Declaration of the President of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic on leaked information published in media
The President of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic, Marcela Kosová, notes with great concern that on 29th May 2024 some media published false information about the decision of the Judicial Council to oppose the prosecution of judges Jarmila Urbancová and Otília Doláková for the crime of bending the law. It is regrettable that this information was leaked to the media before the decision was delivered to the judges concerned, their defence lawyers and the prosecutor, for which the President of the Judicial Council apologises to the two judges in particular.
The Judicial Council acted in accordance with the law in a closed session on 28th May 2024, at which, by a vote of the fourteen members present (seven representatives of the judges, three representatives of the Government, one representative of the Parliament and three representatives of the President), the Judicial Council opposed the prosecution of the above named judges for the offence of bending the law under section 326a of the Criminal Code.
The President of the Judicial Council assures that all the members of the Judicial Council have discussed in great detail, with professional care, all the legal conditions and parameters necessary for the decision.
It is necessary to deny the false and manipulative information given by some media without knowing the circumstances of the whole case and the details of the arguments. It is also unacceptable for a particular media to state that "the Judicial Council unanimously committed an anomaly and stopped the prosecution of two women judges". Such media outlets falsely label all members of the Judicial Council as obstructing justice.
In addition to disrespecting the members of the Judicial Council, the media, which feeds such abbreviations to the public at a time when the whole of society is crying out for polite communication after the attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister of Slovakia, must be aware that they will provoke a hateful reaction in the readers against the members of the Judicial Council, which is what has finally happened.
It is necessary to recall that according to Section 9(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the prosecution of a judge for the offence of bending the law under Section 326a of the Criminal Code cannot be continued if the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic disapproves the prosecution of the judge for this offence. The prosecution of a judge must be discontinued or the case referred for a disciplinary offence only if the act of which the judge is accused cannot be legally assessed as a different offence.
The fact that the Judicial Council has opposed the prosecution of a judge for the offence of perverting the law does not therefore mean that the prosecution of such a judge cannot continue for another offence, as is also apparent from the second sentence of the quoted provision, since that decision of the Judicial Council is without prejudice to other offences which might arise from the facts.
The President of the Judicial Council believes that this is merely the unprofessionalism of the authors of these articles and not deliberate untruths intended to defame the members of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic, although both do not reflect well on the media concerned.
The Judicial Council acted in accordance with the law in a closed session on 28th May 2024, at which, by a vote of the fourteen members present (seven representatives of the judges, three representatives of the Government, one representative of the Parliament and three representatives of the President), the Judicial Council opposed the prosecution of the above named judges for the offence of bending the law under section 326a of the Criminal Code.
The President of the Judicial Council assures that all the members of the Judicial Council have discussed in great detail, with professional care, all the legal conditions and parameters necessary for the decision.
It is necessary to deny the false and manipulative information given by some media without knowing the circumstances of the whole case and the details of the arguments. It is also unacceptable for a particular media to state that "the Judicial Council unanimously committed an anomaly and stopped the prosecution of two women judges". Such media outlets falsely label all members of the Judicial Council as obstructing justice.
In addition to disrespecting the members of the Judicial Council, the media, which feeds such abbreviations to the public at a time when the whole of society is crying out for polite communication after the attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister of Slovakia, must be aware that they will provoke a hateful reaction in the readers against the members of the Judicial Council, which is what has finally happened.
It is necessary to recall that according to Section 9(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the prosecution of a judge for the offence of bending the law under Section 326a of the Criminal Code cannot be continued if the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic disapproves the prosecution of the judge for this offence. The prosecution of a judge must be discontinued or the case referred for a disciplinary offence only if the act of which the judge is accused cannot be legally assessed as a different offence.
The fact that the Judicial Council has opposed the prosecution of a judge for the offence of perverting the law does not therefore mean that the prosecution of such a judge cannot continue for another offence, as is also apparent from the second sentence of the quoted provision, since that decision of the Judicial Council is without prejudice to other offences which might arise from the facts.
The President of the Judicial Council believes that this is merely the unprofessionalism of the authors of these articles and not deliberate untruths intended to defame the members of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic, although both do not reflect well on the media concerned.
