Specialised Criminal Court (STS) judge Michal Truban gave testimony before a special committee of the Judicial Council on Monday over suspicions that his decision not to take Nitra-based entrepreneur Norbert B. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons] into custody was informed by Truban's conflict of interest, TASR learnt on the same day. Truban declined comment to media after the hearing. The committee hasn't yet arrived at a conclusion, and its investigation will continue throughout August.
Judicial Council chair Jan Mazak pointed out that when it comes to the issue of impartiality, perceptions matter in the judiciary. "When he [Truban] saw that the matter revolved around testimony from one of the defendants cooperating with police (in which his own name popped up), his ties to other individuals (where there was a contribution made into his family assets), then no matter how unbiased he might feel to be from the external point of view, he should have reconsidered whether it was wise to take on such a case," stated Mazak.
According to reports by Dennik N, one of the defendants in the Agricultural Payment Agency (PPA) corruption case, Marek K., who is cooperating with police, testified that he met with ex-PPA head and co-defendant Juraj K. and asked him to grant Judge Truban's family a state contribution for Truban's lodging house in Banska Stiavnica. Truban served as a pre-trial judge in the case and made the decision not to take defendant and suspected mastermind Norbert B. into custody. The decision was later reversed by Supreme Court.
