BRATISLAVA, August 4, (WEBNOVINY) – The Supreme Court insists on independent control of its economy. The court has sent a letter about a planned ministerial audit to Finance Minister Ivan Miklos. „We have nothing to hide. The first contract, from the period since I am the president, is already on the Internet,“ the Supreme Court President Stefan Harabin stated. We were first to publish concluded economic contracts online, the Supreme Court claims. Harabin added that he “has information that after the politicized audit, finances for judges´ assistants will be taken away from the Supreme Court,” and other obstacles would be set in place to cause a withdrawal of judges from the Supreme Court Registry.
Earlier on Wednesday, Minister of Finance Miklos failed again when trying to make the audit of the Supreme Court. Illegal obstructions of the Supreme Court President Stefan Harabin have continued, according to Miklos. „We will continue and use the possibilities the law gives us,“ Miklos reacted to the situation. He reminded that he already fined the court and now a three-day period, during which the Supreme Court can remove the reasons of the fine, runs in an administrative procedure. „If the court does not remove them, the fine will take effect and we will continue next week. So the audit will happen again, and if the Supreme Court does not make a correction, does not allow the control, and President Harabin continues with the illegal obstructions, another fine will be imposed,“ Miklos said. He added that it was possible to re-award the penalty in the administrative procedure, and he would grant it again. This case illustrates how Harabin governs the Supreme Court, according to Miklos.
In addition to ongoing attempts to audit the Supreme Court, he will look also for other solutions, because the situation is absurd, Miklos stated. He mentioned that the Ministry also has legislative initiative but did not specify further possible action.
Today, a group of inspectors of the Ministry of Finance failed again to do the audit of the Supreme Court. After a phone call with the Supreme Court representatives, made from the gatehouse of the Supreme Court, the inspectors left the building. This was a repeated attempt to audit the economy of the Supreme Court, which the Finance Ministry has tried to do since Thursday. The first attempt was prevented by Supreme Court President Stefan Harabin, according to Finance Minister Ivan Miklos. People from the Ministry of Finance were not allowed to carry out the control. Harabin argued that the mandate was assigned to an earlier date. The audit, however, was postponed by two days precisely at the request of the Supreme Court. Back then Harabin claimed that if Miklos´s inspectors came with the right mandate, they could carry out the audit. However, on Monday, Harabin started to argue with the resolution of the Constitutional Court; according to Harabin, the Constitutional Court does not have control over such an allowance. The Ministry of Finance has fined the Supreme Court EUR 33 000 and EUR 1000 to Stefan Harabin. The audit was not carried out on Tuesday, because Harabin, as the Chairman of the Judicial Council, was at the meeting of the council in Omsenie and thus was not at office.
SITA