Two women are on my mind almost every day. The first is Jasna Omejec, the president of the Constitutional Court of Croatia. The second is Viviane Reding, the European Union vice president and commissioner for justice, fundamental rights, and citizenship. I have written to them both in connection with the three fabricated court cases lodged against me by Slobodan Vugrinec, the former mayor of Motovun. The municipal court in Pazin struck down two of the cases, but upheld one of them. I was found guilty of insult rather than libel. Of course, this was a political move meant to make me quiet about crooked golf in Istria. The higher regional court in Pula upheld the municipal court’s decision. Before going to Strasbourg with my appeal, I had to appeal to the Constitutional Court in Zagreb. That was in July 2011, a bit more than three years ago.

I wrote to Omejec a year later with a plea for a quick resolution of my case (“Vugrinec versus Bon: A Letter to the President of the Constitutional Court of Croatia Jasna Omejec,” July 18, 2012). As I got no response, I wrote to Reding (“My Basic Human Rights: A Letter to the European Union Vice President and Commissioner Viviane Reding,” September 17, 2012). The response was quick but dismissive. Croatia was not yet in the Union, I was told. Thus I wrote to her again on Croatia’s accession date (“This Special Day: Another Letter to the European Union Vice President and Commissioner Viviane Reding,” July 1, 2013). This time the response was less quick but equally disappointing. Namely, I was told that the Union could react only in the case one of its laws was in jeopardy.

Earlier this year I read a couple of articles in Croatian newspapers about the dismal record of the Croatian judiciary and Reding’s reaction to it (“Justice Delayed is Justice Denied,” March 18, 2014). Delighted by the legal maxim invoked by her, I have been thinking about another letter to her ever since. Would the Union not be expected to act in such a case? And is not my case a good example of justice denied? For some reason, though, I keep delaying this letter. Deep down, I feel that it would be to no avail. Neither Omejec nor Reding are likely to be of any help in my quagmire, or so I feel after so many attempts to get help from on high. No matter how often I think of the two women, I am as good as lost. The way things look at present, we have a historic legal case in the making: Vugrinec versus Bon forever.

Addendum I (August 8, 2014)

I just printed out this piece of writing, as well as all the pieces mentioned in it, arranged them in reverse chronological order, stapled them together, and mailed them to Viviane Reding in Brussels. For good measure, I printed all the pieces from my Residua website, so it is clear that everything is on the World Wide Web. What do I expect from Reding? Well, nothing. At best, she will contact Omejec in a personal sort of way. For Vugrinec versus Bon is likely to turn into an embarrassment for all concerned minus myself. Even Reding and her cabinet will understand that much. As far as Omejec is concerned, it is anyone’s guess. She sits on top of a stinky tomb that is the Croatian court system, anyway. At any rate, today’s missive gives me an enormous joy. I was laughing all the way to the post office and back home.

Addendum II (September 18, 2014)

Not surprisingly, there has been no reply from Viviane Reding after more than a month. Her page on the European Union’s website indicates that she has moved on to the European Parliament. It is not clear who will replace her as commissioner concerned with justice, if such a commissioner will exist in the new European Commission under Jean-Claude Juncker. In short, I had better forget about my ploy. My last missive is in the garbage bin, that is. And so is the European Union as far as I am concerned. Much hoopla about nothing. Good luck, Juncker! You may well be in power when the stinky tomb under you crumbles to pieces.

Addendum III (September 19, 2014)

As luck would have it, this morning I received a reply from Viviane Reding’s office. One of her people explains that the European Commission has no general powers in intervene with the member states. It can do so only in the case a European Union law is involved. However, the Commission has recently proposed and the Union has subsequently adopted a country-specific recommendation for Croatia in the area of justice. The recommendation states that Croatia should “improve the quality and efficiency of the judicial system, in particular by providing incentives to resolve proceedings in litigious civil and commercial cases and in administrative cases in a timely manner, and to resort to out-of-court settlement especially for smaller claims.” The Commission follows the implementation of this recommendation, or so the letter claims. Phew! The Croatian courts are now sure to speed up their proceedings. They simply must. My own case will be resolved in no time!