EU accession:
the Copenhagen political criteria in ten Central and East European countries
Independence of the Judiciary
in Slovakia
Legislation
Organisations
EU - from
the European Commission's Opinion, 1997
The Judiciary: Structure
The independence of the judicial
system in Slovakia is impeded in a number of respects. Judges are appointed
by Parliament acting on a proposal from the government, initially for a
four-year term and then for an unlimited period. This "probationary period"
provided for in Article 145 of the Constitution may restrict the independence
of judges, particularly during their early years in office. The Minister
for Justice also has the power, which he has already used, to transfer
the presidents and vice-presidents of judicial districts at his discretion.
On the other hand, judges can be dismissed only by Parliament after it
has received the opinion of a disciplinary board and only for serious reasons.
They enjoy the same immunities as Members of Parliament, which can be removed
only by the Constitutional Court. Judges, like prosecutors, may not be
members of political parties.
The prosecutor’s office,
under the authority of a prosecutor-general appointed and removed by the
President acting on a proposal from Parliament, is independent of the executive.
However, the bill establishing the organisation of the Prosecutor’s office
and the status of its members provided for in Article 151 of the Constitution
has not yet been passed into law.
The civil courts are responsible
for the control of administrative acts.
Slovakia has no ombudsman.
The Constitutional Court,
established in 1993, comprises ten members appointed for a seven-year term
by the President of the Republic from a list of twenty names put forward
by Parliament. It monitors the conformity of laws and regulations with
the Constitution and international treaties. It settles conflicts which
may arise between the various constitutional powers, judges parliamentary
elections and referendums and may rule on appeals against the dissolution
of a political party or the removal from office of a Member of Parliament.
Under Article 130 of the
Constitution, a decision by the government or the administration may be
referred to the Constitutional Court by one-fifth of the Members of Parliament,
the President of the Republic, the government, the Prosecutor-General,
the courts or any person who considers that his basic rights or liberty
has been infringed and who has been unable to secure redress from other
courts.
Functioning of the Judiciary
The judicial process in Slovakia
is marked by excessive delays, and judges would benefit from stronger guarantees
of their independence.
The Constitutional Court
has played a very active role in endeavouring to keep a balance between
the various powers and preserving their respective responsibilities as
defined by the Constitution. Since 1994 the Court has ruled 12 bills to
be unconstitutional.
from the European Commission's
Regular Report 1999
The Judiciary
In the Opinion on Slovakia
the Commission expressed major concern about the independence of the judiciary
due to the procedures for nomination and removal of judges, the initial
four-year probation period and excessive powers of the Ministry of Justice.
The Regular Report observed that there had been no major changes
since the Opinion and the 1998 Composite Paper confirmed that one of the
main challenges in the field of democracy and the rule of law in Slovakia
remained the independence of its judges.
The Slovak Government has
taken steps to strengthen the independence of the judiciary. The Ministry
of Justice has generally respected the recommendations of the judicial
councils and the association of judges concerning the nomination of presidents
and vice-presidents of courts. A new law on judges, assessors and judicial
candidates will safeguard the independence of judges by laying down their
rights, obligations and legal responsibilities. In addition, an act on
courts, their organisation and administration will strengthen the powers
of the judiciary committees, while reducing those of the Ministry of Justice.
The Government has submitted to Parliament a constitutional amendment that
will modify the nomination and removal procedure for judges (to be done
by the President of the Republic on a proposal by the Council of Judges)
and remove their probation period.
From the general Evaluation:
The independence of the judiciary has improved de facto but needs to be
consolidated de jure, notably through an amendment to the constitution
eliminating the probation period for judges and modifying the nomination
and removal procedures.
Phare
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