BRATISLAVA, April 28, (WEBNOVINY) — Based on a appellate verdict of the Supreme Court, the Finance Ministry is not authorized to carry out an audit at the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic. The Supreme Court has thus confirmed the first-instance verdict of the Bratislava Regional Court from January 18, which the Finance Ministry contested.
The dispute between the Supreme Court and the Finance Ministry related to an over 30,000-euro fine imposed by Finance Minister Ivan Miklos on the Supreme Court in August 2010 because the authority obstructed a governmental audit. The fact that the Supreme Court handles public funds does not mean that it is a public administration authority as the Finance Ministry had assumed erroneously, the appellate senate of the Supreme Court justified the decision. “The Supreme Court is not and cannot be a public administration body because it is the highest judiciary authority,” the ruling highlights. Only a public administration body can be audited by the Finance Ministry. The appellate senate went on to say that spending of public finance at the Supreme Court can be audited but the check should be carried out by the Supreme Audit Office.
SITA