One of the biggest embarrassments for the ruling coalition occurred almost unnoticed. It went virtually unnoticed. Most media limited themselves to a few sentences from the press dispatch. To elect a candidate for a judge of the Constitutional Court to replace Jan Baricova no one came forward. Apparently this happened for the first time in the history of the Slovak parliament.
Readers may think that the author of the comment is exaggerating. In the end, nothing terrible happened. Baricova's mandate expires only in July, and by then, parliament has enough time to elect two peoplefrom among whom President Peter Pellegrini will appoint a successor. And even if it fails, the constitution provides for such situations. The judge remains in office until the new one takes the oath.
Thanks to this, it will be possible to avoid the situation of February 2019, when the term of office of nine out of 13 judges in the Constitutional Court ended at the same time. there was only one operational squad leftand the plenum could not make decisions at all. Of course, this time there is no threat of disaster in Kosice. But what happened says a lot about the government's relationship with independent, democratic institutions and why this coalition is dangerous.
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When the coalition of Smer, SNS and Most was preparing to choose candidates in January 2019, as many as 40 candidates applied for nine vacant seats, which is more than twice the required 18 names.
Of course, there were controversial names, to put it mildly, such as Robert Fico, Monika Jankovska and Kajetan Kicura. The then deputy minister of justice Jankovska and the head of the State Material Reserves Kicura later They were arrested and an indictment was filed against both of them.
There were also judges Jan Drgonec and Peter Kresak. It turned out that the second of them probably cooperated with the Security Service. Drgonec, in turn, lost its authority during the pandemic. He began to appear in alternative media and say that “wearing masks” is a military operation intended to make it easier to control society, because masks limit the flow of oxygen to the brain.
Despite all this, the NGO Transparency International was able to identify six candidates whom it recommended without reservations and another 21 whom it found acceptable with reservations. Good candidates could certainly be found today. The Constitutional Court should be the biggest career advancement for most lawyers. Today, however, no one is willing to do so – and this is hardly surprising.
— I have no information that an agreement could be reached under the current circumstances I do not consider this a matter of vital importance for Slovakia Robert Fico said recently. In turn, Richard Rasi, the speaker of parliament, assured that a stable and efficient Constitutional Court was a priority for him, but he did not nominate anyone, although he could have done so.
Discrediting the Constitutional Court
Why would anyone even try in a situation like this? The Prime Minister makes it clear that the selection of judicial candidates is not important to him, and once the coalition gets down to it, and the selection will not be based on competences and skillsbut according to the political arrangement. In this setting, a degree from Yale or experience from Strasbourg or Luxembourg is irrelevant.
The seat of the Slovak Constitutional Court in Košice. Illustrative photoSova Olena / Shutterstock
The coalition is abusing the provision, which in exceptional cases is intended to prevent paralysis of the Constitutional Court, in order to avoid fulfilling its own obligations. The fact that a judge remains in office after the expiry of his term of office should be an emergency solution, not an excuse for inaction. Parliament sheds the responsibility it has as a constitutional body and shifts it to judges. And fulfilling its obligations is simply not in the vital interest of Fico's coalition.
This is a model example of the arrogance of power. However, defenders of the constitution are not slaves, so Jana Baricova can simply resign from her position. Just as Jana Lassakova resigned prematurely in October 2023, a her place remains vacant to this day. Richard Rasi doesn't even announce elections for this position anymore. In his opinion, repeating elections that were doomed to failure would be discrediting the court.
However, it is difficult to imagine a greater disgrace to the Constitutional Court than the fact that no one wants to work there. Because what lawyer who has retained even a modicum of professional integrity and self-esteem, Would you like to be dependent on such a coalition? No one who cares about themselves or Slovakia would want to have anything to do with it.
After all, everyone can see what kind of people end up in institutions controlled by the coalition. You don't choose quality. Even the minimum competence to perform the proposed functions is not selected. This is not necessary at all.
The term “elected by the votes of the ruling coalition” has become the biggest stigma for every expert today. Smer, Hlas and SNS destroy and take over institutions and the entire country not only by brutal force. They also devastate and decompose them through mediocrity, lack of quality and incompetence. In fact, it is positive that those who should protect the law do not want to be involved.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
