Zagreb - A public call for the selection of three judges of Croatia's Constitutional Court was published on Wednesday in the Narodne novine (Official Gazette), and interested candidates may apply within 30 days.
The eight-year terms of three constitutional judges will expire on 12 October, so new judges need to be appointed. The current judges whose terms are ending are Court President Miroslav Šeparović, Mato Arlović and Goran Selanec.
According to the advertised vacancies in the gazette, the parliamentary committee for the Constitution invites judicial institutions, law faculties, the Bar Association, legal organisations, political parties, other legal entities, and individuals to nominate candidates for appointment.
A person eligible to be appointed as a judge of the Constitutional Court must be a Croatian citizen and a law graduate with at least 15 years of professional experience in the legal field, having distinguished themselves through scientific or professional work or public activity in that field; or holding a doctorate degree in law with at least 12 years of professional experience in law in addition to the other requirements.
After the deadline for submitting nominations, the Committee for the Constitution will verify the validity of the received candidacies and conduct public interviews with all candidates who meet the requirements. Based on the collected information and the interview outcomes, the committee will compile a shortlist of candidates for the final selection.
Negotiations will then begin between the ruling parties and the opposition regarding the appointment of the three Constitutional Court judges. If no agreement is reached, the current judges’ mandates may be extended for six months, until 12 April 2026.
Judges of the 13-member Constitutional Court are elected by the Croatian Parliament with a two-thirds majority of all MPs (101 votes) for an eight-year term. During the plenary session, MPs vote individually on each proposed candidate.