Constitutional Court to Decide on Sunday Closures

(Patria) - The Association of Entrepreneurs (UGP) and 15 small retailers will today file a motion with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia to assess the constitutionality of the Trade Act, announced today at a press conference the Secretary-General of UGP, Branka Prišlić, and attorney Dorotea Jurčić on behalf of these 15 retailers.

The press conference was held at Mirogoj, in front of a flower kiosk, given that flower shops are among the most affected by the ban on Sunday work.

The new Trade Act, which came into force on July 1, is considered discriminatory by UGP, and in cooperation with Dorotea Jurčić's law firm, they organized and gathered their members whose businesses are affected by the amendments to the Trade Act. The new law, as pointed out, limits the work of retailers to only 16 Sundays a year, which particularly affects small businesses such as flower shops, souvenir shops, bakeries, tobacco shops, and small retail stores, which on average generate one-third of their annual income precisely during working Sundays.

Jurčić stated that today, on behalf of UGP and about 15 retailers, a motion will be filed with the Constitutional Court to assess the constitutionality of the Act in relation to the legal provisions of the amendments to the Trade Act concerning the ban on working on Sundays and holidays, and the determination of the maximum working hours for individual stores. The motion is being filed, as she stated, to protect entrepreneurial rights.

"The Constitution stipulates entrepreneurial freedoms as one of the foundations of Croatia's constitutional order, which are violated by the aforementioned provisions," she emphasized.

She recalled that similar provisions, which were annulled by the Constitutional Court, had been attempted to be imposed several times in the 2000s. Namely, the Constitutional Court twice overturned attempts to restrict Sunday trading – in 2004 and 2009.

The Trade Act, as Jurčić pointed out, prohibits work on Sundays and holidays and limits working hours to 90 hours per week, with the exception of 16 working Sundays.

"It is clear to everyone that large retailers with multiple stores will be able to organize their working hours to work every Sunday, while small retailers will not be able to, and that is the first place where the Act is discriminatory," said Jurčić, adding that the Act is also discriminatory in the part that prescribes exceptions allowing certain business entities to work on Sundays or holidays.

It is unclear, as she said, why the legislator is pushing only one group of entrepreneurs for the third time, namely retailers, while it has never occurred to them to impose such bans on other activities.

She believes that they will not be the only ones filing such a motion for an assessment of the constitutionality of the Act's provisions, but that more retailers will do so, and she believes that the disputed provisions of the Act will be repealed.

They also requested the Constitutional Court to suspend the application of the disputed legal provisions until a final decision is made, as they can lead to harmful consequences, given that in some cases entire families will not be able to generate income and their existence will be threatened.

Luka Petranović, an employee of a flower shop at Mirogoj in Zagreb, said that the new Trade Act affects not only entrepreneurs but also traditional customs, as people go to the cemetery on Sundays and have nowhere to buy flowers or candles. In addition to the ban on Sunday work, they are also affected by the ban on working on holidays, as these are days when sales were increased, and now this causes losses for entrepreneurs.

When asked if they could estimate the drop in revenue they expect, Jurčić said that studies show that entrepreneurs' income could be reduced by one-third due to the application of the new Act.

"It is still too early to comment, given that the Act is being applied from the middle of the year this year, while from next year the 16 non-working Sundays will be distributed throughout the year," she explained.