Štefan Harabin (source: SITA)
Former Supreme Court president and ex-justice minister (2006-09) Štefan Harabin has sued Slovakia at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. He demands compensation of the salary he was deprived of in the past due to a disciplinary punishment.
Harabin was found guilty of a serious disciplinary offence by the Constitutional Court in June 2011. As a Supreme Court president, he repeatedly did not allow state auditors to enter the court’s headquarters. The Constitutional Court gave Harabin the most severe financial penalty, reducing his salary by 70 percent for a year, the TASR newswire reported.
“The Ministry of Justice received a complaint proposal issued by Štefan Harabin at the end of last month, in which he demands compensation for property damage caused by an illegal decision,” said ministry’s spokesperson Peter Bubla, as quoted by TASR.
The ECHR upheld Harabin’s complaint in June 2011 and in 2013 it decided that his right to a fair trial was violated. It did not comment on the substance of the dispute. As a result, Harabin turned to the Constitutional Court with a request to reopen the trial, but failed.
The ECHR previously stated in its report that the former Supreme Court chairman was deprived of €50,683 due to salary deductions. Harabin also demanded compensation of €100,000 because his human rights were violated. However, his claim was reduced to €3,000 by the court, TASR wrote.
The Justice Ministry has not indicated what amount of compensation Harabin has demanded in his complaint this time. The ministry responded to it by claiming that the proposal should be dismissed completely, Bubla told TASR.
