The Disciplinary appellate panel rules on an appeal in disciplinary cases for the first time

The Disciplinary appellate panel of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic, at today’s public session, dismissed the appeal against the decision of the first-instance disciplinary panel of the Supreme Administrative Court, by which the judge of the District Court of Zvolen Dalibor Miľan found guilty. The first-instance disciplinary panel imposed a disciplinary measure on him, namely a 60% reduction in his salary for a period of one year. The applicant, the President of the Zvolen District Court, appealed against the decision, as she proposed the most severe disciplinary measure for the judge, namely dismissal from his office as a judge (Case No. 41Do/2/2023).

Judge of the District Court of Zvolen Dalibor Miľan was found guilty at the end of last year by the first-instance disciplinary panel, as he had committed a continuing serious disciplinary offence. According to the members of the first-instance disciplinary panel, the disciplinarily accused judge, while performing his duties as a judge, repeatedly and intentionally violated his duty to refrain from anything that could undermine the dignity and respectability of the office of judge and jeopardise confidence in the independent, impartial and fair decision-making of the courts. According to the first-instance decision, the judge also failed to observe the principles of judicial ethics in the exercise of his functions.

The first public hearing of the Disciplinary appellate panel in the history of the Supreme Administrative Court took place today, while it is also the first completed disciplinary appellate proceeding of the Supreme Administrative Court. The disciplinary panels of the Supreme Administrative Court have already ruled in a number of disciplinary appellate proceedings, but these were taken over from the disciplinary panels elected by the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic. This appeal was against a decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, in which three professional judges and two lay judges of the Supreme Administrative Court had ruled. The disciplinary appellate panel was then composed of only five judges of the Supreme Administrative Court.

The disciplinary case was decided by the Disciplinary appellate panel 41Do of the Supreme Administrative Court composed of: the President of the panel JUDr. Jana Martinčeková (Judge-Rapporteur) and members of the Panel JUDr. Katarína Benczová, JUDr. Zuzana Šabová, PhD., JUDr. Juraj Vališ, LL.M., JUDr. Michal Dzurdzík, PhD.