Justice Minister Boris Susko (L) and Judge Juraj Kliment (R). (source: Sme - Marko Erd/TASR)
A top Slovak judge has avoided removal from office after the Supreme Administrative Court dismissed most of a politically charged disciplinary case brought against him, the daily Sme reports.
Supreme Court Justice Juraj Kliment had faced calls to resign from Prime Minister Robert Fico, who said last year, “If I were Mr Kliment, I’d pack my bags today.” Justice Minister Boris Susko, a member of Fico’s Smer party, later filed a disciplinary motion seeking Kliment’s dismissal.
On Wednesday 28 May, the court rejected two of the three charges and found Kliment guilty on one – an inappropriate “raised finger” remark, made in May 2022 during the oral delivery of a ruling on the pre-trial detention of lawyer Marek Para, which was interpreted as a political message about accountability in high-profile criminal cases. However, the court deemed the charge time-barred and chose not to impose any penalty.
Kliment welcomed parts of the ruling but said he would challenge the guilty verdict, claiming political interference. “The minister abused disciplinary law to carry out the prime minister’s political agenda,” he said in a written statement.
The case centred on Kliment’s handling of proceedings against Marek Para, a lawyer and adviser to the prime minister. Critics said the disciplinary motion had been heavily influenced by Para himself, who had supplied documents and pressured the ministry to act. Kliment’s lawyer accused the Justice Ministry of procedural irregularities and described the case as a test of political intimidation against the judiciary.
The court acknowledged the tense political context but ruled that the government’s public criticism did not amount to a “chilling effect” on judicial independence.
Kliment has announced plans to appeal the decision to the Constitutional Court and possibly the European Court of Human Rights.
This is not Kliment’s first disciplinary case. In a separate incident involving a physical altercation with a fellow judge, he was previously sanctioned with a temporary reduction in salary.
