Politics, constitution and administrative structure of Croatia

Croatia is a unitary republic, a democratic and social state. The power in the Republic belongs entirely to the people. The law of Croatia is based on the Constitution, which had been in force since 1946 for the whole of Yugoslavia. However, in 1990, the Croatian Parliament adopted its own separate Constitution, and a year later the country became a separate independent sovereign State. It is worth noting that the political independence of Croatia in the first months after the referendum was adopted by most influential countries in the world. Croatia was even admitted to the United Nations. The supreme body of legislative power is the Parliament, which is called the Sabor of the Republic. The Parliament is represented by a bicameral structure. Thus, there is a representative chamber and a community chamber (counties). The Deputies are elected to Parliament for a tenure of four years.

Election of Deputies is held by standard voting which is free and secret. Every Citizen of the Country who is 18 years and above can exercise his or her voting right during the election process. However, those who are already working are allowed voting rights from the age of 16. The representative chamber includes those parties or unified coalitions that managed to exceed the five percent barrier during the voting process. At the same time, it should be noted that the number of party representatives of convocation varies from one hundred to one hundred and sixty people. The functions and responsibilities of the Government Chamber are large. This Chamber fully controls the Constitution and has the right to make any amendments to it. It is the House of Representatives that approves the yearly budget. They also can issue any referendum and monitor the work of the entire Government as a whole. The Community

Chamber consists of a fixed number of Deputies. They are only sixty eight, with five of them appointed exclusively by the President. The rest of the members of the House take up their position from a free secret voting process. As a result, three members of each of their communities (counties) are chosen. In total there are 21 in Croatia. The Head of State is the President. He is also chosen by the whole country through a secret free voting process. The term of office of each President is five years. It is worth noting, that a sitting President is only allowed to serve two terms in office. The functions of the President are somewhat limited. But despite this, He is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Croatia. He has the right to appoint and remove from office the Prime Minister, Ministers and their Deputies, as well as all Deputies who are members of the Government. The President has the right to issue a referendum on any issue, award state decorations and orders, and delegate Diplomatic Representatives abroad. It is also the President who represents Croatia on the international arena. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The highest branch of executive power is the Cabinet of Ministers. The Prime Minister himself has the right to form it. However, after the nomination of Candidates, the Parliament must approve each individual Minister for his Office. At least a hundred Parties are active in the country. At the same time, only about a quarter of the total number is included in the Parliament. The Croatian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party has been regarded as the Authoritative Parties in Croatia for many years. The Croatian People’s Party and the Peasants’ Party have recently been gaining popularity and the number of their followers is growing. It should be noted that the Party of Croatian pensioners is successfully functioning in the country.

The Judicial System in Croatia is headed by the Supreme Court. Municipal and District courts also function. Appointing Judges for positions is included in the functions of the special High Council of the Judiciary of the Republic. In the Council itself, there are only fourteen specialists. They are elected by the members of the Representative Chamber for a period of eight years. The candidates are selected by the Chamber of Counties. The composition of the Constitutional Court which includes eleven Judges is also elected according to the same principle. The Foreign Policy of the Country is focused on World International Cooperation and Peacekeeping. Most importantly, Croatia aims to join the European Union and it became a member of NATO 8 years ago. It should be noted as a result of its membership of NATO, Croatia has reformed its Armed Forces for several years, trying to bring them closer to the Foreign Model. The Republic also continues to develop as an agricultural and tourist country.