Members of the Judicial Council ousted Jan Mazak from the post of chairman on Tuesday, although he will remain a member.
Ten members of the Judicial Council voted for Mazak's dismissal, two abstained and four didn't vote, with no one against. At least ten votes were needed to oust him from the post.
In their view, Mazak flagrantly misused his post to collect unlawful information on judges. Mazak originally wanted to include the proposal in the agenda of the council's May session, arguing that he has the right to defend himself within a reasonable period of time. Because of this, he didn't participate in the debate and the vote of no-confidence. Mazak claims that he is being blamed for something that is actually fully within his powers and signaled that he will turn to the Constitutional Court.
According to lawmaker Lucia Plavakova (PS), the coalition intends to assume complete control over the judiciary. "We've been warning about this for a longer time, but today they've come closer to that aim with two steps at once - the dismissal of Judicial Council chair Jan Mazak and the election of its new member. The new member, however, lacks any qualification for such an important position in our view," warned Plavakova. After this, she believes that the Judicial Council will no longer be able to play its crucial role in ensuring the independence of the judiciary.
Lawmaker Maria Kolikova (SaS) warned that the Judicial Council as a body of judicial legitimacy will lose its capability to stand on the side of honest judges for an extended period and claimed that close attention must be paid to future activities of the Council, as it can interfere in the workings of the judiciary.
Mazak's dismissal was also criticised by KDH caucus chair Martina Holeckova. "The governing coalition continues to bulldoze its way through Slovakia. After the scrapping of the Special Prosecutor's Office, suspension of inconvenient investigators and other innumerable personnel changes in state institutions, they have also ousted Judicial Council chair Jan Mazak," said Holeckova. She pointed to Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) statement from last week, when Fico had said that Mazak's fate would be decided soon.
Mazak also faced a motion to dismiss him from the helm of the Judicial Council in late 2023. Nine council members at that time voted for the proposal, which was not enough to dismiss him. Three council members refrained from voting and three were against.
(TASR)
