Administrative Court Annuls Interior Ministry's Personnel Order in Svitok's Case

Bratislava, 15 May (TASR) - Bratislava Administrative Court at a hearing on Thursday (14 May) annulled the Interior Ministry's decision in the case of the transfer of police officer Juraj Svitok and returned the case for further proceedings to the first-instance public administration authority, Bratislava Administrative Court has confirmed for TASR. "A written reasoning of the judgment will be sent to the parties to the proceedings within the deadline set by law, and it will be published once it becomes final," the court added. Svitok's lawyer Peter Kubina announced the court's verdict via social media on Thursday. He said that Bratislava Administrative Court has clearly confirmed that Branislav Zurian, as the head of the inspection service, illegally transferred Svitok from the Internal Affairs Inspectorate in Bratislava to the district police directorate in Banovce nad Bebravou, and that Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) upheld this illegal personnel order during the appeals process. "Both decisions were therefore cancelled as unlawful. The unlawfulness of their actions lay in the fact that, under the law, prior consent from the Whistleblowers Protection Office was required for this measure, and they didn't even request it," Kubina posted on social media. The Interior Ministry said on Thursday that it would decide on further action only after receiving the verdict and familiarising itself with the reasoning. ko/df