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| - Slovak lawmakers on Wednesday began debating measures aimed at weeding out corruption in the judiciary, a key priority of the government elected on a wave of protests over the 2018 murder of a journalist probing graft. The investigation into the gangland-style murder of Jan Kuciak, as he probed the murky activities of a well-connected businessman, resulted in the sacking of more than a dozen judges on suspicion of corruption and other wrongdoing. Changes proposed by the centre-right government of Igor Matovic include tightening checks on the property disclosures of judges and a special new court designed to serve as a disciplinary body for them. "This legislation isn't simply a formality as it really introduces the values our judiciary needs... that is the principles of the rule of law and the restoration of confidence in the judiciary," Justice Minister Maria Kolikova said in parliament as debate got underway. Published last month, the European Commission's Rule of Law report found that the Slovak justice system "is characterised by a very low level of perceived judicial independence among both the general public and businesses." Transparency International ranks Slovakia 59 on its list of the world's most corrupt countries and high-level corruption has long been a topic of public concern. "It turns out that a lot of judges have made businesses out of justice," said Lajos Meszaros, a member of the Slovak Judiciary Council that oversees courts. "There were fixed prices of how much one had to pay the judges to get a milder punishment. It is a tragedy," the former constitutional court justice told AFP. Meszaros calls the proposed creation of a new court that would deal with, among others, legal procedures against judges, "one of the most important benefits of this reform." The judicial overhaul also calls for a fixed retirement age for judges: 65 years for lower court justices and 70 years for those on the Constitutional Court. Commanding 95 seats in parliament, the government is expected to muster enough support to adopt the reforms, which as constitutional amendments require a three-fifths majority in the 150-seat chamber. Slovakia's liberal President Zuzana Caputova, a lawyer by profession, is expected to sign them into law. The government wants the changes to come into force on January 1, 2021. High-profile businessman Marian Kocner was acquitted in September of ordering Kuciak's murder, a crime that exposed high-level political corruption and toppled the governing party. juh-mas/amj/pvh
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