BRATISLAVA, October 9, (WEBNOVINY) — Prime Minister Robert Fico has praised Justice Minister Tomas Borec for calming down the situation in the judiciary during his first six months in office. “Today we see no signs of political polarization in the judiciary,“ Fico said after his visit at the Justice Ministry on Tuesday. He pointed out that before Borec came into office, there were various political scuffles in the judiciary, whereby politics should have no place in there. The prime minister on this occasion refuted backstage rumors that the position of Borec in the Cabinet is somewhat shaky. On the contrary, he has full confidence in the prime minister. „How would life be like if there was no gossip and chatter,“ he said.
Opposition MP and former deputy Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska says that the judiciary needs to continue with the changes already started, its opening to public scrutiny, pressure for greater quality, performance, but also integrity. „That cannot be done quietly and calmly. So I think, calm in the judiciary is not what Slovak citizens need,” said Zitnanska.
In legislation, Justice Minister Borec received a task from the prime minister watch how his colleagues submit legislative proposals. Prime Minister Fico supports the rule that only such bills should be discussed the need for which arises either from the government program statement or an urgent situation in society. With everything else, they do not want to annoy parliament and society. „I understand that this topic (legislation – SITA note) is not sexy enough for you,“ said Fico, who considers important the development of civil law. He asked Borec not to allow officials from the ministry to come up with partial amendments just because someone likes it or comes up with an idea. A comprehensive recodification of the Civil Code is now being prepared. „Recodification makes sense only if it leads to shorter court procedures and better enforcement of court decisions. Anything else is useless,“ said Prime Minister Fico.
The prime minister acknowledged that although statistically court proceedings are becoming less time consuming, but there are still cases where parties are waiting for years for a court ruling. The Justice Ministry will actively seek out such cases, and not only deal with those where one of the parties is complaining. Commenting on corruption in the judiciary, Prime Minister Fico said that in his opinion „a few people are spoiling the work and reputation of the entire judiciary.“ He said there certainly are cases of corruption, but an absolute majority of judges carry out their work normally.
Prime Minister Fico expects from the Justice Ministry to be very active in particular in the fight against tax evasion. This could be achieved by gradual specialization of judges for cases of tax evasion. An ex officio deletion of companies should be enacted that no longer qualify for registration, and a register created of disqualified persons, along with new legal definitions of economic offenses. According Zitnanska, specializing in general is good. However, she regrets that at a time when Prime Minister Fico speaks about it, the justice department is canceling the specialization of so-called family judges, who in courts deal with family-related legal disputes. „I support specialization, but on all fronts,“ said Zitnanska.
SITA