Zilina Regional Prosecutors' Council Criticises New Judiciary Map

Bratislava, December 21 (TASR) – The Zilina Regional Prosecutors’ Council on Monday strongly objected to Justice Minister Maria Kolikova’s (For the People) plan to redraw the ‘judiciary map’ in Slovakia, which involves shutting down some courts and setting up others.

“The scrapping of Zilina Regional Court represents a baseless, but significant infringement in the court system. It will complicate access to justice for individual parties, all members of staff and other bodies and individuals involved in court proceedings,” reads the council’s statement.

The reform won’t make courts more specialised or severe local ties, but it will make court processes more expensive, and if there is no overall reform of the public sector, efficiency will also suffer, stated the council.

The council pointed to issues such as the distance between Zilina and Banska Bystrica, where the appellate court for the whole of central Slovakia should be located, noting that even a simple procedure will represent an all-day matter for those who will need to travel there from Zilina region.

Meanwhile, the traditional region of Kysuce in the northwest of Slovakia, which had its own court as early as in 1859, has been relegated to a state of inferiority, while the current transport infrastructure is too busy and could become even busier if this reform is introduced, said the Zilina Regional Prosecutors’ Council.