Mazak to Include Proposal for His Dismissal for May Judicial Council Session

Bratislava, April 15 (TASR) - Judicial Council head Jan Mazak will include a proposal for his dismissal from its helm for the council's May session. Seven members of the Judicial Council have filed a motion to dismiss Mazak as council head over the suspicion of misuse of his post. Mazak denies it. "Anyone against whom a motion has been filed that interferes with his post, especially if it's a post of public official, has the right to defend himself within a reasonable period of time," said Mazak when explaining why he hasn't included the proposal already for the fourth session of the Judicial Council starting on April 16. Mazak said that the proposal by seven council members who want to see him dismissed was delivered to him on Monday morning. "Although I am obliged to include a proposal for my dismissal from the Judicial Council head post in the agenda of the council session, I will include it in the fifth council session, due to be held in May 2024," he added. According to Mazak, the motion contains very serious, untrue accusations of misuse of power in nine cases that allegedly have happened since 2021. The motion to oust Mazak was backed by Marcela Kosova, Peter Samko, Ayse Pruzinec Eren, Dana Jelinkova Dudzikova, Marian Fecik, Ludmila Joanidisova and Martin Bezak. They claim that he has grossly misused his post by unlawfully collecting information against judges. Should Mazak be dismissed, he wouldn't automatically lose his post of Judicial Council member. Mazak also faced the motion to dismiss him from the helm of the Judicial Council in late 2023. Nine council members at that time voted for the proposal, which was not enough to dismiss him. Three council members refrained from voting and three were against. ko/mcs