“We want to strengthen and expand the independence of the judiciary. This is very important for us in terms of the rule of law and democracy. The commission’s report shows particularly clearly what the SPÖ has been demanding for 20 years: Austria needs an independent federal public prosecutor’s office as the highest authority, which can be clearly separated from the political leadership,” comments the SPÖ justice spokeswoman today on the published Kreutner report on political issues Influencing the judiciary. Further: “The SPÖ is clearly against a two-tier justice system.”
For the MP, the Kreutner report shows a differentiated picture and, above all, a problematic close relationship in the political area: “The report shows that the judiciary in Austria basically works well. It is important to draw the right conclusions from this: We need an open culture of error and must address grievances. One thing is very clear: in the area of justice, there should not even be the appearance of political influence. We have to ensure that.” To this end, the MP is calling for the reduction of reporting obligations to the higher authority, the abolition of the Instructions Council and the “clamorous cases” as well as a reform of the appointment of public prosecutors as well as service and technical supervision.
“Strengthening independence also means making sufficient resources and staff available. We are calling for a total of 100 more positions each for the public prosecutor’s office and the judges so that they can handle the multitude of tasks that are given to them,” concludes Yildirim. (Final) sd/ls
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