The Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic adopted an official opinion on the European Commission's Rule of Law Report
The Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic, after discussing the European Commission's Rule of Law Report in Slovakia dated July 24, 2024, adopted at its meeting on September 19, 2024, the resolution stating that the report is biased and does not reflect the real state of the rule of law in Slovakia.
The members of the Judicial Council agreed that the Report ignores their opinion from February 9, 2024, provided as part of the consultation with the European Commission, regarding the need to change the criminal policy of the state, the abolition of the Special Prosecutor's Office of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Slovak Republic, the provisions of §363 and following of the Criminal Code, the independence of members of the Judicial Council and problems related to the new judicial map. The report does not consider the decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic regarding the topics that were the subject of the consultation. The European Commission in the Report incorrectly interprets the new legal regulation of the provisions relating to the criminal offense of bending the law and, contrary to the legal order of the Slovak Republic, ties the fight against corruption to the existence of the Special Prosecutor's Office of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Slovak Republic and the limitation of the authority of the General Prosecutor to annul lawful decisions in preliminary proceedings. The Report does not further reflect on the alarming state of judicial performance after the change of the court map. Another shortcoming of the Report is that it does not contain the reasons for the dismissal of the former President of the Judicial Council from his position and it also does not contain true reasons for the resignation of the Chief Justice of the Specialized Criminal Court.
The members of the Judicial Council agreed that the Report ignores their opinion from February 9, 2024, provided as part of the consultation with the European Commission, regarding the need to change the criminal policy of the state, the abolition of the Special Prosecutor's Office of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Slovak Republic, the provisions of §363 and following of the Criminal Code, the independence of members of the Judicial Council and problems related to the new judicial map. The report does not consider the decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic regarding the topics that were the subject of the consultation. The European Commission in the Report incorrectly interprets the new legal regulation of the provisions relating to the criminal offense of bending the law and, contrary to the legal order of the Slovak Republic, ties the fight against corruption to the existence of the Special Prosecutor's Office of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Slovak Republic and the limitation of the authority of the General Prosecutor to annul lawful decisions in preliminary proceedings. The Report does not further reflect on the alarming state of judicial performance after the change of the court map. Another shortcoming of the Report is that it does not contain the reasons for the dismissal of the former President of the Judicial Council from his position and it also does not contain true reasons for the resignation of the Chief Justice of the Specialized Criminal Court.
