The high judicial council status, election, dismissal, mandate, participation, jurisdiction

Abstract

The High Judicial Council (HJC) according to the Constitution is defined as an independent and autonomous body that shall secure and guarantee independence of courts and judges. The analysis of the constitutional solutions in relation to the European standards that regulate judicial councils shows that is it necessary to change the Constitution. The Constitution does not regulate the nature of the HJC's power, and we may initially conclude that it is a body of the parliament. All the members of the HJC, nine elected for the term of five years and three based on their function, are directly or indirectly elected by the Parliament. They do not have equal level of immunity. The functions of certain members of the HJC are duplicated which leads to the politicization of the Council. The comparative analysis shows that these problems are mostly overcame. The Constitution does not recognize the provisions on dismissal of the members of the HJC, while the HJC jurisdiction is not adequately determined. It is mandatory to empower the HJC with the full competence in relation to the election and dismissal of the judges and presidents of the courts. Other important competences must be designated too. It is necessary to introduce changes to the Constitution, which will effectively secure required guarantees of the independence of the HJC, so that it shall substantively secure the independence and autonomy of the courts.

Keywords

• high judicial council
• status
• composition
• election of members
• dismissal of members
• mandate
• jurisdiction