Yesterday the Constitutional Court ruled that the Supreme Court, headed by Stefan Harbin, violated the constitutional rights of publishing house Spolocnost 7 Plus. The court judged that the company had not been awarded a judge in the legally prescribed way and so had not been afforded a fair trial.
At the same time, the Constitutional Court revoked the judgment of the Supreme Court in question, with no right of appeal.
The company Spolocnost 7 plus lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court after the Bratislava district court endorsed a petition about the partiality of two Bratislava Regional Court judges, Martin Murgas and Juraj Matej, stopping them from judging on the case.
The case concerned head of the Supreme Court, Stefan Harbin, who back in 2008 filed a lawsuit against the publisher over an article it had published in its daily Plus Jeden Den in May 2007 called Harabin Protects Murderers. Hardly surprising that the Supreme Court he led acknowledged his claim.
Harbin was claiming around EUR 16,600 in compensation and demanding the publication of an apology, the right to which was incorporated into the Press Act by the former government.
The case has been going on since, because the company Spolocnost 7 Plus objected to the impartiality of the Supreme Court’s decision. The Constitutional Court acknowledged the company’s claim, saying the Supreme Court had violated two separate articles of the Constitution on the right of everyone to have their case judged by an independent court and to have the judge(s) selected according to the law.