Judges sacked for inappropriate behavior, tardiness

Three judges – two appeals court judges and one first instance court judge – have been sacked due to inappropriate behavior and tardiness by the 65-member disciplinary council of the Supreme Court.

One of the sacked judges was involved in an incident where he jumped a queue in a supermarket to purchase 14 euros worth of goods, yelling at other customers that he was infected with Covid-19. 

He then returned to a car with no license plates, sitting in the back seat. When police were called, he verbally abused them. Presenting an outdated moped license, he refused to exit the vehicle, claiming that only a prosecutor could order him out. When he finally exited the vehicle and was apprehended by the officers, he began to shout that he was in possession of narcotics. One of the officers was lightly injured during the arrest. When his identity and professional credentials were established at the police station, he was released on a prosecutor’s order.

The same judge was suspended for six months in the past for indecent behavior, on and off duty.

Another judge was sacked for excessive delays in making rulings and unjustified absences from work, which in one case caused a personal injury case to fail due to the statute of limitations. In one case, it took her 2 years and 3 months to consider a decision and there were serious backlogs in 65 to 150 cases.

A third judge was also fired for delays in issuing decisions. Some 635 cases had to be reassigned from him to other colleagues.