Sinčić Seeks Public Assistance in Creating Enforcement Law, Solving the Problem of Debt Slavery

The president of the Living Wall and parliamentary representative Ivan Vilibor Sinčić announced on Thursday at the first meeting of their working group for the creation of a new enforcement law that their proposed law will be based on the Slovenian model, which has proven to be very successful, and they expect it to be completed and submitted to parliamentary procedure by the summer recess.

Sinčić, at a press conference held during the working group meeting, called on the Croatian public, organizations, associations, and parties to send them their suggestions, proposals, and comments, to create, he said, “a completely new enforcement law proposal that will permanently solve the problem of debt slavery.”

>>> President: The Enforcement Law is ‘Deeply Unjust and Unsustainable’

He stated that they have isolated about 20 key problems that debtors in Croatia face, many of which do not exist in well-organized legal states. He pointed out the issue of returning enforcement proceedings to the courts, as they are handled by public notaries and lawyers in Croatia.

They will also address the issue of costs that are 10 times or more greater than the principal debt itself, as well as the protection of the only home, i.e., the issue of accommodation during eviction. The problem also includes the resale of debts, which they resolved in the Living Wall with a separate law, he said.

They will also address the issue of how much of a salary can be enforced, and preventing enforcement on real estate for very small amounts. The proposal from the Living Wall will also include a ban on secret evictions.

>>> Initiative Enforcement Uprising: Enough Terror Against Citizens, We Want ‘Lex Enforcement’

There is also the resolution of the issue of Christmas bonuses, severance pay, and jubilee awards for debtors, the problem of not sending notifications about enforcement, and the high fees from Fina for issuing debt status or for some of their other legal acts. Additionally, the issue of retroactivity is an interesting question in enforcement issues, as well as the possibility of enforcing tools used in agricultural production, said Sinčić.

He emphasized that this is a comprehensive, complex law, consisting of 370-380 articles with a whole series of regulations.

He assessed that they have a big job ahead of them and that they will certainly accomplish it.

Hundreds of Thousands of Citizens Thrown into Debt Slavery

“The Enforcement Law in Croatia has existed since 1996, and it was precisely in 2011 that the current minister and then minister of justice (Dražen) Bošnjaković introduced numerous changes that have thrown hundreds of thousands of citizens into debt slavery, as well as many companies,” stated Sinčić.

He also mentioned that the Ministry of Justice has established, as he said, “some kind of its group to work on changes, however, those changes are cosmetic.”

“We take responsibility; we have been dealing with enforcement for eight years to resolve this problem. We will also run a campaign so that when the law is finished, it is accepted in the Croatian Parliament,” said Sinčić, noting that the fight against debt slavery is one of the key points of their program.

>>> Aleksić: The Law is Clear, Enforcement of the Entire Salary is Unconstitutional

He said that in the narrower group of their working group for the creation of the new enforcement law are parliamentary representatives of the Living Wall, as well as Dr. Dominik Vuletić from the Faculty of Economics, legal department, lawyer Vlasta Krpetić Meić, and the party’s secretary-general Tihomir Lukanić. In addition to them, there are numerous experts from various fields who will also do significant work on this law proposal.

“The law will be based on the Slovenian model because it has proven to be very effective and successful through public discussion. Of course, there will probably have to be some Croatian modifications,” he said, adding that the entire enforcement issue also mentions the Law on the Implementation of Enforcement on Monetary Assets, the Consumer Bankruptcy Act, and many others.

He stated that they have already resolved part of the enforcement issues with their legislative proposal that demotivates the resale of debts, as it is known that various debt collection agencies buy the entire debt for a fraction of the price, for 10-20 percent, and then try to collect the full amount through ‘illegal terror.’

Vuletić: Unfortunately, Enforcement Legislation is One of the Neuralgic Points of National Justice

Vuletić stated that enforcement legislation in Croatia is one of the neuralgic points of our national justice, not only in the number of changes we have experienced so far but also in the burden it places on citizens participating in these proceedings, especially the poorest.

“All attempts to alleviate that burden for the most affected citizens so far through amendments and supplements to the existing enforcement legislation have not borne fruit, and that more parliamentary parties and political groups in society. Some interests from the outside have always somewhat alleviated and even diminished them. I have the impression that some representatives did not know what they were voting for when they voted for certain changes to the Enforcement Law,” said Vuletić.

>>> Blocked: On One Side, Billions are Written Off, on the Other, Property is Confiscated

He concluded that because of all this, he is convinced, and this is also the political stance of the leadership of the Living Wall, that Croatia needs a new enforcement law.

“So, not amendments and supplements to existing, old, bad solutions, but a completely new enforcement law, based on the brightest examples from European and world practice, which would raise the standards of protection for debtors in enforcement proceedings,” he concluded.