By enacting the Regulation amending the Forestry Act, which became legally binding upon its
publication in the Official Gazette on September 1, 2019, the Government of the Republic of Croatia
violated the constitutionally established principles of the separation of powers, and formally
committed a coup d’état.

The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia states that forests and forest land are assets of interest to
the Republic of Croatia and are under its special protection. The Government of the Republic of
Croatia manages forests and forest land in the interest of the Republic of Croatia through the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
State forests are managed by the state-owned company Croatian Forests Ltd., and the Government
of the Republic of Croatia, as its founder, appoints the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries
as the president and sole member of the Assembly, the highest governing body of the company.
In the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, we read that the rule of law is among the highest
values of the constitutional order and that the political system is based on the principle of the
separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
The Government PROPOSES laws, the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia ENACTS laws, and the
Government then IMPLEMENTS those laws.
But when the Government of the Republic of Croatia, led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, wishes,
for example, that its minister becomes the one and only "capo di tutti capi" with absolute powers in
the management structure of Croatian Forests Ltd., they will certainly do so, even if it goes against
the Constitution and its principles.
And the violation of the constitutional principle of the separation of powers is a coup d'état!

A quick coup d’état

First, let’s define the basic concepts:
A law can be amended and supplemented ONLY by the body that enacted the law — the Parliament.
A law can be amended and supplemented ONLY in the form in which it was enacted, that is, in the
form of a law. Not in the form of a regulation.
However, the Government of Croatia, at a session held on August 31, 2023, through the Regulation
on Amendments to the Forest Law (Official Gazette 101/23 from September 1, 2023), added a new
paragraph 3 to Article 23 of the Forest Law (Official Gazette 68/18, 115/18, 98/19, 32/20, and
145/20) after paragraph 2, which reads:
“(3) Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, the Minister may, in the event of a natural disaster,
issue an order prohibiting the execution of certain forest management works determined by forest
management plans in accordance with the principles of sustainable forest management.”

With this Regulation, the Government of Croatia (executive branch) usurped the legislative powers of
Parliament, thereby violating the fundamental constitutional principle of the separation of powers.

Rule of law or form without substance

In this play about "democratic rule of law," we cannot ignore the role of the Croatian Parliament.
Undoubtedly, the Government of Croatia adopted a Regulation by which, usurping the powers of the
Croatian Parliament, it amended the law, but it also made an effort to ensure that its
unconstitutional actions appeared as serious democratic practice, as closely resembling established
democratic forms as possible.
Thus, although the Regulation of September 1, 2023, officially became part of the amended law, ten
days later, on September 11, 2023, the Government of Croatia submitted an informative report to
the President of the Parliament about the Regulation by which it had, in the name of Parliament,
amended the law.
"On September 14, 2023, the Speaker of Parliament informs the members of the Croatian
Parliament, who, only on October 17, 2023, in a laconic and ignorant manner, automatically adopted
the conclusion that the Government's report is accepted by the majority vote!
And, no less importantly, the Croatian Parliament accepts the Government's report 47 days after the
amendment to the Forestry Act, without a single word being spoken about the unconstitutionality of
the amendment process."

Oath with crossed fingers

Article 5 of the Law on the Government of the Republic of Croatia states:
After the Government receives the confidence of the Croatian Parliament, the Prime Minister and
members of the Government take a solemn oath before the Croatian Parliament, which reads:
“I solemnly swear that I will perform the duties of a member of the Government conscientiously and
honorably, respect the Constitution, laws, and the legal order, and strive for the overall progress of
the Republic of Croatia.”
On October 4, 2023, the Green Squad submitted a complaint to the Constitutional Court of the
Republic of Croatia against the Government of Croatia for issuing a Regulation without the
authorization of the Croatian Parliament, by which it unlawfully supplemented (i.e., amended!) the
Forest Law.
Since this behavior of the Government of the Republic of Croatia is undoubtedly on the level of
overthrowing the constitutional order of Croatia, we believed that the judges of the Constitutional
Court would perform their duty immediately and without delay, given that, if we are not mistaken,
the judges of the Constitutional Court also took an oath…
However, even a year after our complaint, there is still no response from the Constitutional Court.