Criminal Prosecution for Disclosure of Investigation Data

From the beginning of 2009, it will no longer be easy for journalists in Croatia, especially court reporters, to write about investigations as the provisions of the new Criminal Procedure Act (ZKP) come into force, under which anyone who discloses data from an investigation faces criminal prosecution for revealing official secrets.

Investigations for all criminal cases become secret, and all those who learn information collected in the investigation or find out that the actions are being carried out are obliged to keep that information confidential. Otherwise, they could be liable for the criminal offense of revealing official secrets, for which the penalty ranges from three months to three years in prison. If it concerns highly confidential data or if the secret is disclosed for personal gain, the penalty can be up to ten years.

The legislator opted for such a solution based on the presumption of innocence, i.e., the constitutional right that everyone is innocent until proven guilty by a final judgment. It was assessed that the publication of data from an investigation, while it has not yet been established whether there is sufficient evidence for an indictment, violates that right, but also influences witnesses. The provisions of the ZKP regarding the confidentiality of investigations that come into force on January 1, 2009, apply to lawyers, prosecutors, and journalists, but it is unclear how this provision will affect members of parliament who are protected by immunity.

One of the most important novelties of the ZKP, the abolition of judicial investigations which will henceforth be conducted by the state attorney, rather than as before by the investigating judge, will begin to be applied from July in USKOK cases, and from September 2011 in all other criminal cases. Current investigating judges will become investigation judges, and their number will be reduced. They will oversee the protection of human rights, regulate relations between defendants and prosecutors, determine detention at the request of state attorneys, and approve special measures for collecting evidence, such as surveillance, wiretapping, and searches.

Another novelty is that state attorneys will be able to appoint employees in state services, such as customs, tax administration, and state inspectorate, as investigators in a specific investigation for a precisely defined purpose. In this way, it is believed in the Ministry of Justice that the collection of data from state services will be facilitated and improved, as cooperation with the prosecution has often been weak until now. Investigations will be conducted for more serious criminal offenses, while for less serious ones, state attorneys will be able to conduct expedited procedures. The Ministry believes that the majority of proceedings will be conducted in this manner and that the criminal procedure will become more economical and relieve judges to work on more serious cases.

The Ministry of Justice announces that an agency for managing seized assets should be established by the middle of next year, i.e., that this area should be legally regulated. (H)