BRATISLAVA, May 10, (WEBNOVINY) — On Tuesday, Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska dismissed nine chairpersons of district courts and five heads of regional courts because their courts achieved the worst results, she told a news conference. „I did this after a thorough consideration, after evaluating all analyses that I have on the situation in the judiciary and which are, after all, published on the Justice Ministry’s website,” Zitnanska stated. She did not rule out potentially looking into other courts, too.
The justice minister decided based on three criteria. She evaluated the courts’ efficiency, whether they have protracted proceedings, as well as the criterion of random assignment of court cases, and the level of trust in the ability of court chairpersons to carry out services impartially, conscientiously and in line with ethical standards. Zitnanska rejected allegations that she sacked in particular heads of courts who are close to Supreme Court President and her opponent Stefan Harabin. She stressed that for her, proper work of a court and its results are the decisive factors
The justice minister received the power to dismiss heads of courts on May 1, when the draft amendment to the law on judges took effect. With this amendment, the affected heads of courts lost the right to appeal the decision in court. The recalled heads of court will, however, remain in their respective courts as regular judges.
SITA