SALARY discrimination lawsuits filed by 11 Supreme Court judges have initially succeeded at a Bratislava district court, which ruled that together the judges are eligible for back pay compensation amounting to €100,000, the Sme daily reported.
The Supreme Court judges filed the lawsuits because they are being paid €4,300 less than judges who are hearing appeals against decisions made by Slovakia’s Special Court. The judges’ suits demanded overall compensation of €150,000.
The Sme daily wrote that it is hard to know how the Supreme Court acted in the lawsuits since its president, Štefan Harabin, was against the higher payments to these judges when he served as the past government’s justice minister. Sme reported that Harabin suggested that those judges who are receiving the higher salaries should return the difference to the state and thus eliminate the question of salary discrimination.
Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská disagrees with the basis for the lawsuits and the court’s verdict and expects the Supreme Court to appeal the ruling. She said that the additional compensation requested by the judges has no legal basis, Sme wrote. However, the judges who filed the lawsuits insisted that their lower salaries “significantly decreased their dignity and social status”, as quoted by Sme.