Croatia President Sends Law on Debtors to Court

President Grabar Kitarovic sent the law on seizure of assets to the constitutional court on Tuesday, claiming some of its provisions were unconstitutional as they do not help debtors stay in their homes.

The law was passed in 2012 and last amended in 2014 on the initiative of current government, led by the centre-left Social Democratic Party, SDP.

The law proscribes the procedures for seizing the assets of debtors, including their homes if they are unable or unwilling to repay their lenders.

Grabar Kitarovic claims the law is unconstitutional because it breaches conventions on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

She says the article allowing debtors' evictions to be postponed for a year if a debtor pays off some of the debt in the meantime discriminates against debtors who are not able to cover their debts within a year.

Another article, which Grabar Kitarovic says discriminates against debtors of a weaker economic status, says a debtor can remain in his or her old home for a year if he or she pays a monthly rent to the new owner.

Croatia's President and parliament have the authority to send a law for revision before the constitutional court. If the court finds the law unconstitutional, it can revoke the whole law or certain articles and give a deadline for its amendment by the parliament.

Grabar Kitarovic obliged herself to send the law for constitutional revision in her presidential campaign, earning her the support of NGOs that help indebted citizens.

Assets seizures and evictions have become a hot topic in Croatia politics as a result of the prolonged economic crisis. A total outsider in politics, Ivan Vilibor Sincic, finished third in the first round of presidential elections in January...