Association of Judges calls on President to speed choosing judges procedure

The Slovak Association of Judges (ZSS) has urged President Andrej Kiska to ensure that there are enough judges in the country, according to its president Juraj Sopoliga quoted by the press agency TASR. Slovak courts allegedly lack at least 100 judges at the moment. In a letter sent last week the association pointed out that the Judicial Council between December 2016 and March 2017 presented 40 candidates for judges of district courts for appointment by the President, but he still hasn't installed any of them. It has also expressed concerns that if the president doesn't speed up the appointment of judges, real obstacles in fulfilling the Government Manifesto could emerge. The last time that Kiska appointed judges was on December 19, when he swore in 22 of them. The group had to comply with tougher criteria related to newly introduced examinations of judges' level of competence.