The Supreme Administrative Court hosted the Trilateral meeting with Czech and Polish partners

The trilateral meeting of the Czech, Polish and Slovak Supreme Administrative Courts was hosted by the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic from 30 September to 2 October 2024 in Bratislava.

Opening of the meeting by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic Mr. Pavol Naď. Photo © The Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic.

A delegation of representatives of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic, headed by its President, Mr. Karel Šimka, a delegation of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Poland, headed by its President, Mr. Jacek Chlebny, and Mr. Miroslav Gavalec, the Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union, were welcomed by Mr. Pavol Naď, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic

He stated that “in addition to the permanent bilateral cooperation with our Czech partner in the area of administrative justice, the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic has accepted to participate in the project of the “trilateral meeting” of the supreme administrative courts of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2023”.

Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union Miroslav Gavalec and Presidents of the Supreme Administrative Courts of the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Poland and the Czech Republic Pavol Naď, Jacek Chlebny and Karel Šimka at the Trilateral meeting. Photo © The Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic.

The aim of the meetings is to ensure regular dialogue between the judges of the supreme administrative courts and the exchange of current knowledge or challenges in the decision-making activity of the (supreme) administrative courts. The meetings are also intended to deepen the cooperation between the courts, which are linked by legal traditions as well as by current challenges of the organisation of the administrative judiciary and judicial practice in decision-making in areas of law regulated at the level of the European Union.

“After the last year’s first meeting in Krakow, we were now the host country of a working meeting of the three supreme administrative courts, whose programme focused on the legal areas of administrative punishment, social assistance and the foreigners’ agenda, all in the context of European law,” said Pavol Naď, who introduced the intention of the meeting in Slovakia.

The trilateral meeting addressed several key topics in working groups. Each session was opened by paper on specific legal area presented by a judge of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic, followed by a question-and-answer session and subsequent discussion among the participants.

The first session of the meeting led by judge of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic Mr. Juraj Vačok. Photo © The Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic.

The first session focused on the topic of administrative punishment in the decision-making of the supreme administrative courts in the context of the requirements under the Article 6 of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which was presented by judge Juraj Vačok. In the next panel, judge Elena Berthotyová opened the discussion with her presentation on unaccompanied minors in asylum proceedings in the context of requirements of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Procedural Directive. The last session was on the topic of social assistance and the European Parliament and Council regulations in the case law of the supreme administrative court, presented by judge Michal Novotný.

“I would like to thank Presidents Jacek Chlebny and Karel Šimka and all three working groups for the successful meeting and its conclusions, with a positive impact on the future of the decision-making practice of the administrative courts of the participating countries,” concluded the working part of the meeting Pavol Naď.

Participants of the Trilateral Meeting of the Presidents and Working Groups of the Supreme Administrative Courts of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Poland and the Slovak Republic in 2024 in Bratislava. Photo © The Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic.

Bilateral meetings of the Czech and Polish Supreme Administrative Courts have been held annually since 2011. For the first time, representatives of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic were invited to the ceremonial bilateral meeting of Polish and Czech Administrative Court Judges in June 2023 in Krakow as observers and guests of honour of the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Poland.