PS Wants Emergency House Committee Session Over Susko's Perceived Failures

Bratislava, 10 July (TASR) – The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party is calling for an emergency session of the House constitutional and legal affairs committee to address what it describes as failures by Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD), committee member Branislav Vanco (PS) announced on Thursday. The party is raising concerns over the negative impact of recent amendments to the Penal Code, and it plans to question the minister on appeals that he's filed in high-profile cases. "The Penal Code amendments drafted by the justice minister have borne their rotten fruit. Ordinary people and the rule of law are suffering. There are mounting public reports of the terrible experiences that shopkeepers and customers are having with thieves, who are becoming increasingly brazen and aggressive. And no wonder — they know, after all, that they won't face any consequences, and everyone's at a loss as to how to deal with them," stated Vanco. Vanco also pointed to the European Commission's rule of law report, noting a decline in legal standards in Slovakia. "Corruption is being prosecuted less strenuously, and the rule of law is deteriorating," he added. Vanco further criticised the minister for failing to explain his motives for filing extraordinary appeals in the cases of businessman Michal Suchoba and lawyer Zoroslav Kollar. "It is Parliament's duty to oversee the government. That's why we've decided to convene an emergency session of the constitutional and legal affairs committee. The minister must come to it and explain his failures," he stated. mf/df