The Košice-based Constitutional Court turned down the request of General Prosecutor Jaromír Čižnár to approve the criminal prosecution of Karol Krochta, a judge of the Bardejov District Court, April 23, spokeswoman Anna Pančurová told the TASR newswire.
The decision was made in situation stipulated by Slovak laws, as the plenum has to rule with an absolute majority of all justices and if this majority is not achieved, the proposal is turned down.
Krochta, former chairman of the Bardejov District Court, was dismissed from the post over loss of credibility. Krochta’s sister won a selection procedure to become a judge at the very court that he headed, while he is also alleged to have physically assaulted someone, the Sme daily reported. Krochta allegedly attacked a woodcarver by the name of Jakub Moravčík in the village of Liptovská Porúbka in northern Slovakia during the New Year’s celebrations in 2012. The Prosecutor’s Office has accused Krochta of being an accomplice to inflicting bodily harm. The assault resulted in injuries that were serious enough for the police to assess the case as a criminal act, not just a minor offence. However, Dalibor Fotta, the owner of the Liptovia recreation centre where the incident occurred, said that Krochta did not participate in the assault which he added was not particularly serious, Sme wrote.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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