By: G. B.
It is already becoming clear who might succeed Marko Šorli and Špelca Mežnar on the Constitutional Court. The first names being mentioned are downright shocking.
The office of President Nataša Pirc Musar received 13 applications in response to the call for proposals for two vacant positions on the Constitutional Court. The President is seeking to appoint two constitutional judges to replace Špelca Mežnar and Marko Šorli, whose terms will expire this autumn.
So far, former president of the Slovenian Judges’ Association and senior judge Vesna Bergant Rakočević, President of the Supreme Court Miodrag Đorđević, and Supreme Court judge Primož Gorkič have confirmed their candidacies to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA). According to unofficial STA sources, a proposal was also submitted for Supreme Court judge Nina Betetto, although STA has not yet received confirmation from her. Both Betetto and Bergant Rakočević – the latter being the wife of Igor E. Bergant – were involved in what has been referred to as the judicial disgrace of the Patria case, while the case of the “gunslinger” Đorđević speaks for itself.
“I can confirm that I have given consent to the nomination for a possible constitutional court candidate, proposed by the Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana,” said Gorkič. Bergant Rakočević confirmed that she is being nominated by the Institute of Comparative Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana.
Ciril Keršmanc, head of the specialised and criminal division at the Ljubljana District Court, also confirmed his candidacy to Dnevnik. According to unofficial information from Dnevnik, lawyer Franci Matoz has also applied, although he neither confirms nor denies his candidacy.
President Pirc Musar published the public call for proposals for two constitutional judge positions in the Official Gazette at the end of April. The terms of current judges Špelca Mežnar and Marko Šorli will expire in the autumn.
The president’s office announced that all candidates meeting the required criteria will first be interviewed, followed by consultations with representatives of parliamentary party groups.
As the office explains, the President can propose candidates from among those who responded to the public call, but she may also propose others. She can nominate more candidates than there are available seats on the court.
To be eligible for the Constitutional Court, a candidate must be a legal expert and at least 40 years old.
“The President of the Republic emphasises the importance of a thorough appointment process for constitutional judges, whose independence and expertise ensure the protection of the constitutional order as well as human rights and fundamental freedoms,” her office added today.
In a recent interview with Delo, Pirc Musar said she would consider three criteria in the selection process: professional competence, gender representation – since with the end of Mežnar’s term, there will be only two women left on the nine-member Constitutional Court – and ideological orientation. The President considers it important that constitutional judges be legally conservative.