Justice Minister Štefan Harabin said on August 27 that the existence of military courts is a luxury that even oil-rich Kuwait cannot afford.
At its session on August 27, the government tasked the minister with working out a legislative proposal by which the military courts would merge with the general courts. While Prosecutor General Dobroslav Trnka said the military courts should be preserved, Defense Minister Jaroslav Baška would like to see them reduced in number.
But Harabin thinks that the military courts will be abolished as of the beginning of next year at the latest. The up-side to that, according to Harabin, would be that the general judiciary would gain 20 criminal judges. Harabin estimates that the move will save some Sk13 million (€431,521) a year.
But the defense minister said that quality, not quantity, of work is important. He would favour the move only abolishing the courts would cost the Defence Ministry Sk35 million (€1.162 million) in severance pay.
Harabin said that there are no experts who favour preserving the Higher Military Court in Trenčín, for example. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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