It is likely that nobody will check whether Supreme Court president Štefan Harabin really is being paid 70 percent less than his normal salary, in compliance with a disciplinary punishment imposed on him in July. The public will have no way to discover the truth, the Sme daily wrote on Friday, September 16.
Supreme Court justices, including Harabin, are issued their pay documents by Harabin himself. He has refused to say whether he has already cut his own salary. Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská, who proposed the disciplinary proceeding against Harabin that led to his pay cut, has also declined to discuss how or if the pay cut is being monitored.
Harabin was punished for repeatedly blocking Finance Ministry auditors from checking the accounts of the Supreme Court. Žitňanská approached the Constitutional Court, which then ruled against Harabin and imposed the penalty, but the court will not monitor his salary either. Lawyer Marek Benedik said that defying a ruling by the Constitutional Court would be a crime, and this fact might dissuade Harabin from doing so.
Harabin has said he plans to contest the disciplinary decision at the International Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Source: Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
