Presenting an annual report on the work of her office to the parliament on Thursday, Chief State Prosecutor Zlata Hrvoj-Sipek said that it was too early to say if the statute of limitations had expired for possible irregularities in post-war housing reconstruction in the Banovina region.

“It is too early to say if the statute of limitations applies because when that whole episode emerged we did not have any information of whether, and when reconstruction occurred, for what period of time and what that refers to, so we have launched certain investigations in order to make a decision,” Hrvoj-Sipek said answering questions by lawmakers.

She underscored that resolving property-rights relations would be important for reconstruction in the Banovina region. Commenting on the case of Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivo Zinic, she said that “the facts are being investigated,” and that “action will be taken accordingly.”

The Office of the Chief State Prosecutor (DORH) is trying to resist pressure by anyone, the executive authorities, the legislative authorities and the judicial authorities alike, she said when asked by MP Misel Jaksic (SDP) if she felt any pressure by the judiciary considering statements by High Criminal Court acting chief justice Ivan Turudic about the statute of limitations.

She said that Turudic’s behaviour was a matter for the court and the State Judicial Council but that primarily it was a question of the code of ethics.

“As far as pressure on the judiciary is concerned, there have not been any criminal charges but DORH is exposed to pressure every day. Read the press, because it seems that as soon as something ends up in the media, a judgement has been handed down. Those are all forms of pressure on prosecutorial authorities,” Hrvoj-Sipek said answering a question by MP Sandra Bencic (We Can!).

Lawmakers were interested in what DORH has done to prevent information leaks recalling the Rimac, Kovacevic, Curic, Varga and other cases. “In cooperation with the police we try to determine how measures are compromised,” she said, adding that measures were not compromised in the Rimac case.

During the debate Hrvoj-Sipek pointed out the need to adopt a new Criminal Code to facilitate its implementation as well as the need to employ more staff.

She announced plans to reorganise DORH with regard to war crimes prosecution by entrusting such cases to four specialised prosecutorial departments.