Zagreb - Presenting the 2023 report on the work of the state prosecutor’s offices in parliament on Wednesday, State Attorney General Ivan Turudić warned that if urgent action is not taken, state prosecutor’s offices will face a severe staffing crisis, leading to a drop in their current effectiveness rate of 96%.
"We are facing the serious risk that, in the next five years, we will become even more understaffed unless we urgently take steps toward personnel renewal in the state prosecutor’s offices," Turudić said, adding that without changes, the current effectiveness rate of 96% - the benchmark set by the European Commission for monitoring the judiciary - will decline.
Not a single judicial official is under 30 years of age
Turudić also highlighted that courts are being staffed more quickly than state prosecutor’s offices. "Prosecutors are leaving for trials, and there are fewer of them than there are judges. If this trend continues, we will be forced to request trial postponements because there won’t be enough state prosecutors," he warned.
He pointed to the staffing problem within the State Attorney’s Office (DORH), stating that across 43 prosecutor’s offices nationwide, 781 positions are systematised, but by the end of last year, only 650 were filled, and that number has now dropped even further. "Currently, around 500 officials are active in state prosecutor’s offices, which presents a major and difficult-to-overcome problem," he said.
Additionally, Turudić raised concerns about the age structure of staff within DORH, revealing that of the 650 officials, 220 are over the age of 55, while none are under 30 years old. Job advertisements are being repeated due to a lack of interest, and he noted that the salaries of state prosecutor's staff are low and not commensurate with their education and the difficulty of the job.
Turudić stated that in the past year, state prosecutor’s offices received 221,180 new cases, an increase of 4.5% compared to the previous year. He expressed satisfaction with a 96% case-processing rate and an average case resolution time of 93 days.
Regarding arbitration proceedings, he mentioned that out of DORH’s total budget of seven million euros, nearly 3.5 million euros went toward arbitration costs. "The sum is substantial, but the total value of arbitration cases amounts to billions of kuna. The focus isn’t just on the costs but on the outcomes we achieve. So far, we have been successful," Turudić said, adding that seven arbitration proceedings are currently active.
To improve the situation, Turudić suggested redefining the State School for Judicial Officials and increasing the number of systematised places for judicial trainees because the "pool" from which new personnel is drawn is too small. He emphasised the need to hire at least 100 new trainees by the end of this year and the start of the next.
Turudić supports new USKOK law; Opposition: Youth leave due to unresolved corruption
Turudić believes that it is essential to amend and adopt a series of laws related to DORH's functioning, primarily focusing on the Criminal Procedure Act.
He stressed the importance of introducing a completely new law on the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK), which, according to him, should focus on a smaller number of major cases. Turudić suggested narrowing USKOK’s jurisdiction, as some criminal offenses could easily be handled by municipal state prosecutor’s offices.
Before today's debate, Božo Petrov (Bridge) requested a recess, emphasising that corruption is one of the top three reasons people emigrate, noting that the 2023 report indicates that USKOK dismissed 93% of corruption complaints.
Dalija Orešković (HSS, GLAS, DOSIP) reminded the parliament that during Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s two terms, dozens of ministers were dismissed due to corruption scandals.
Turudić claims their files are not "sitting in drawers," but at the same time, none of these cases have been resolved nor are they in a stage that would assure citizens that the justice system is effectively tackling the country’s key problems, she said.
She also called on Turudić to explain how former head of Croatian Roads, Josip Škorić, and former HDZ MP and mayor of Otok Josip Šarić knew in advance they were going to be arrested.