Press release
On Tuesday 9th of May, H.E. Andrew Garth, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has visited the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic.
Ambassador Andrew Garth visited the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic for the first time since he took office in October 2014. He was interested in the length of litigation, citizen´s trust in the judiciary and in other supporting activities that contribute to a better performance of judiciary in Slovakia.
President of the Supreme Court JUDr. Daniela Švecová briefly summarized the functioning and structure of the judicial system of Slovakia, as well as the changes executed since she entered the office. She also talked about planned reforms in the areas of transparency, openness and efficiency, which also require some changes of the legislation. The goal of further changes is to reduce the amount of new cases coming to the Supreme Court and to shorten the length of handling individual cases.
The British Ambassador pointed out that the reforms in the United Kingdom are applied first at courts of lower instances, since the citizens are in first contact with them. Daniela Švecová explained that the Supreme Court cannot introduce reforms of the lower courts. However, she mentioned that a new litigation procedure is in force since 1.7.2016, which is meant to speed up the work of the lower courts even though it takes some time for the courts to adapt to it. A positive outcome is due to come.
At the end of the meeting Ambassador Andrew Garth said that after the UK´s exit from the EU, all cooperation programs that are now being implemented through Brussels will be replaced by bilateral programs. He suggested that the Supreme Court should establish a list of priorities, which could mark the beginning of a new cooperation. Daniela Švecová welcomed this opportunity.
Ambassador Andrew Garth visited the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic for the first time since he took office in October 2014. He was interested in the length of litigation, citizen´s trust in the judiciary and in other supporting activities that contribute to a better performance of judiciary in Slovakia.
President of the Supreme Court JUDr. Daniela Švecová briefly summarized the functioning and structure of the judicial system of Slovakia, as well as the changes executed since she entered the office. She also talked about planned reforms in the areas of transparency, openness and efficiency, which also require some changes of the legislation. The goal of further changes is to reduce the amount of new cases coming to the Supreme Court and to shorten the length of handling individual cases.
The British Ambassador pointed out that the reforms in the United Kingdom are applied first at courts of lower instances, since the citizens are in first contact with them. Daniela Švecová explained that the Supreme Court cannot introduce reforms of the lower courts. However, she mentioned that a new litigation procedure is in force since 1.7.2016, which is meant to speed up the work of the lower courts even though it takes some time for the courts to adapt to it. A positive outcome is due to come.
At the end of the meeting Ambassador Andrew Garth said that after the UK´s exit from the EU, all cooperation programs that are now being implemented through Brussels will be replaced by bilateral programs. He suggested that the Supreme Court should establish a list of priorities, which could mark the beginning of a new cooperation. Daniela Švecová welcomed this opportunity.
Communication Department