Controversial head of the Supreme Court, Stefan Harabin, has appealed to the European Courts of Human Rights in Strasbourg over what he claims is political bullying.
The crux of his argument is the way he was treated in disciplinary action from the side of the Constitutional Court at the initiative of justice minister Luzia Zitnanska. The action was taken after Harabin repeatedly refused to let the Ministry of Finance conduct an audit at the Supreme Court, with it ending in Harabin being stripped of 70% of his annual salary.
Harabin says he has been politically bullied merely for expressing his legal opinion and for freedom of speech, and that he is only demanding justice.
Harabin himself has a bit of a reputation for bullying subordinates, and has taken legal action against and dismissed many who have stood in his way or opposed him. Minister Zitnanska recently reinstated three judges that Harabin had dismissed, for example, in the ongoing tug-of-war between the justice minister and the Supreme Court head.
Is there not some problem in Slovakia with Lawyers suddenly dying from Lead poisoning ? Just a thought .