The Constitutional Court on Tuesday declared null and void a provision on mandatory security vetting of judges every five years.

The Court says that vetting of judges can exist in democratic societies provided that they are defined in a way that they are feasible and in compliance with the specific constitutional and legislative guarantees for the status of judges.

In the legal order of Croatia and other democracies, judges enjoy a specific status which should be put in the context of their autonomy, independence and impartiality, the Court expounded.

It recalls that in 2010, security vetting was envisaged for judges dealing with organised crime and corruption cases, and in 2015, it was decided that candidates for judges, nominated for the first time for such positions, should undergo security vetting.

The disputed provision of the law on courts envisages security vetting for all judges every five years, and the Constitutional Court finds that such a measure, intended to improve the image of the judiciary, would not meet its objective.

The Constitutional Court already discussed this provision in May 2022 when it suspended it.

On that occasion, the Constitutional Court found that the measure envisaging security vetting of judges every five years, which was adopted by the parliament in February 2022 as part of a package of laws on the judiciary, could cause disruptions in the performance of the judicial authorities.

The requests for the examination of the constitutionality of security vetting provisions were filed by the Supreme Court and the Association of Croatian Judges.

In early March 2022, the Supreme Court stated that it would request the Constitutional Court to test the constitutional compliance of security vetting of judges every five years.