Bejaković, P., Corruption in Croatia. ..., Politička misao, Vol. XXXIX, (2002), No. 5, pp. 128–155 128 Studies Pregledni članak 352/354:343.352>(497.5) 343.352:35>(497.5) Primljeno: 26. studenog 2002. Corruption in Croatia. Institutional Settings and Practical Experiences PREDRAG BEJAKOVIĆ Institute of Public Finance, Zagreb Summary Although the Croatian government has expressed a determined obligation to undertake measures against corruption, still there are opinions that the fight against corruption is not given the political acceptance and respect that are their due. After the Introduction, in the second part is raised the issue of public admini- stration, while in next part is analysed the situation in judiciary. One can estimate that in the Croatia there are different laws and institutions in charge of reducing the corruption, but serious problem is a low level of law enforcement discussed in the part four. Part five is dedicated to social and economic sources of corruption (like privatization, informal economy etc), while in part six is stressed that in Croatia the regulation of the funding of political parties is almost completely un- derdeveloped. The last chapter before conclusion remarks analyses the role of civil society and the media. Key words: corruption, countries in transition, Croatia, public administration Mailing adress: Institut za javne financije, Katančićeva 5, HR 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. E-mail:
[email protected] 1. Introduction In January 2000 Croatia saw changes in government when a coalition of political parties won the elections against the ruling HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) which led the country for the whole decade. During the period of HDZ rule many cases of cor- ruption had been raised by journalists, but apart from media pressure, those suspected of corruption or being involved in organised crime faced no further consequences for their possible wrongdoings.