There is a series of verdicts coming from the Slovak as well as Czech constitutional courts according to which cuts in judge salaries are unconstitutional, Judicial Council chairman (and Chairman of the Supreme Court) Štefan Harabin said on Thursday. Harabin spoke in reaction to the publicly discussed notion to take away 14th salaries from judges as part of austerity measures.
“I don't see any reason why we should adopt a course of action that we know is pro futuro unconstitutional,” said Harabin. He added that judges didn't cause the crisis and, therefore, shouldn't be held responsible for its consequences. “It's true that the current economic situation is tough, I don't deny that; however, we're building the principles of rule of law and the pillars of judicial independence. We can't deal with certain partial problems by tearing down the principles of the rule of law,” said Harabin. The issue of salary cuts was brought up at Thursday's Judicial Council session by fellow member and Slovak Judges Association chair Dana Bystrianska. “Judges can't run a business and salary represents the only source of income for them,” she claimed, adding that, at any rate, the money saved on judge salaries won't save the day for the Slovak economy.
