BRATISLAVA, September 30, (WEBNOVINY)- Bratislava I District Court dismissed on Friday the first discrimination lawsuit of a judge. The decision is not final and the plaintiff can appeal it. The judge of the District Court in Nove Mesto nad Vahom Lenka Pavlovicova who did not take part in today’s hearing demanded non-pecuniary damage of EUR 199,163 because her salary is lower than what judges at the Special Criminal Court earn. In the reasoning of the verdict the judge of the Bratislava District Court said that several conditions have to be met for acknowledgment of non-pecuniary damage while the plaintiff did not specify in her lawsuit who discriminated against her naming first parliament then the Parliament Office and also the Justice Ministry. The Bratislava District Court judge argued that it is not enough to cite he decision of the Constitutional Court that found some clauses of the law on the establishment of the Special Court at odds with the Constitution. According to the Bratislava court’s opinion nobody could act unlawfully by adopting the law on the establishment of the Special Court, The judge also questioned the sum of the demanded non-pecuniary damage that does not exist according to the court. Pavlovicova defined it as a difference between the pay of a judge and the salary of a judge of the Special Court. However such calculation implies pecuniary damage.
Lenka Pavlovicova is one of about 700 judges who have filed discrimination lawsuits in which they claim around EUR 70 million from the state in compensation, as their salaries are lower than those paid to judges serving at the Special Criminal Court. Judges are suing Slovakia for alleged discrimination claiming that they receive lower salaries than their colleagues at the Special Court established to deal with cases of high profile corruption and organized crime. Eleven judges of the Supreme Court have already won their discrimination lawsuits at the Bratislava I District Court. They should get non-pecuniary compensation of million euros and compensation of court fees of EUR 45,726.
Current leadership at the Ministry of Justice, which represents the Slovak Republic in legal disputes, has adopted a clear position in this matter – it considers the lawsuits ungrounded and calls on courts to dismiss them. The ministry has also pointed out that judges that filed these lawsuits and decide on the same kind of disputes are biased and should be excluded from deciding on these cases. “The Ministry of Justice under my leadership is behaving like a responsible attorney of a client, which is the Slovak Republic and its citizens. I am sending a word to all Slovak citizens that we are determined to defend their interests by all available means and instruments,” says Minister of Justice Lucia Zitnanska.
SITA