Maribor Mayor violated integrity, CCP for its dismissal
The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (CCP) found that the mayor of the Municipality of Maribor Only Peter Medved In internal procedures, it exceeded its responsibilities and at the same time mislead the public.
In doing so, as the CCP wrote in a press release, it violated its integrity, as defined by the Integrity and Corruption Act. The findings of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption were also upheld by the Administrative Court, which dismissed the lawsuit of the person under consideration. The Commission will address the mayor of the Maribor municipality to initiate the dismissal process.
Requested the destruction of the official document
The procedure was initiated by the CCP on the basis of an application received in October 2023. The application resulted in allegations of suspected abuse of office and exceeding the authority of the mayor, Dr. Bear. In the process of determining alleged violations of rights to employees at the Municipality of Maribor, which also took place against himself, he demanded the destruction of the official document.
The Law on Integrity and Prevention of Corruption defines the integrity as « the expected functioning and responsibility of individuals and organizations in preventing and eliminating the risks to be used by the authorities, function, authority or other jurisdiction for decision -making in contravention of the law, legally permissible goals and ethical codes. »
The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption then introduced him again in November of the same year to investigate the suspicion of integrity. In the procedure, they obtained data and documentation of the Municipality of Maribor, the administrative inspection, the Ministry of Public Administration, the newspaper Večer, the Labor Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia, to review media publications and to interview the person and obtained explanations of other persons.
The court also confirmed the findings of the CCP that by submitting a false statement, the mayor was misleading the public. Photo: Jure Eržen
The CCP found that the mayor by e -mail, addressed to the then director of the municipal administration, requested insight into all the procedures on the basis of which the document « A functionary, professional mayor, dr. Only Peter Medved inappropriate communication/behavior in the work environment and at work events (shifting responsibility for one’s own errors or slippage). » He demanded the removal of this document from the writings and its destruction, thus acting contrary to the Local Self -Government Act and the Administrative Regulation. He even claimed for the evening that he did not require the destruction of this document.
The person under consideration filed a lawsuit against the findings of the CCP, but the Court of Justice has fully upheld the CCP’s findings. The judgment stated that the plaintiff with instructions, for which he did not have the authorization of the mayor and which were also contrary to the rules on the management of documentary material, tried to influence the municipal administration.
Namely, the mayor can direct and control the municipal administration only if he or she has a mayor’s authority, which he did not have in the specific case. The court wrote that the mayor could not refer to a lack of knowledge of legal regulations: « For officials and civil servants, they are expected to act conscientiously and carefully and know their obligations and duties or regulations in the field of their activities and that they always act in accordance with them. »
The mayor can direct and control the municipal administration only if he has the mayor’s power to do so, which he did not have in the specific case. Photo: Tadej Regent
The court also confirmed the findings of the CCP that by submitting a false statement, the mayor was misleading the public. It affirmed the position of the CCP that the submission of statements that later prove to be untrue is contrary to the basic ethical rules in force in society. « The officials or civil servants, with such statements, fundamentally destroy the public confidence in their work (honesty and reputation) and the reputation of institutions in which they perform their function or tasks entrusted to them in the public interest, » the court summarized.
The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption will, in accordance with Article 13b of the Integrity and Corruption Act, address the mayor of the City of Maribor to initiate the process of dismissal by Sam Peter Medved.
