Judicial Council to Elect Third Candidate for ECHR Judge Post

Bratislava, 16 October (TASR) - Trencin Region Court judge Lucia Horvathova is seeking to become the third Slovak candidate for the post of judge of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the press department of the Judicial Council's Office has informed TASR, adding that it will decide on her candidacy in November. The Judicial Council has received two nominations supporting Horvathova's candidacy. "One nomination was submitted by Judicial Council member Peter Samko and the other by the Association of Slovak Judges. Before the vote, the electoral committee will assess whether both nominations meet all the requirements. The Judicial Council will hold the vote on 10 November 2026," said Judicial Council chair Marcela Kosova. Slovakia currently doesn't have a complete slate of three candidates for election as a ECHR judge. One of the candidates originally selected, Branislav Jablonka, has withdrawn his consent to be nominated. The Judicial Council must submit a list of three candidates for the election of an ECHR judge to the government. Kosova therefore announced a new round of elections to fill the remaining candidate places on 2 September. Eligible nominators had until 9 October to submit their nominations. The other two candidates for the post of a ECHR judge for Slovakia are Ondrej Laciak and Katarina Roskovanyi. ko/df