Zagreb - The Croatian Constitution Court Friday abolished the act that forbids stores to work on Sundays - a move which delighted retailers who say they have lost thousands of dollars since the beginning of the tourist season.

The ban on Sunday work was implemented in January at the request of influential Catholic Church - country's leading confession.

The court abolished the act, saying that there were too many exceptions to the rule, and that workers' rights were not respected as their bosses did not pay them extra.

Another consequence of the move to ban work on Sunday had been that almost 3,000 jobs were lost in the first four months of implementation.

Croatia's main business - tourism - suffered also from the ban as 100,000 visitors who came to Croatia this year were unable to shop on Sundays. (dpa)