Five applications for president of the Supreme Court have arrived at the State Judicial Council in a third round of the selection process, Vecernji List daily said on Saturday.

They have been submitted by Zagreb Commercial Court judge Radovan Dobronic, Supreme Court judge Marin Mrcela, Zagreb attorney Sime Savic, High Criminal Court judge Lana Peto Kujundzic, and Pozega master of law Daniel Mejer, who does not meet the requirements, the paper said.

President Zoran Milanovic, who recommends a candidate to parliament, said before the deadline for the submission of applications expired that Dobronic was his candidate and that they had agreed that he should apply for the post.

Savić applied in the previous two rounds and Peto Kujundzic did so in the second, but neither received a positive opinion either from the Supreme Court General Convention or the parliamentary Judiciary Committee.

Applications in the third round could be submitted by midnight on Friday, but only on Monday will it be known if there are more candidates as applications could also be sent by post.

Although Milanovic did not know that disciplinary action was initiated against Dobronic last October— the president said that would not affect his decision to recommend him to parliament.

Under the State Judicial Council Act, a judge against whom disciplinary action has been taken cannot be appointed to another court from one to four years of the decision on the punishment becoming final. If elected Supreme Court president by parliament, the State Judicial Council would have to appoint Dobronić a Supreme Court judge as well.

A court president’s term in office ends on the day the decision on disciplinary action against them becomes final. But regulations on the Supreme Court president do not state that disciplinary action is an obstacle to their appointment or a reason for their dismissal.

Disciplinary action against Dobronic was demanded in October 2020 and the question is whether it should be taken now, before parliament votes on his candidacy, and how that would be interpreted if he were punished, Vecernji List said.