President Dismisses Two Judicial Council Members Appointed by Caputova
President Peter Pellegrini has dismissed two members of the Judicial Council, Lucia Berdisova and Tomas Gabris, who were appointed by his predecessor Zuzana Caputova.
Bratislava, July 15 (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini has dismissed two members of the Judicial Council, Lucia Berdisova and Tomas Gabris, who were appointed by his predecessor Zuzana Caputova.
Following his meeting with Judicial Council head Marcela Kosova on Monday, Pellegrini announced that he will appoint three new members on Tuesday (July 16), specifying no names. He only said that the third member will be a replacement for a Judicial Council member who has given up the post.
Pellegrini said that all the new members will come from the barrister profession. "I can assure you in advance that all three future members of the Judicial Council will come from a lawyer's background, from real legal practice, so that they will be people who are in real touch with defending their clients on a daily basis, but at the same time people from the bar association," he said.
The president also pointed to the importance of the independence of the judiciary for democracy and for restoring the damaged reputation of the Slovak judiciary. "It is important that all self-governing bodies operating in the judiciary function as well, and that the Judicial Council, headed by Mrs. Kosova, functions to its full potential," stated Pellegrini.
Kosova hopes that the new members of the Judicial Council will be able to take up their posts as soon as possible so that the Council can carry out its decision-making activities. She praised the president's promise to the Judicial Council that he will appoint new judges entering the system in a prompt manner.
