President Andrej Kiska will appoint Mojmír Mamojka, Jana Laššáková and Miroslav Ďuriš as Constitutional Court judges on Thursday. Speaking at the Presidential Palace in reaction to a recent verdict by the Constitutional Court, Kiska thus chose to end his longstanding dispute with Parliament, which nominated the candidates three years ago.
The latest Constitutional Court verdict, dated from December 6, obliges him to appoint three of the seven candidates to the bench. Although Kiska disagrees with the verdict, he has chosen to comply with it regardless. The President has chosen to take this step, since continuing the legal dispute would "lead to nothing good".
"The ruling declaring that the rights of the judge candidates were violated is wanton and full of formal as well as factual mistakes. It represents a flagrant contempt for the Slovak Constitution, an ignorance of previous Constitutional Court verdicts by its own judges and an example of disrespect for the fundamental separation of powers under the rule of law," said Kiska.
He also urged the Government to meet its Manifesto promise and introduce more stringent requirements on judge candidates, pointing out that Parliament does not have much time left, as an almost complete replacement of the Constitutional Court's personnel is around the corner.
Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska said on Tuesday that she respected the decision of President Andrej Kiska. The minister is announcing changes at the same time. "The stalemate surrounding the Constitutional Court is thus definitely concluded, and I'm ready to do everything I can to make sure that the upcoming election of constitutional judges in 2018 is conducted under new rules for creating the Constitutional Court," she wrote on a social network.
MP for the governing coalition Smer-SD party Jana Laššáková perceives very humbly the step made by President Andrej Kiska, who has decided to appoint her as a Constitutional Court judge on Thursday. She will give up her seat by this date. "In the parliamentary constitutional committee I've cooperated in creating laws, so I think I'm ready to hold the post," she added.
"I view my planned appointment as a Constitutional Court judge as the height of my law career," said former MP and academic Mojmir Mamojka. He does not view as an obstacle the fact that he used to be an MP for Smer-SD. "I wasn't a member of Smer-SD, I was on their slate as an expert. … my boss has always been the law. I've never had anyone behind me," added Mamojka.
