COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2023 Rule of Law Report Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2023 Rule of Law Report The rule of law situation in the European Union
Date: 2023-07-05
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: Slovakia, administrative transparency, corruption, democracy, independence of the judiciary, infringement of EU law, pluralism in the media, political rights, rule of law

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 5.7.2023  SWD(2023) 825 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2023 Rule of Law Report         Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2023 Rule of Law Report                              The rule of law situation in the European Union {COM(2023) 800 final} - {SWD(2023) 801 final} - {SWD(2023) 802 final} - {SWD(2023) 803 final} - {SWD(2023) 804 final} - {SWD(2023) 805 final} - {SWD(2023) 806 final} - {SWD(2023) 807 final} - {SWD(2023) 808 final} - {SWD(2023) 809 final} - {SWD(2023) 810 final} - {SWD(2023) 811 final} - {SWD(2023) 812 final} - {SWD(2023) 813 final} - {SWD(2023) 814 final} - {SWD(2023) 815 final} - {SWD(2023) 816 final} - {SWD(2023) 817 final} - {SWD(2023) 818 final} - {SWD(2023) 819 final} - {SWD(2023) 820 final} - {SWD(2023) 821 final} - {SWD(2023) 822 final} - {SWD(2023) 823 final} - {SWD(2023) 824 final} - {SWD(2023) 826 final} - {SWD(2023) 827 final}  
 
 
ABSTRACT 

Reforms of the Slovak justice system continued. The reform of the judicial map has entered 
into force and a new separate system of administrative courts has become operational. The new 
regime for disciplinary proceedings regarding judges before the Supreme Administrative Court 
is reported to function well. No steps have been taken to ensure that the members of the Judicial 
Council  are  subject  to  sufficient  guarantees  of  independence  as  regards  their  dismissal.  No 
additional safeguards have been introduced in relation to the crime of ‘abuse of law’. Concerns 
continue regarding the power of the Prosecutor General to annul decisions of lower ranking 
prosecutors. The justice system still faces challenges as regards efficiency in  administrative 
cases. 

The planned update of Slovakia’s 2019 National Anti-Corruption Programme remains pending, 
while work on the new strategy for 2024-2028 is at an initial stage of preparation. No steps 
have yet been taken to regulate lobbying and some initial steps have been taken to strengthen 
the  legislation  on  conflicts  of  interests  and  asset  declarations.  Slovakia’s  dedicated 
Whistleblower  Protection  Office  is  investing  in  public  awareness  campaigns  to  address  the 
persistent low levels of reporting. Efforts to fight high-level corruption continued, with several 
former  high-ranking  officials  charged  with  bribery  offences.  The  use  of  the  Prosecutor 
General’s discretion to annul investigations in several high-level corruption cases continues to 
raise  concern,  while  some  progress  has  been  made  in  consulting  the  public  on  limiting  the 
respective provision in law. The coordination among the different law enforcement entities still 
requires  improvement,  and  allegations  of  politically  motivated  decisions  in  relation  to 
corruption investigations continue to erode law enforcement cooperation.  

The Council for Media Services operates autonomously and is sufficiently funded. Its remit 
was extended under the Media Services Act adopted in August 2022 to include research, media 
literacy  and  liaison  with  digital  media  platforms.  Legislative  frameworks  are  in  place  for 
ensuring  transparency  of  media  ownership.  The  independent  governance  of  public  service 
media has been enhanced while new concerns have arisen in terms of its sustainable financing. 
The Freedom of Information Act has undergone amendment to clarify the entities required to 
provide access. There has been legislative progress on a bill to improve the physical safety and 
working environment of journalists, including reform of the defamation regime.  

The involvement of stakeholders in the law-making process remains a concern, especially in 
connection  with  the  use  of  fast-track  procedures.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  enhance 
participation  in  the  creation  of  public  policies,  while  stakeholders  raise  concerns  over 
legislative  riders.  A  new  Ombudsperson  took  office  after  a  prolonged  vacancy,  and  a 
constitutional  amendment  was  adopted  to  prevent  such  a  situation  in  the  future.  The  law 
establishing a National Preventive Mechanism has been adopted by Parliament. Measures are 
planned  to  improve  the  environment,  funding  framework  and  status  of  civil  society,  but 
organisations and defenders on gender equality and LGBTIQ rights continue to face a difficult 
environment.  

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
RECOMMENDATIONS 

Overall, concerning the recommendations in the 2022 Rule of Law Report, Slovakia has made:  

  No  progress  yet  on  ensuring  that  the  members  of  the  Judicial  Council  are  subject  to 
sufficient  guarantees  of  independence  as  regards  their  dismissal,  taking  into  account 
European standards on independence of Judicial Councils.  

  No progress on ensuring that sufficient safeguards are in place and duly observed when 
subjecting  judges  to  criminal  liability  for  the  crime  of  “abuse  of  law”  as  regards  their 
judicial decisions.  

