The Constitutional Court has agreed with a complaint filed by betting and lottery company Tipos on Tuesday, October 18, and ruled that a decision in November 2010 reached by the Supreme Court violated Tipos's right to legal protection, the right not to have its case taken away from a legally-appointed judge and the right to a fair trial.
"The verdict of the Supreme Court from November 30, 2010, has been revoked," read the decision of the Constitutional Court, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The Supreme Court was also ordered to pay courts costs to Tipos within one month of the date of the verdict coming into effect.
Tipos is attempting to defend itself from claims lodged by a Cypriot-registered company, Lemikon Limited, which is seeking damages for intellectual property infringements stemming from a long-running claim originally launched by a Czech lottery company. In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that Tipos should pay more than €14 million to Lemikon. Overall, Lemikon is seeking €66 million.
The Constitutional Court's decision also carried implied criticism of Supreme Court President Štefan Harabin: it ruled that the case was decided by illegally appointed justices, after Harabin replaced three of the five original members of the senate ruling on the case.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
