BRATISLAVA, March 23, (WEBNOVINY) – If the opposition SMER-SD participates in the next government, it would shorten the term of the prosecutor general and abolish the legal provisions that the incumbent Cabinet adopted regarding managing the prosecutors. “Everyone who wants to be elected prosecutor general in a public vote has to be aware that their term will only have two and a half to three years,” said party leader Robert Fico at a news conference on Wednesday.
Fico does not think that renewing the current legislation regarding the prosecution in the future and shortening the prosecutor general’s term would collide with democratic principles. According to him, it’s rather current changes that are problematic. Fico considers the current system particularly well-functioning, one that fulfills all aims designed by the law. He thinks that the position of the prosecutor general will get significantly weaker after the coalition’s changes. “Why does [the coalition’s candidate] Doctor Centes want to be a third-class clerk at the prosecution general?” the former prime minister asked.
The SMER-SD chairman appealed to reporters to be as critical of the incumbent government as they were of his. “What would you have done if my Cabinet had changed the election of the prosecutor general to a public one? You would have jumped four meters, all of you, who sit here. Realize what beastliness is going on at the prosecution and in the courts,” said Fico to reporters.
SMER-SD shadow Justice Minister Robert Madej has criticized the fact that the minister will be allowed to instruct the prosecution on whom to prosecute. The prosecutors will be penalized for disobeying instructions. On the other hand, most members of disciplinary committees will be nominated by the justice minister and by parliament. “This is what political persecution looks like,” said Madej. He has also announced a plan to file a motion with the Constitutional Court regarding the amendment to the law on judges next week. If parliament adopts the amendment to the law on prosecution, its fate will be similar.
Parliament approved the Justice Ministry’s draft amendment to the law on prosecution this Wednesday, supporting tenders for prosecutors and making the decision-making process of the prosecution more transparent.
SITA