Tichy to Contest Prosecutor Service Changes at Constitutional Court
BRATISLAVA, August 12, (WEBNOVINY)- Acting Prosecutor General Ladislav Tichy will turn to the Constitutional Court over the new wording of the law on prosecutor service. “The proposal is being prepared, the question is only in what scope it will be. We definitely object to the participation of the justice minister in various commissions and of the executive power just in commissions, regardless to whether disciplinary commissions, selection commissions or commissions creating our internal rules are at stake,” the spokeswoman for the prosecutor general Jana Tokolyova cited Tichy as saying.
Parliament approved the amendment to the law on prosecutor’s service on June 28. During the preparation and approval process, the opposition and the Supreme Court led by Stefan Harabin slammed the new piece of legislation from the Justice Ministry’s workroom, along with the Prosecutor General’s Office. President Ivan Gasparovic did not sign it. Ex-Prosecutor General Dobroslav Trnka stated that the law negates independence of the prosecution service and functional autonomy of the prosecutor general. He underscored in a personal letter to Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska that the prosecution service is not an office of state attorney.
The amendment to the law on prosecutor service introduces contests for prosecutor posts, publishing decisions of the prosecution service and canceling the institute of prosecutor candidates. It stipulates that decisions of prosecutors will be published on the Internet the moment criminal prosecution closes. The new law also cancels so-called negative instructions. A superior prosecutor will no longer be able to order a subordinated prosecutor to not file or to cancel charges, to not propose taking into custody, stop criminal prosecution or not to file an appellate review to the detriment of a charged person. The superior prosecutor will have to reason in writing taking a prosecutor off the case and publish this decision.
SITA