open a case against a member of the management board of the Dubrovnik airport, Frano Luetic.