Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.3935/rsp.v5i2.338
The Constitutional Court Defines a Welfare State
Siniša Rodin
; Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Abstract
The author discusses the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia of May 12, 1998 and analyses some characteristics of the Croatian welfare state. The Croatian Constitution does not prescribe any particular concept of a welfare state and social justice. Concretisation of these principles is left to the legislative and not to the judicial branch. However, the legislator is restricted by the aforementioned principle boundaries, to the defined by the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court cannot legislate subjective social rights but is authorised to review the compatibility of laws with the constitutional principles of a welfare state and with other fundamental values of the Croatian constitutional order. In this context, one should distinguish the constitutional interpretation in accordance with the principles of a welfare state and social justice from the creation and protection of individual rights. It is beyond any dispute that such interpretation falls within the proper province of constitutional juridiction. A much broader issue related to the constitutional review of social rights lies in the fact that, when deciding in an isolated legal situation, the Constitutional Court is not in the position to consider the complex fabric of a welfare state. In other words, the Constitutional Court is not the proper forum to meet the legitimate interests of possible participants in a social compact which should not result from a judicial decision but from a political process.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
29932
URI
Publication date:
1.2.1998.
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