The Judicial Council - the body dealing with ethical issues concerning judges - doesn't know the names of the judges whose mobile phones were seized by the National Crime Agency (NAKA) in August, according to statements issued on Monday after the Council's meeting. Police have seized the mobile phones of several public officials and judges of district and regional courts in connection with a criminal case concerning bribery and the abuse of a public official's powers. The police took action after discovering certain text messages, although they haven't specified what the messages contain. Former Deputy Justice Minister Monika Jankovská was among the public officials whose phones were seized. She has returned to her work as a judge after resigning from the ministry.
The Head of the Judicial Council, Lenka Praženková, has requested more information from the General Prosecutor's Office after reading media reports on the police's seizing of the judges' phones. According to her, the prosecutor's office replied last week that the ongoing investigation focuses on concrete cases, not on particular judges, so it is not possible to provide more information at the moment. The cases involve abuse of the powers of public officials, and accepting bribes. The Judicial Council members seem divided on what to do next. According to some of them, there's no legal way for the council to summon the judges in question. If they were questioned publicly, the hearing could violate the legal principle which states that no one is obliged to testify against themselves. On the other hand, some council members argue that these judges could be invited to the Judicial Council to clear their names voluntarily. The council has decided to set up a special commission made of five members to look into the matter.
Slovaks show the lowest amount of trust in the independence of their courts as compared to the rest of the European Union. About 64 percent of Slovaks do not trust the courts, according to a survey conducted by the Focus agency this summer. Slovaks consider corruption to be the biggest problem of the country's justice system.
