Following the Constitutional Court's announcement on Friday that President Zoran Milanovic can neither be the Prime Minister-designate for the composition of the future government nor the Prime Minister, the statement of three judges of this court who disagree with it was also published.

In this statement, Judge Andrej Abramovic, Judge Lovorka Kusan and Judge Goran Selanec explained the reasons why they do not agree with the “Announcement and Warning to the Participants of the Election of 17 April 2024” of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia.

“What the majority of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia actually saying in its announcement is this: We will recognise the election results if the prime minister is someone else, and if it is Zoran Milanovic, then we will not recognise them. This announcement is really a threat to the new parliament to watch what it does and who it supports. This threat is deeply unconstitutional,” they write in their statement, among other things.

They say that there are no convincing reasons for such a decision.

“Such significant steps and use of the powers available to the Constitutional Court necessarily require not only adequate but also explicit and clear constitutional justification. Reference to provisions expressing constitutional principles and values is not sufficient in these situations.

The announcement of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia contains this logical flaw, which is difficult to remedy, as well as a threat that is not based on any provisions, which is not fitting for a constitutional court that should protect its honour and reputation,” they wrote.

“We believe that, of course, the President of the Republic of Croatia cannot be Prime Minister at the same time, but there are no constitutional or legal obstacles if he resigns from the office of President of the Republic of Croatia beforehand.

In its announcement, the majority does not specify what the ban would be based on, because it cannot say. There is no such regulation. The majority does not even specify how long such a ban would last: for life, several years or simply until the Constitutional Court stops being angry with Zoran Milanovic? We cannot agree to such arbitrariness. There is no sanction without it first being prescribed by law,” say three constitutional judges.