SPECIAL Court judge Michal Truban will be the new head of the institution, which was established under the previous government to deal with high-profile political corruption and organized crime cases.
Justice Minister Štefan Harabin selected Truban despite the fact that the current chief justice of the Special Court, Igor Králik, won both job tenders held to fill the vacancy. In the second job tender, which was organized after the first one was cancelled, Truban placed second.
Back in December 2006, when Králik won the first job tender for the post, Minister Harabin decided to announce another tender, arguing that he wanted to make sure the selection was transparent, as the candidates who had placed second and third in the tender gave up their candidacies in favour of Králik.
Králik later won the second contest held in January. According to the law, however, the justice minister can select the Special Court chief justice from the top three job tender candidates. According to the minister, the differences between the top three candidates were minimal. It is unclear, however, why he chose Truban specifically.
Harabin is infamous for his campaign to abolish the Special Court for good. He prepared a draft bill to shut down the court, but eventually lost the battle after PM Robert Fico and his ruling Smer party stated that they wanted to preserve the court.