The 'For Open Justice' judicial initiative supports Justice Minister Viliam Karas in his decision to propose a postponement of the judicial map reform. It considers the entry into force of the new courtmap reform as of June 1, 2023 as a reasonable solution. According to the association, in the case of entry into force on January 1, 2023, there is a risk that some courts will not be sufficiently prepared. The initiative also recommends respecting the statement of the European Association of Judges, in which it called for the adoption of regulatory measures preventing the possibility of the arbitrary transfer of judges and violation of the principle of their independence.
The judicial map reform was introduced by the former Justice Minister Maria Koliková. Its main idea was to reorganise courts in Slovakia in order to improve the justice system so that judges could specialise in individual agendas, such as family or criminal law. The original extent of the reform was trimmed down due to objections from judges and the coalition We are family party.
Source: TASR
