"The main reason for my request is the fact that the said law states that debtors examine the claims on their own, that creditors enjoy no legal protection in court proceedings and if creditors challenge the claim in court proceedings they have no right to launch proceedings to prove that their claims were valid," Kolakusic said.

He said that in his application he asked the Constitutional Court to asses if 11 articles were constitutional.

Shortly after that, the Commercial Court forwarded to the press the entire application as well as the judge's curriculum vitae.

On July 22, judge Kolakusic suspended the ongoing pre-bankruptcy settlement proceedings for Dalekovod, the provider of services in power system, road, railway and telecommunications infrastructure, in order to ask the Constitutional Court to assess the constitutionality of the Financial Operations and Pre-Bankruptcy Settlement Act. His decision angered Finance Minister Slavko Linic.

On July 23, judge Kolakusic forwarded a statement to the media saying that he had initially supported the idea of pre-bankruptcy proceedings but that in the course of his work he had realised that certain provisions of the Financial Operations and Pre-Bankruptcy Settlement Act and their application in given cases violated the Constitution.

The Croatian Judges' Association (UHS) issued a statement last week condemning as "unacceptable and uncivilised" the statement by Finance Minister Linic in which he said he was appalled by Kolakusic's decision to suspend the pre-bankruptcy settlement proceedings in Dalekovod. However, Justice Minister Orsat Miljenic and Supreme Court president Branko Hrvatin said that this was not a case of the executive authority exerting pressure on the judiciary.

Croatian President Ivo Josipovic finds Kolakusic's decision to be his legitimate move, but has also expressed understanding for Linic's response.