A special session of parliament on the rapid loss of trust in the judicial system in Slovakia initiated by opposition parties, slated for 13:00 on Wednesday, November 14, ended shortly after being opened because, as expected, Smer MPs refused to support the session’s agenda.
The session was initiated by representatives of the opposition parties united in the People's Platform: Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and Most-Híd, who announced their plan on Monday. The opposition wanted the session to result in a resolution in which parliament would express its discontent with the state of the judiciary and would ask the government to submit a report on measures to increase the credibility of the system.
Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška said on Tuesday that it is irresponsible to raise such a complex topic at a time when parliament is awaiting a debate on the 2013 state-budget draft along with other important provisions. The TASR newswire quoted Paška as saying that Smer is ready to discuss opposition-initiated issues, but not before next year's budget is approved, and only if the debate includes the people concerned.
Opposition parties of the People's Platform also announced on Wednesday that they are submitting a proposal requiring that Justice Minister Tomáš Borec be dismissed. The parties were speaking at a joint briefing after parliament rejected the agenda of a special session dedicated to the problems of the judiciary. "We're submitting a proposal to dismiss minister Borec because he really made mistakes, but especially because he didn't support the normal, realistic debate that we were supposed to have here today," said SDKÚ chairman Pavol Frešo.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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