| Ernest Valko | |
| Honorific Prefix: | JUDr. |
| Honorific Suffix: | PhD. |
| Birth Date: | 10 August 1953 |
| Birth Place: | Spišská Nová Ves, Czechoslovakia |
| Death Place: | Limbach, Slovakia |
| Alma Mater: | Comenius University |
| Occupation: | Lawyer, judge |
Ernest Valko, JUDr., PhD. (10 August 1953 – 8 November 2010) was the former Chairman of the Czechoslovak Constitutional Court and prominent Slovak lawyer. Valko was shot dead inside his home in Limbach in 2010.[1] As of May 2011, the investigation is still ongoing. According to newspaper Nový Čas, one of the versions points to an organized crime group from Bratislava.[2]
Ernest Valko was connected to numerous high-profile lawsuits at the time of his death.
Ernest Valko was born in Spišská Nová Ves, at that time Czechoslovakia. He received his M.A. at the Faculty of Law, Comenius University in Bratislava (1973–1977). In 1979 he received his rigorosum at the same school. From 2000 to 2004 he studied postgradually at the Institute of State and Law of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, earning his dissertation in 2004.
After the Velvet Revolution, he was co-opted by Verejnosť proti násiliu (the Slovak counterpart of the better known Civic Forum) as a Member of Parliament into the Federálne zhromaždenie (English: Federal assembly) in 1990. During his time in the parliament, Valko helped formulate the novelisations of the Labour Law, Trade Law, Competence Law, implementing the Charter of fundamental rights and freedoms and the constitutional Law of Referendum.He served as the deputy speaker of the Lower House of the Czechoslovak federal parliament (Sněmovna lidu) in the period 1990–1991. From 31 January 1992 to 31 December 1992 he was the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Czechoslovakia, the only one in its history.
After the creation of Slovakia in 1993 he established his own law firm and specialised in constitutional law. In 2006 he unsuccessfully run for the Slovak parliament.
Ernest Valko was connected to many important lawsuits in the past, including:
According to newspaper Pravda, Valko's murder may be connected to the 1999 shooting of former Minister in three Slovak governments and privatisation oligarch Ján Ducký. Ducký, as the former Director of SPP (Slovak Gas Industry – one of the most prosperous companies in Slovakia at that time) is the author of the so-called Duckého zmenky. Ernest Valko was SPP's attorney since 2000.[3] There are similarities between the shootings of Ducký and Valko.
Recently Valko represented Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš in a libel lawsuit filed against former Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico, the leader of the opposition Smer party, in which Mikloš was successful. Valko also was recently representing the state-owned lottery company, Tipos, in a suit in which there is the possibility that the state might lose 66 million euro.
There have been allegations that Valko was murdered because of the Tipos vs. Lemikon Limited case.[4]
Ernest Valko was found dead by his daughter and ex-wife in his home in Limbach on 8 November 2010. His death is under investiagion by Úrad boja proti organizovanej kriminalite.
According to newspaper SME, there are four possible motives for Valko's murder:[5]
As of May 2011, the consensus among Slovak pundits and journalists is that Ernest Valko's death was a targeted killing carried out by one of the organized groups of Slovakia's underground. The hit was probably ordered from the outside of the mafia and possibly carried out by a hitman from outside of Slovakia.