House: PS Proposes Extending List of People Who Cannot Become Prosecutor-General

Bratislava, May 14 (TASR) - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party is proposing to extend the list of individuals who cannot be appointed as prosecutor-general, suggesting that anyone who has served as an adviser to a government member within two years prior to their appointment should be excluded, while it also aims to clarify the moral eligibility requirements for candidates via an amendment to the Prosecution Act submitted to the House by MPs Zuzana Stevulova, Lucia Plavakova and Branislav Vanco (all PS). "The aim of the proposed amendment is to prevent political and other unjustified influence on the Prosecutor-General's Office of the Slovak Republic. The proposed change also modifies and clarifies the conditions of personal and moral eligibility that must be met by a person to be appointed as prosecutor-general. The goal of this change is to create adequate space for verifying the background of candidates for the post," the MPs explained. The MPs stated that the prosecutor-general holds an exceptionally strong role and extensive powers, noting that while the law already prohibits political figures from submitting their candidacy, it doesn't apply to government advisers, who, they argue, also influence decision-making and form personal connections within state structures. "Any appointment of a government advisor could, in many cases, and overall, raise doubts among the public about the independence of the prosecution service and damage its credibility. Furthermore, such a prosecutor could, by their own initiative, easily protect the unlawful actions of their (former) superiors or colleagues with whom they had previously been involved," they argued. lin/df