STA, 1 June 2021 - The Prosecution Council will propose that the State Attorneys Office file a lawsuit against the government for breach of law to the detriment of public interest after the government annulled the procedure to appoint Slovenia's two European delegated prosecutors (EDP), the chair of the Council Tamara Gregorčič said on Tuesday.
Discussing the government's decision to annul the appointment procedure and start a new one, the Council reiterated today that the procedure had been in line with regulations and the candidate picks had been based on expert assessment.
The State Attorneys Office will be thus urged to bring action against the government before the Administration Court. The Council will also put forward a proposal to file a request for a suspension of a new call for EDP applications, which the Justice Ministry has been tasked with publishing.
Gregorčič highlighted that the Council had not been formally acquainted with the government's decision so far. The prosecutors have seen a press release published on the government's website, but they have neither been informed about the manner in which the decision was made nor about the legal basis for it, she said.
Responding to the government's statements that the Council should have presented at least six candidates instead of just two, Gregorčič said that the law was crystal clear and the procedure in question completely transparent and in line with the law. All legal experts agree on that, she added.
Any ruling out of state prosecutors from the appointment procedure at either national or EU levels is unwarranted and unlawful, she noted.
Asked whether the candidates put forward, Matej Oštir and Tanja Frank Eler, are still in the running for Slovenia's delegated prosecutors, Gregorčič said that "according to the Council's opinion the decision has not been made as it should have been in a way".
"Naturally they are the candidates according to the first call for applications. I see no reservations about this."
All available legal remedies will be used, the chair of the Council said, adding that it was telling that it had taken the government almost six months to make the decision.
After months of delay in the appointing of Slovenia's delegated prosecutors, the government decided last Thursday to repeat the call for applications, arguing that the Council had not put forward enough candidates.
The experts dismissed such reasoning as Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič stepped down, saying she saw no justified grounds for the step.
Unofficially, Oštir and Frank Eler were deemed unacceptable by Prime Minister Janez Janša and his Democrats (SDS).
European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said today that the European Commission was in contact with the Slovenian authorities for Slovenia to fulfil its obligations regarding the appointment as soon as possible.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office was launched today after all participating countries bar Slovenia and Finland had appointed their delegated prosecutors.
