Court penalizes judge who refused face masks during pandemic

The Supreme Administrative Court found Zvolen District Judge Dalibor Milan guilty of disciplinary transgression over his repeated refusal to use face masks in his courtroom during the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to cut his salary by 60% for the next year, TASR learnt from court spokesperson Michal Hajtol on Tuesday. The decision is not yet final. "The judge facing the disciplinary proceedings repeatedly and willfully violated his duty to refrain from anything that might erode the dignity and gravitas of the position of a judge and jeopardise trust in the independent, unbiased and fair decision-making of courts," stated the spokesperson. According to Hajtol, Milan also failed to observe the tenets of judicial ethics.
The Dennik N daily reported that the session of the Disciplinary Senate was attended by former Supreme Court chair and unsuccessful 2019 presidential candidate Stefan Harabin, who threatened three senate members with jail. (TASR)