Making court rulings public, selecting judges exclusively via transparent selection procedures and abolishing bonuses for judges feature among the proposed amendments to the Judges Act presented by Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská on August 25.
“These measures constitute possibly the largest opening up of the judiciary to public scrutiny,” she told the TASR newswire. “Obviously, to just replace people won’t do and we need to set rules in such a manner that space won’t be created to allow intimidation, nepotism and corruption. We’re suggesting system-based changes that will limit the scope for acting in an arbitrary manner. These proposals stem from the government programme, and some judges have been approached for their opinions over the past three years,” she said.
In line with the amendment, which should come into effect as of January 2011, rulings by the general courts as well as the Constitutional Court will have to be made available to the public. Implementing the measure will take some time, so in the meantime courts will make their specific decisions available upon request. After a year, all rulings will be made public on the internet. “We’re laying the groundwork to make sure that selection procedures for judges will be open to all those who comply with the rules stipulated by law,” she noted.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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