Justice Minister Štefan Harabin levelled sharp criticism at the Special Court and its judges during an appearance on Slovak Television on February 16.
The justice minister compared the existence of a Special Court to the structure of the judiciary in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, and said Slovakia's Special Court judges, who earn Sk200,000 a month, should work during Christmas and Easter in addition to weekends.
Harabin also said the Special Court isn't independent enough, as the judges are appointed rather than elected.
"Countries like Spain have a Special Court, but there is terrorism there," he said.
Harabin's predecessor, SDKÚ-DS MP Lucia Žitňanská, said that the public’s high confidence in the court outweighs the opinion of a “biased” minister.
Žitňanská said the Special Court is more scrutinised than any court in the country. Journalists attend every hearing and each of its cases is reported and analysed in the media, she said.
Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court received a motion from 46 ruling coalition MPs asking it to examine whether the Special Court and Special Prosecutor's Office are in line with the Constitution.
The MPs, headed by ĽS-HZDS chairman Vladimír Mečiar, argue that both institutions violate not only the Slovak Constitution, but the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and the UN Convention against Corruption. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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