The judge breached the obligation to be able to prove the bravery of the origin of his property in a credible manner

According to the Disciplinary Panel of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic, the disciplinary defendant Milan Chalupka, as a judge of the Regional Court in Bratislava, violated the obligation to declare his financial circumstances in accordance with the law, violated the obligation to observe the principles of judicial ethics and violated the obligation to be able to demonstrate in a credible manner the bravery of the origin of his property. For this, the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic imposed on him a summary disciplinary measure in the form of dismissal from the office of judge. 

The Disciplinary Panel found the judge guilty of a serious disciplinary offence when, as a judge, he deliberately incompletely declared his assets in his 2020 judicial assets declaration, by failing to declare deposits in bank accounts, even though he was the owner or founder of them for his minor children. The deposits exceeded EUR 6 600 individually and EUR 16 600 in aggregate

“A judge is obliged to declare his or her financial circumstances, and the declaration of assets must contain the information specified in the provisions of the law in question,” said the president of the Panel, Michal Matulník, in a statement announcing the decision.

The judge also violated his duty to observe the principles of judicial ethics when he lied at an oral hearing before the Judicial Council’s control commission in identifying his recreational expenses. Finally, the Disciplinary Panel found Milan Chalupka guilty also on the ground that he had raised and failed to remove reasonable doubts as to the bravery of the origin of his assets in the proceedings on property matters before the Control Commission and before the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic. These doubts concerned the justification for the origin and the reason for the transfer of funds to his children’s accounts and the funds used to pay living expenses.

In its decision, the Disciplinary Panel stated that Milan Chalupka was not able to credibly prove the bravery of the origin of his property by this action, thus committing a serious disciplinary offence incompatible with the office of judge.

The court did not uphold the remainder of the disciplinary petition filed by the President of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic.

In view of the disciplinary measure imposed, an appeal against the decision is admissible on the part of the disciplinary defendant.

The decision of the Disciplinary Panel was adopted by a vote of 5:0.

In the disciplinary case of the President of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic c/a Judge JUDr. Milan Chalupka, Panel No. 32D of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic was composed of: the President of the Panel JUDr. Michal Matulník, PhD; judges JUDr. Anita Filová and JUDr. Michal Dzurdzík, PhD; lay judges JUDr. Jitka Johana Hasíková and prof. JUDr. Mgr. Vojtech Vladár, PhD.