  Some  progress  towards  strengthening  the  legislation  on  conflicts  of  interest  and  asset 

declarations and no progress on introducing proposals to regulate lobbying.  

  No progress on improving the coordination among the different law enforcement entities 
and  some  progress  to  ensure  the  objectivity  of  prosecutorial  decisions,  including  by 
continuing to advance the legislative amendments to restrict the power of the Prosecutor-
General to annul prosecutorial decisions with a view to promoting a robust track record of 
high -level corruption cases.  

  Some progress on advancing with the process to establish legislative and other safeguards 
to improve the physical safety and working environment of journalists, including the reform 
of defamation law, taking into account European standards on the protection of journalists.  
  Some  progress  on  strengthening  the  rules  and  mechanisms  to  enhance  the  independent 
governance  and  editorial  independence  of  public  service  media  taking  into  account  the 
European standards on public service media.  

On this basis, in addition to recalling the commitments made under the National Recovery and 
Resilience Plan, relating to certain aspects of the justice system, it is recommended to Slovakia 
to: 

 

Introduce measures to ensure that the members of the Judicial Council, notably those not 
elected  by  judges,  are  subject  to  sufficient  guarantees  of  independence  as  regards  their 
dismissal, taking into account European standards on independence of Judicial Councils.  
  Ensure that sufficient safeguards are in place and duly observed when subjecting judges to 

 

criminal liability for the crime of “abuse of law” as regards their judicial decisions. 
Introduce proposals to regulate lobbying and to strengthen the legislation on conflicts of 
interest and asset declarations.  

  Take measures to improve the coordination among the different law enforcement entities 
and ensure the objectivity of prosecutorial decisions, including by continuing to advance 
the  legislative  amendments  to  restrict  the  power  of  the  Prosecutor-General  to  annul 
prosecutorial  decisions  with  a  view  to  promoting  a  robust  track  record  of  high  -level 
corruption cases. 

  Advance  with  the  process  to  establish  legislative  and  other  safeguards  to  improve  the 
physical safety and working environment of journalists, including the reform of defamation 
law, taking into account European standards on the protection of journalists.  

  Continue  with  the  process  of  strengthening  the  rules  and  mechanisms  to  enhance  the 
independent  governance  and  editorial  independence  of  public  service  media  taking  into 
account the European standards on public service media.  

  Ensure  effective  public  consultation  and  stakeholder  involvement  in  the  law-making 

process.  

2 

 
 
I. 

JUSTICE SYSTEM  

The court system of the Slovak Republic consists of 36 District Courts, five Municipal Courts, 
eight  Regional  Courts,  three  Administrative  Courts,  the  Specialised  Criminal  Court,  the 
Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court and the Slovak Constitutional Court1. The 
Regional Courts function as the courts of appeal in civil, commercial and criminal cases. The 
Specialised Criminal Court is competent to judge serious criminal matters as enumerated in the 
relevant provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure2. The Judicial Council plays a central 
role  in  the  administration  of  the  judiciary  and  in  the  appointment  of  judges,  as  well  as  in 
maintaining judicial ethics. Half of its members (9 out of 18) are judges elected by their peers. 
Other members of the Judicial Council are appointed by the Slovak President, the Parliament 
and  the  Government3.  The  public  prosecution  service  of  Slovakia  is  an  independent  state 
authority  headed  by  the  Prosecutor  General4.  Slovakia  participates  in  the  European  Public 
Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The Slovak Bar Association is an independent self-administrative 
professional organisation5. 

Independence  

The level of perceived judicial independence in Slovakia is now low among the general 
public and continues to be low among companies. Overall, 34% of the general population 
and 31% of companies perceive the level of independence of courts and judges to be ‘fairly or 
very good’ in 20236. According to data in the 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard, no clear trend can 
be identified in the evolution of the perceived level of independence among the general public 
since 2016. Nevertheless, this figure has increased in comparison with 2022 (25%), as well as 
with  2016  (21%).  The  perceived  judicial  independence  among  companies  has  increased 
slightly in comparison with 2022 (30%) as well as with 2016 (7%). 

The reform of the judicial map has entered into force, as one of key reforms to make the 
justice  system  more  efficient.  The  reform,  referred  to  in  the  2021  and  2022  Rule  of  Law 
reports7, entered into force on 1 June 2023. Its implementation was postponed by five months8, 
mainly  to  improve  the  preparation  of  the  justice  system  for  the  launch  of  the  reform.  This 
involved  enhanced  awareness  raising  and  communication  with  judges  and  ensuring  that  all 
courts are sufficiently staffed and that work plans of the new courts are prepared9. The reform, 
which is also part of the Slovak National Recovery and Resilience Plan, decreases the number 
of  district  courts  from  54  to  36,  changes  territories  of  regional  courts,  and  establishes  five 

1   For a description of the judicial structure, see e.g. the Annual study for the European Commission carried out 

by the Council of Europe Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ). 

