The plot thickens concerning my legal battle with the mayor of Motovun. According to my new legal advisors in Zagreb, I may have to go to the Constitutional Court of Croatia before I go to Strasbourg. The latter will accept applications only if all domestic legal remedies have been exhausted. This is a bit disappointing, of course. It pushes my victory into the future. Not to worry, though. According to the latest news, Croatia’s accession to the European Union is also shifting into the future. Perhaps 2013, but maybe even 2014. So, Strasbourg can wait a bit longer. As long as Croatia is striving to please the Union, I am ahead of the game. But now I have to shift my gaze toward the highest court in the land. Now that corruption and organized crime have risen to the fore, and cannot be swept under the rug any longer, I may have a chance even in Croatia. And the outlook is apparently good. My legal advisers claim that all the lawsuits brought against me by the mayor of Motovun and his stooges are flimsy. Legally speaking, they should not have been admitted to the court in the first place. My victory may be within reach. Hey, who says there is no future to Croatia?!

Addendum (August 3, 2016)

Coming across this piece a bit more than five years later, I cannot but pinch my face in utter disgust. No matter how flimsy, the Constitutional Court in Zagreb accepted the former mayor’s insult case without any trouble. More important, the court dismissed my appeal and upheld the decisions of the lower courts in Pazin and Pula. It was the former mayor’s victory, and my defeat. Even if the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg decides in my favor, he will go scot free, for I am taking Croatia to court this time around. He will keep the money he got from me, and I will get it back from some government office in turn. As for Croatia’s future, it is bright enough. Crooks of all descriptions will thrive in it for quite a while. With some luck, it may even become one of their safe havens. And the Croatian courts will be squarely behind them, I bet.