"As Bratislava Regional Court chair, I've decided to assume personal responsibility for possible individual failures of individual judges from Bratislava Regional Court, and I'm giving up the post of court chair," reads a statement issued by judge L'uboš Sádovský on Tuesday. He added that the judiciary at this time must convince people of its ability to provide justice for all in a credible, independent and impartial manner and that the failure of individuals shouldn't automatically mean that the judiciary as a whole is called into question, as the vast majority of judges perform their duties with a high level of commitment and within legal boundaries. His resignation came after a number of judges from various courts were accused of close communications with controversial entrepreneur Marian Kočner, who is accused of ordering the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak.
On Monday, a special commission of the Judicial Council stated that Bratislava Regional Court judge Andrea Haitová lied to the commission when she was questioned about possible contacts with Kočner, falsely stating that she hadn't deleted any contacts or conversations from the Threema app on her smartphone. Police experts have discovered that Haitová originally had 134 contacts and 20 conversations in the Threema app, but deleted 17 contacts and 17 conversations. According to the police, as soon as her smartphone was connected to the internet, it was reset. Haitová denies having lied to the commission, which had advised the Judicial Council to launch disciplinary proceedings against her for "a lack on her part of the personal integrity and morality necessary for a judge."
David Lindtner, another judge caught in the web of Marian Kočner's business interests, appeared in front of the special commission on Monday too. In October he stepped down from the post of Bratislava III District Court following media reports about his chats with Kočner. "It isn't prohibited for judges to comment on matters in preliminary proceedings during their personal conversations, and I provided my legal opinion, not legal advice, to Kočner," said Lindtner, adding that he couldn't have predicted how the public would view his chats or how they would be presented. "One of the key constitutional principles for me is the presumption of innocence," stated Lindtner when asked whether he thinks it is ok for a judge to provide legal advice to someone who is suspected of committing crimes, adding that he'll leave the verdict to the commission.
