It is still not clear what the government of Robert Fico is planning to do with the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which is dedicated to the prosecution of organized crime and corruption. The coalition has not yet published a proposal, even though it wants it to be discussed in Parliament and voted upon – in a fast-track procedure - before Christmas.
Its motives also vary. The Justice Minister Boris Susko, says that the aim is “to solve the systemic bias of specialized institutions." Peter Pellegrini, leader of the coalition party Hlas, said on TV on Sunday: "The intention is to bring the criminal codes of our country closer to developed Western countries." Prime Minister Fico has said his main goal is to get rid of the head of the office, Daniel Lipsic.
As a result, even the President, Zuzana Caputova, has been forced to base her opinion, published last night, on the comments of politicians, not a formal draft of law. She said: "It was to be expected that the government coalition would adopt changes in the area of justice, after all, every government has done so so far. However, the announced changes are to take place in an abbreviated legislative procedure, and thus without proper comments and professional discussion. It is clear from the statements of the coalition representatives that the basic motive for this step is personnel changes at the special prosecutor's office, not the inadequacy or ineffectiveness of the institution.‘ She said she would consider such a step to be „a very unfortunate and even dangerous interference“ in the personnel functioning of the prosecutor's office.
She continued: „any fundamental changes, especially in the area of the rule of law, should take place after professional discussion and especially in a proper legislative process."
The head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, Daniel Lipsic, in a surprise move yesterday offered to resign. „The fight against organized crime and corruption is never, and cannot be, built on one person. (...) Therefore, in the event that the government publicly guarantees that it will not interfere in any way with the position of the Office and its prosecutors, I will give up the position of special prosecutor."
The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) said it would immediately file a constitutional complaint if the coalition proposed fast track. "The government is quietly preparing to dismantle the rule of law. It is scandalous and dangerous. There is no legal reason for such a fundamental change to be approved quickly, said chairman Michal Šimečka.
SME published an interview with Daniel Šváby, who was a judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union for seventeen years. He says: The European Commisison is the policeman of the rule of law. But at this stage it can only issue a diplomatic recommendation. It cannot stop the adoption of laws. It has the power to bring a lawsuit against the member state at the European Court of Justice; or suspend European funds. But that is only long after the laws have taken effect.
Photo: Current Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipsic (TASR)
