Case № 6/ 2011 year Status: Resolved

Creating specialist courts, tribunals and other services within the system of general courts and the prosecution service is within the remit of competence of the National Assembly. A specialist court cannot be described as an “extraordinary tribunal” as long as it operates according to the same set of material and procedural rules that apply to general courts, including in terms of the conditions for the appointment of judges. The type of cases for which specialist criminal courts have material competence is to be decided by the lawmaker in line with government policy. The specialist criminal court may not hear cases outside of its material competence as defined by the lawmaker on the strength of charges being brought against a defendant already on trial by that court. An exception to this rule is allowable solely where there is substantial or partial similarity between the facts and circumstances to be proven during the trial. The specialist court is an ordinary tribunal within the system of general courts and the parties to cases tried by it are not obligated to appear before it as a matter of priority when parallel hearings at ordinary courts have been scheduled. Local councilors may put forth nominations for jurors because the appointments are subject to confirmation by the judiciary. The requirement for the judges to be appointed at the specialist court to be acting as judges or prosecutors immediately prior to taking up their appointment is discriminatory. The manner of calculating the remuneration of judges and prosecutors is a matter to be decided by the lawmaker. The Constitution does not allow the members of the Supreme Judicial Council to be subjected to the administrative procedure for credibility verification (vetting) for the purposes of obtaining access to classified information. A member of the Supreme Judicial Council – a body established in accordance with the Constitution – may not be excluded from deciding a matter by a majority of the other members of the same body. By Constitution a uniform procedure for appointing, promoting, seconding and dismissing magistrates is followed, which requires voting by secret ballot, including in respect of the administrative managers of courts. The Supreme Judicial Council does not have powers to enact bylaws but may adopt rules of procedure governing its work. The requirement for the Inspector General of the Judiciary to be an acting judge, prosecutor or investigating magistrate is discriminatory. The law may be applied retroactively solely where this does not carry a penalty or affect subjective rights and the stability of legal order.