President Will not Sack Constitutional Court Judge Horvath For Now

For now, Slovakia's President Ivan Gasparovic is not recalling Mr. Horvath from his post, stated the president's spokesperson Marek Turbac for the media with regard to the case of the Constitutional Court judge Juraj Horvath. According to the Constitutional Court President Ivetta Macejkova, Slovak President has the competency to sack Mr. Horvath, as he had been lawfully sentenced for an intentional criminal offense. "The president can dismiss a judge based on a motion by the Constitutional Court President in case of a disciplinary action, or if the criterion for a dismissal set by the constitution is fulfilled. This criterion has not been fulfilled as of now," Mr. Trubac pointed out.
On Thursday, President Gasparovic read the original court verdict from 1996 sent to him by Ms. Macejkova, stated Mr. Trubac and added that the Constitutional Court president did not attach any accompanying letter to the verdict. According to Mr. Trubac, President Gasparovic will comment on the case only when he finds it appropriate. "At this time, the president is convinced that the constitution clearly defines criteria for appointing and dismissing of a Constitutional Court judge and that concerns everyone, including Mr. Horvath," added Mr. Trubac.
According to the Slovak Constitution, the president shall dismiss a judge of the Constitutional Court based on a valid and effective sentencing verdict for an intentional criminal offense or if a person had been lawfully convicted of a criminal offence and the court had not decided to suspend the sentence for the criminal offence.
Head of the Constitutional Court's office Luba Mackovicova told SITA that the Constitutional Court president does not dispose of competencies to propose to the president to dismiss a Constitutional Court judge. Ms. Macejkova herself stated that she has no competencies to dismiss Constitutional Court Judge Juraj Horvath, convicted for tax evasion in 1996. Prior to his nomination for the Constitutional Court, the sentence was deleted from his criminal record according to valid legal rules.