Constitutional Court Rejects Sutaj Estok's Complaint against Default Judgment

Bratislava, 13 January (TASR) - The Constitutional Court has rejected a complaint filed by Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) regarding the last year's default judgment issued by the Bratislava IV City Court in a lawsuit with the police officers known as the "Curilla group", TASR has learnt from a press release published by the Constitutional Court. The court senate composed of chairman Miroslav Duris and judges Jana Baricova and Milos Madar made the decision at a closed-door session on Friday (9 January). Based on the judgment issued by the Bratislava IV City Court on 10 September 2025, Sutaj Estok must publicly apologise for comparing members of the group to lawfully convicted crime boss and multiple murderer Mikulas Cernak. In addition, he's required to pay compensation totalling €90,000 to six police officers, as well as legal costs and late-payment interest. As the police officers' lawyer, Peter Kubina, reported on social media on 11 November 2025, Sutaj Estok didn't view his electronic mail, resulting in a 'default' loss in court. He added that the minister was subject to distraint proceedings, and the distraint officer has frozen funds in his account to pay the compensation. The minister reacted on social media, stating that he stands by his words. He claimed that due to his workload, he rarely uses the public administration platform, while the court wasn't interested in his arguments. He also criticised the judge for not trying to contact him by other means. jrg