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Description
The aim of the project is to improve the functioning of the rule of law in Slovakia. The Prosecutor''s Office, the Constitutional Court and the Judicial Council are key guarantors of the rule of law. The aim of the project is to design and implement system changes to eliminate the biggest shortcomings in their operation. Based on the analysis of their decision-making activities, legislation and application practice, the VI will prepare proposals for systemic changes, for which we will seek the support of the government and the institutions themselves, which are to be affected by the changes. A great added value of the project is the intensive cooperation with the professional public during the entire implementation. The urgency of the topic is amplified by the election of a new Attorney General in 2020 and a Special Prosecutor in 2021. The Prosecutor General''s Office (GP) has already taken the first steps towards change. It has set up a working group that is preparing a major amendment. We confirm the confirmation of our expertise that the GP nominated two representatives of VIA IURIS to this working group as the only representatives of the civil sector, and at the end of 2019 they completed the first working negotiations.
The proposed system changes translated into new laws will have a major impact on the quality of the rule of law in Slovakia in the long term.
Summary of project results
Restoring confidence in the rule of law has long been a central tenet of social discourse. The PP has been dealing with the possibilities to improve the functioning of judicial institutions and bodies and thus contribute to increasing public trust for a long time and systematically. The aim of the project was to focus on key institutions - the Judicial Council (Judicial Council), the Prosecutor''s Office, the Constitutional Court (CC), as well as the selection procedures in the judiciary and the disciplinary judiciary, which also influence the overall public perception of the justice system.
To achieve its objectives, the PP used activities such as Monitoring of the Judicial Council''s decision-making, Monitoring of disciplinary decisions and application of ethical rules in them, Monitoring of legislative activities of the Government and Parliament. Thanks to the monitoring activities, he made recommendations for systemic changes related to the Judicial Council of the SR and judicial ethics and participated in the development of changes to the prosecutor''s laws in cooperation with the professional public. As part of the project, PP implemented Advocacy Activities. Through expert statements and opinions, he explained to members of the government and MPs the need to adopt changes. The PP submitted 8 proposals for amending legislation and policies, including amendments to the Constitution, and addressed a Call for amendment of Section 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code, an Amicus Curaei - submission to the Constitutional Court, and 2 analyses on Disciplinary Decisions and the Judicial Council.
Some activities, such as the monitoring of disciplinary proceedings of judges, did not meet the expectations of the PP The references to breaches of ethical rules were minimal and it was not possible to generalise applicable good practice. On the contrary, it reacted promptly to current issues, e.g. the use of Section 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code, abuse of the legislative process and the constitutional amendment processes. The PP considers as a success the proposal to change the legislative process regarding the amendment of the Constitution, which has been supported by several legal experts.