"Unfortunate picture"

Supreme Court President counters Kreutner’s criticism of the judiciary

Supreme Court President Georg Kodek criticized Kreutner.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/OGH,APA/FOTOKERSCHI.AT/ANTONIO BAYE,)

The red-white-red judiciary is currently on trial itself, so to speak. In the course of the publication of the "Pilnacek Report", anti-corruption expert Martin Kreutner spoke of a "two-tier justice system". The head of the Supreme Court, Georg Kodek, has now firmly contradicted this. And the Ministry of Justice has also commented on the prima case for the first time.  

Anti-corruption expert and head of the Pilnacek Commission, Martin Kreutner, gave the red-white-red justice system poor marks. He spoke of a "two-tier justice system" and that Austria would no longer be accepted into the European Union today. The commission was prompted - as the "Krone" reported several times - by serious accusations made by the now deceased justice official Christian Pilnacek, according to which parties and politicians would intervene in the Ministry of Justice if unpleasant court proceedings were threatened.

The associations of Austrian public prosecutors and judges already criticized Kreutner's statements on Thursday. Now the new President of the Supreme Court, Georg Kodek, has also spoken out. He made it clear to ORF that the judiciary was not affected by these accusations and considered Kreutner's statement to be an "undifferentiated blanket statement that must be clearly and decisively rejected".

"Undifferentiated" and "inaccurate"
The accusation made by Kreutner was, in its "undifferentiated" manner, "also incorrect for the public prosecutor's offices". After all, the Pilnacek Commission had stated that there had been channels of communication and attempts to intervene, but that no actual interventions had taken place.

As if that were not enough, Kodek welcomed the recommendations of the Pilnacek Commission's report, but identified an "unfortunate picture" in connection with passages of the report, some of which had already been included in the anti-corruption referendum initiated by Kreutner in 2022. An "inadmissible link" for Kreutner. He was not the only person involved in the report.

Minister of Justice Alma Zadić.

(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

The office of Justice Minister Alma Zadić has now also issued an initial statement on the dispute. "Constructive criticism is always welcome, as it allows further potential for improvement to be identified within the justice system. It is good when many people take part in the current discussion about possible reforms," it says.