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Meciar: State Budget Can't Bear Compensation for Judges
Thursday 11 February 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, February 11 (TASR) - Paying compensation to the judges that have filed lawsuits over alleged discrimination in salaries compared to those of Special Court judges will be a problem for Slovakia's state budget, said LS-HZDS chairman Vladimir Meciar at a press conference in Bratislava on Thursday.
"In the first phase alone it would cost the state Sk4 billion (€13.28 million). The judges aren't asking for anything that they don't have a right to," said Meciar, who claimed that this case must involve the whole Government, as the current state of affairs has been caused neither by his party nor by Justice Minister Viera Petrikova (a HZDS nominee).
"Is she supposed to say why (former justice minister 2002-06) Daniel Lipsic proposed stupid laws that were at odds with the Constitution and why this has continued under the current Government," he said in reaction to the parliamentary constitutional committee's call on Petrikova to report on what her ministry is doing in the case of the mass lawsuits.
Meciar claims that the current situation was caused by Parliament thanks to the support of most parties. "I ask the governing partners as well as the Opposition to correct their mistakes by passing a new law. The ones who have caused this state of affairs have to improve it," he said.
Meciar stated that HZDS was the only party not to support the creation of the Special Court or the Specialised Criminal Court, claiming that these two institutions are unconstitutional. "Neither the current nor the former government have supported the ruling of the Constitutional Court. Under the current Government, the difference in salaries was lowered, but it persists. Under the former government it was significant," he said, adding that despite HZDS's negative stance, the Smer-SD party passed the law on the Specialised Criminal Court.
Meciar stated that the judges' claims for salary compensation are justified and have been acknowledged by the Constitutional Court. He called on his coalition partner Smer to apologise to the public, and noted that his party is willing to pass laws that would eliminate discrimination against ordinary judges. "This situation isn't the responsibility of the judges, but of politicians, MPs and parties that deliberately breached the Constitution and constitutional law," he added.
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