Justice minister Lucia Zitnanska has hit back following the statements made yesterday by head of opposition party Smer-SD, Robert Fico, that they would not respect an Attorney General who is voted into the post by public vote.
Zitnanska said today that such an attitude just goes to prove that the Smer-SD party does not respect basic democratic principles and is basically trying to use blackmail to get its way. She stated that an open vote of this kind is an intrinsic part of how democratic institutions work.
Zitnanska also retaliated against the claims of Smer-SD that the current coalition is trying to gain control over the prosecuting authorities and the courts through its revision to the Act on Prosecuting Authorities. She explained that the system is set up in such a way that the prosecuting authorities cannot be overruled, but that it was important that the Attorney General’s office is not completely insular.
The proposed revision is also not endorsed by current interim Attorney General, Ladislav Tichy, who says he will contest it via the Constitutional Court if it is passed in its current semblance, as it would be transforming the Attorney General’s office into a controlled state-run authority.