The NGO demands to adjust Žilina ‘s powers – Home – PRAVDA.sk

The Stop Corruption Foundation (NZK) is asking the government to adjust the powers of the Attorney General so that he cannot overturn a valid resolution order.

Prosecutor General of the Slovak Republic Maroš Žilinka.

According to the foundation, the cabinet would thus fulfill the obligation from its Program Statement. They reacted to the fact that on August 31 the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Slovak Republic (GP SR) “led by the nominee We Are Family Maroš Žilinka” canceled the accusation of corruption against the former head of the Slovak Information Service (SIS) Vladimír Pčolinský. They emphasized that he was also a nominee for the We Are the Family movement. In the press release, the director of NZK Zuzana Petková informed about it.

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“Although Maroš Žilinka has ruled out and let his deputy decide, the fact that the General Prosecutor’s Office has not yet credibly explained the controversial resolution to the public raises doubts as to whether it was impartial,” Petková said. According to her, the strong power to stop any criminal prosecution held by one person – the Attorney General or his deputy – is easily abused without further control mechanisms.

The Prosecutor General’s Office stopped the investigation, referring to section 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code. According to him, he can annul the resolutions of a police officer or a prosecutor if the rights of the accused have been violated. At the same time, the Criminal Procedure Code does not say what the resolutions are. GP SR regulates this by an internal regulation. Until 2012, these were resolutions concerning, for example, the conditional suspension of criminal prosecution, the imposition of a disciplinary fine or securing the right of the injured party. It was not until 2012 that this internal order added the possibility of annulling a valid resolution on the accusation.

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“We believe that the then management of the prosecutor’s office wanted to circumvent the new law, which prohibited so-called negative instructions,” Petková stated. It was adopted by the government of Iveta Radičová, and the purpose of the new legislation was to prevent the GP of the Slovak Republic from sweeping politically sensitive cases under the rug and, for example, ordering subordinate prosecutors not to file charges. The Stop Stop Corruption Foundation draws attention to the problem of possible misuse of this section of the Criminal Procedure Code as early as 2018. As they emphasized, the current government has committed itself to change this. The government program states: “The Government of the Slovak Republic will consistently insist on the prohibition of negative instructions and, among other things, in this context will review the narrowing of the legislation of Section 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code so that it corresponds to its original meaning.”

According to Petková, the Criminal Procedure Code should be changed so that the GP of the Slovak Republic cannot annul valid resolutions on charges. “The decision on guilt or innocence should be a matter for the courts and not in the hands of one person,” she added.