The President of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Innsbruck, Klaus Schröder, called for a thorough review of the “Pilnacek system” by means of an external investigation at the weekend – independent of the criminal and disciplinary law examination.
You have to fight “weak points in our own area, where we expose ourselves to the danger of being corrupted, by all means”. “By that I mean quite specifically what the media called the ‘Pilnacek system’,” said Schröder, alluding to the allegations against Christian Pilnacek, who has since been suspended.
Schröder saw a need for reform in the appointment of the President and Vice President of the Supreme Court (OGH). “These are the only judicial positions in ordinary jurisdiction for which there is no ranking proposal by a staff senate,” he said.
No “judicial state”
The discussion about appointment processes in the judiciary arose after published chat messages suggested that the appointment to the head of the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2014 could have been motivated by party politics. Ex-Justice Minister Wolfgang Brandstetter (VP) is said not to have chosen the candidate ranked first by the Personnel Committee because his party did not approve of it.
Schröder does not see the solution, however, in the fact that the appointment of judges should be completely detached from political decision-making bodies. “From my point of view, it is absolutely unacceptable in terms of democratic politics for the judges to complement each other with their own decisions,” he said. “The democratic legitimacy of the judge is indispensable,” said Schröder – otherwise there is a risk of a “judiciary state”. In addition to the selection by the Minister of Justice and the appointment by the Federal President, there is also a need for independent staff senates to submit their nominations.
Source: Nachrichten
