Supreme Administrative Court Acquits Judge Truban of Disciplinary Charges (2)

Bratislava, 26 November (TASR) - The disciplinary senate of the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) has acquitted Specialised Criminal Court (STS) head Michal Truban of disciplinary charges, as it wasn't proven that the act in regard to which disciplinary proceedings were conducted had taken place. The case concerned the failure to declare bias when deciding on detention in the 'Stock Farmer' case. The senate was bound by the ruling of the Constitutional Court as of June 2025. The motion for disciplinary proceedings against Truban was filed in October 2020 by then STS head Jan Hrubala and then Judicial Council chair Jan Mazak. They requested his transfer to a lower court. In March 2023, the Supreme Court found Truban guilty of a disciplinary offence and punished him with a six-month reduction in his salary by 50 percent. However, the Constitutional Court overturned this decision on the grounds of a violation of the fundamental right to judicial protection and the right to a fair trial. Based on the Constitutional Court's ruling, representative of the Judicial Council Adrian Kucek proposed at Wednesday's hearing that Truban should be acquitted of the disciplinary charges. According to representative of the Supreme Court Roman Puchovsky, it wasn't proven that the act regarding which the disciplinary proceedings were being conducted had taken place. Chairman of the disciplinary senate Michal Matulnik emphasised that the Supreme Administrative Court was bound by the ruling of the Constitutional Court. "The Supreme Administrative Court didn't entertain the idea of approaching the European Court of Human Rights. It is of the opinion that we have a sufficient institutional framework in Slovakia for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms," he said. Truban considers the court's decision to be factually correct and lawful. "I publicly call on Mr. Hrubala and Mr. Mazak to organise a press conference and to provide accurate and truthful information about the outcome of these proceedings, as they did in October 2020 when they called a press conference attended by numerous media representatives," he stated. At previous hearings, Truban repeatedly emphasised that he wasn't guilty, stressing that he had no relationship with the participants in the proceedings or the case under consideration. He perceived the disciplinary proceedings as politically motivated due to his disagreement with the decision to release businessman Norbert B. (name abbreviated due to legal reasons) from custody. He pointed out that neither the prosecutor nor the defendants filed an objection of bias against him. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraphs 6 and 7. am/df