From the submission of the first reform proposals to the legislative process in December 2020 to its launch in June 2023, almost 30 months passed, significantly affecting the implementation of investment projects. Moreover, there are major discrepancies between the ministry’s original reform plans and the final legislation. The original 2020 judicial map reform proposal aimed for significant changes in the court system, particularly in court reorganization and jurisdiction adjustments. Another key goal was more efficient, faster, and higher-quality court decision-making, primarily through increased specialization of judges. Ultimately, the number of district courts was officially reduced from 54 to 36, but the former independent courts simply became branches of newly established district courts. In Bratislava and Košice, the district courts were transformed into four municipal courts in Bratislava and one in Košice. However, this did not lead to a fundamental change in territorial jurisdiction or the anticipated improvement in administrative efficiency.

“The final judicial map changes, particularly concerning first-instance district courts, are essentially a formal fulfilment of the original objectives without any substantial changes in their operations or jurisdiction. The reform also did not bring changes to the structure of regional courts,” emphasized Ľubomír Andrassy, chairman of the SAO. Some original reform objectives were met, such as the creation of an administrative court system and changes in the jurisdiction of regional courts. The establishment of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic, along with the development of its analytical unit contributing to effective, purposeful, and transparent management, serves as an example of best practice. However, the ministry failed to set measurable indicators to evaluate the reform’s effectiveness—neither during preparation nor implementation. According to the national external audit authority, there is a real risk that the reform’s impact will be impossible to objectively assess.

The low absorption of funds is due to several factors, including insufficient project preparation, unrealistic milestones that failed to consider the complexity of public procurement processes, bureaucratic complexity, and insufficient administrative capacity at the ministry, as well as an inadequate response to missed milestones. Out of the €123.8 million allocated for court building renovations under the RRP, not a single euro had been spent by the end of 2024. A planned revision now proposes reducing this amount to €103.6 million. Additional funding is allocated for building acquisitions, digitalization, and administrative capacities, bringing the total to €232.8 million, of which €83.7 million had been used by the end of last year. Additionally, the centralized judicial management information system project, worth almost €5 million, will not be implemented—despite being a key reform component. As a result, courts will continue using an outdated system from 2001, albeit with regular updates.

Investments in the judiciary are part of justice reform and will be included in Slovakia’s eighth payment request from the RRP, amounting to €550 million. Any delays or failures to meet even a single milestone—such as those related to the judiciary—could jeopardize the entire payment request to the European Commission. “The Supreme Audit Office has long warned the government and parliament about poor project management and ineffective internal control across various RRP components. Ultimately, Slovakia may end up utilizing significantly less from the original €6.4 billion RRP allocation due to poor management,” concludes the head of the national auditors.