Pending a decision on the sentence which former Croatia First Deputy Prime Minister Radimir Cacic should serve in Croatia, following a ruling handed down by a Hungarian court, Zagreb County Court has asked its Hungarian counterpart to forward additional documentation, including some Hungarian legal regulations.
The file which arrived in the Zagreb County Court from Hungary on 3 January is missing Cacic's request to be allowed to serve his sentence in Croatia. Croatian judges also requested their Hungarian colleagues to sent the regulations of the Hungarian Penal Code.
The county court in the Hungarian city of Kaposvar earlier this year found him guilty of a fatal traffic accident in Hungary in 2010 and handed down a prison term of 22 months to him.
Spokesman for the Zagreb County Court Kresimir Devcic said Croatian judicial authorities requested excerpts from the Hungarian Penal Code so that it could make a decision concerning the application of Croatian legal regulations.
Basically this means that a three member panel of judges are expected to deliver their ruling, without considering the merit of the case. The Croatian court can only decide on a penalty in compliance with domestic legislation and practice and it cannot be harsher than the verdict made by the Hungarian court. In the event of their dissatisfaction with the decision by the Croatian judiciary, Hungary's judicial authorities can withdraw their approval for the exequatur procedure.
The decision, to be handed down behind closed doors, can be appealed.
