Fico: President Kiska didn't act in line with constitution

President Andrej Kiska didn't act in line with the Constitution when he refused to appoint constitutional judges selected by Parliament, Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a prepared statement read out during Thursday's Question Time in Parliament by Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák. "It's evident from the Constitutional Court's verdict that the president didn't act in line with the Constitution by rejecting the candidates. He didn't state any serious reasons preventing him from appointing two further constitutional judges," claims Fico, who was at the prime ministerial summit Brussels. At the same time, Parliament did well in not succumbing to the president's and Opposition's pressure by not electing replacements for the rejected judges. According to Fico, the six candidates selected by Parliament are some of the best legal experts in Slovakia. "They didn't take part in political life, so any consideration that they'd be candidates of Smer-SD or other parties are mere fantasy," said Fico, adding that the president shouldn't act as competition for individual parts of state power, but as a guarantor of their proper functioning. Back in July 2014, Kiska rejected five out of six candidates for three vacant posts of judges at the Constitutional Court that were elected by the Smer-dominated Parliament. Following personal interviews with bidders, Kiska decided to appoint only one judge - Jana Baricová. At the time Kiska said the others "lacked a long-term interest in constitutional law and the judiciary".