Lipsic: Criminal Justice Could Perhaps Make First Big Leap in 30 Years
Bratislava, February 15 (TASR) – New Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipsic claimed on Monday after he was sworn into office that he’ll endeavour to get the public to believe once again that the law applies to everyone.
“I appreciate the trust that Parliament has put in me. I’m convinced that justice in Slovakia is currently at a crossroads and that there’s a chance and hope that criminal justice can advance significantly, perhaps for the first time in thirty years. I want to try to accomplish this with my colleagues at the Special Prosecutor’s Office [USP] so that people will come to believe that the law applies to everyone and that justice is among the most precious values of our society,” said Lipsic, noting that achieving this goal won’t be easy.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka announced that he’ll support Lipsic in his endeavours, but he’ll also keep an eye on him. According to Zilinka, the goal of getting closer to an ideal state of justice is their joint mission.
“I’ll support you in your legal work, in your pursuit of ideal state justice, but at the same time I’ll keep tabs on you, so that the public doesn’t question in any way whether the law is being applied in a manner of equal and more equal individuals,” said the PG.
While Zilinka reacted to negative comments from several opposition MPs regarding Lipisc’s election by stating that Lipsic enjoys his full trust, the new special prosecutor refused to comment on them.
As for the recent suicide of Frantisek Bohm, a witness in several criminal cases concerning corruption who shot himself dead on Friday night, Lipsic stated that he doesn’t want to comment on this for the time being. However, he noted that as early as on Monday he plans to meet USP prosecutors as well as the prosecutor who was overseeing the proceedings concerning the criminal case in which Bohm was being prosecuted.
“We won’t speculate on the matter until we learn the results of the investigation,” replied Zilinka when asked how it was possible that Bohm was able to possess guns.
