SVIDNIK, November 5, (WEBNOVINY) — Supreme Court President Stefan Harabin who is also the head of the Judicial Council in line with the law believes that Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska (SDKU-DS) has seriously violated the law when she failed to appoint several judges who passed selection procedures for senior court positions. Harabin suspects that she has committed a crime of abusing powers of a public official and believes that law-enforcement bodies should deal with the matter. Harabin stated after the meeting of the Judicial Council in Svidnik on Friday that today fewer members attended and thus they will return to the issue at the next meeting and will consider a criminal complaint against the minister suggested by judge Juraj Sopoliga.
The Judicial Council also dealt with „demarches” that the Slovak government received from the European Association of Judges and the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary. Harabin said that also these bodies and institutions criticize steps of Minister Zitnanska. All council’s members but judge Ludmila Babjakova voted to pass a text to welcome the reports by these international institutions criticizing that the Slovak government’s legislative steps that are supposed to gradually dismantle independence of judges. Harabin said that independence of the judiciary and courts had been restricted only under Hitler and Stalin, but also now when the Slovak government is gradually curbing their independence. Harabin accused Zitnanska of having introduced politicking and chaos in the Slovak judiciary.
Harabin blames the situation at the Trencin Regional Court that he considers critical on minister Zitnanska who has recalled the court’s chairman. “The court has been without a leadership as both chairman and deputy chairman posts have been vacant. So far, two contests have been held to fill the vacancies, but both have failed. Some members of the Judicial Council allege that judge Ludmila Babjakova has breached the ethical code when she wrote in an e-mail to her colleagues that two candidates for the posts at the Trencin court failed as they did not meet requirements for the positions they ran for. Babjakova argued that she did not breach the code as the assessments of the candidates were published on the web site of the Justice Ministry and she only attached her own opinion.
Harabin also accused Babjakova of founding a political party. Babjakova however opposed that it is an association and its members are critical also of some steps of minister Zitnanska they find unfortunate. Harabin urged her to say publicly with which steps they disagree but Babjakova said they will not give statements when it suits Harabin. She however turned down any allegations that the association has a political undertone. She underscored they would support all measures that are positive and beneficial not only to judges but also to the citizens.
Harabin and Zitnanska have been in war since she took up the ministerial post sixteen months ago. The minister recently prepared an amendment to the constitution that was aimed to decouple the post of Supreme Court president from the post of the Judicial Council chairman and was aimed at stripping Harabin of the top job in the Judicial Council. However after the Cabinet’s collapse she has withdrawn it from parliament. Zitnanska pledged that this topic will be included in her party’s election program in the next election term.
SITA