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For Open Justice Initiative Calls on Harabin To Resign
Sunday 25 July 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, July 25 (TASR) - An initiative called 'For Open Justice' is publicly calling on head of the Judicial Council and the Supreme Court Stefan Harabin, along with members of the Council and some of the chairs of regional and district courts to resign their posts because they are "responsible for the lowest-ever level of trust shown by the public in justice", stated Katarina Javorcikova and Miroslav Gavalec in the initiative's press declaration issued on Sunday.
According to the initiative, Harabin "is contributing significantly to lowering the moral credit of the judiciary, because he failed to refute his contacts and links with a person suspected of organised crime and he repeatedly lied and uttered unacceptable racist remarks in Parliament". The initiative also claims that Harabin bullies "inconvenient" judges by launching disciplinary procedures and unjustified transfers, by ruining long-planned holidays or by cutting bonuses. This bullying has also been conducted by several regional and district court heads, claims the initiative. They are responsible for "the thriving nepotism as far as the allocation of judicial posts is concerned".
The Judicial Council is accused of deciding on judges' private matters in a non-transparent and unjustified way and is responsible for passing a proposal submitted by Harabin to assign then-justice minister Viera Petrikova and then-justice ministry state secretary Daniel Hudak to the Supreme Court on a temporary basis.
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