2   Slovak  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  para.  14  (e.g.  premeditated  murder,  corruption,  terrorism,  organised 

crime, severe economic crimes, damaging the financial interests of the EU etc.). 

3   Art. 141a of the Slovak Constitution. 
4   Arts. 149-151 of the Slovak Constitution; Act No. 153/2001 Coll. on Public Prosecution Service. 
5   Parliamentary Act No. 586/2003 Coll. on the Legal Profession and on Amending Act No. 455/1991 Coll. on 

the Business and Self-employment Services (Business Licensing Act) of 4 December 2003. 

6   Figures 49 and 51, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard. The level of perceived judicial independence is categorised 
as follows: very low (below 30% of respondents perceive judicial independence as fairly good and very good); 
low (between 30-39%), average (between 40-59%), high (between 60-75%), very high (above 75%). 

7   2021 and 2022 Rule of Law Reports, pp. 6-7 and pp. 5-6, respectively. 
8   Act No. 398/2022 Coll. of 10 November 2022.  
9   Information received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. Contribution 

from the Slovak Bar Association for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 19. 

3 

 
 
                                                           
municipal courts. This will allow to introduce specialisation of the judges on the main judicial 
agendas:  civil,  criminal,  commercial,  and  family  law.  Administrative  law  cases  will  be 
addressed in a separate system of administrative courts. The expectation is that the new map 
and specialisation of judges will improve the efficiency and quality of the justice system. The 
transfer of judges and staff from the dissolved courts to the new courts does not require them 
to physically move to other locations, as these original locations will serve as a branch of the 
successor  court.  Should  a  judge  be  transferred  between  two  workplaces  of  the  same  court 
without their consent10, the law11 stipulates that the proposal shall be submitted by the President 
of the Court to the Judicial Council if it is considered that such transfer is necessary for the 
proper  functioning  of  the  court  and  requires  a  prior  consent  of  the  Judicial  Council12.  The 
transferred judge could claim a breach of his or her right to equal access to office before the 
Constitutional Court13. European standards foresee that judges who would be transferred in the 
course of a reform without their consent benefit from procedural safeguards in order to ensure 
that  their  independence  is  not  jeopardised,  with  the  grounds  for  transfer  of  judges  clearly 
established and a mandatory transfer decided by means of transparent proceedings conducted 
by an independent body or authority without any external influences and whose decisions are 
subject to challenge or review14. In view of the latter, the conditions and criteria under which 
the  transfer  can  be  done  could  be  specified,  in  order  to  better  support  the  judicial  review. 
Stakeholders mostly welcomed the reform and agreed with the postponement of its coming into 
effect,  however,  some  also  warned  that  the  efficiency  of  the  justice  system  might  be 
temporarily affected after its launch15. It was noted that the reform will have consequences in 
terms of travel to the nearest court16.  

The  new  regime  for  disciplinary  proceedings  regarding  judges  before  the  Supreme 
Administrative  Court  is  reported  to  function  well.  The  2020  Constitutional  amendment 
introduced  a  new  system  of  disciplinary  proceedings  regarding  judges,  prosecutors, 
enforcement  agents  and  notaries,  by  transferring  the  decisive  powers  to  the  Supreme 

10   According to information provided by Slovak authorities and Judicial Council, there was no case of a transfer 

of judge without their consent in the course of the reform.  

11   Act No. 398/2022 Coll. 
12   Act No. 398/2022 Coll., Art. 9, section 2. Stakeholders have pointed at this strong managerial power of the 
Court President combined with the strong role of the executive power in the Court Presidents’ selection and 
dismissal and voiced concerns over the impact this might have on judicial independence. Contribution from 
Association of Judges of Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 10. Information received in the context 
of the country visit to Slovakia from the Association of Judges of Slovakia.  
13   Decision of the Constitutional Court, II. ÚS 298_2015, of 15 December 2016.  
14   ENCJ Report of 2012-2013 on  minimum standards for the  evaluation of professional performance and the 
irremovability of members of the judiciary, p.20. Also Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 of the Committee 
of Ministers of the Council of Europe, para. 52; European Charter of the Statute of Judges, Arts. 1.4., 3.4.; 
report of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary, on Minimum standards for the evaluation of 
professional performance and the irremovability of members of the judiciary, proposal 4.21; judgment of the 
European Court of Human Rights of 9 March 2021, Bilgen v Turkey, 1571/07, para. 96. 

15   Information received from the Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court in the context of the country 
visit to Slovakia. Concerns about the efficiency were also raised in Comments of the Association of Judges of 
Slovakia on the draft law to delay the entry into force of the so-called new judicial map, 17 October 2022.  
16   Under the new map, bigger court districts are established as a result of the reduction of the number of district 
courts.  In  some  districts,  there  will  be  more  than  one  locations  of  the  same  court  (a  seat  and  a  so-called 
workplace) and it can happen that a case will be randomly assigned to a site which is further away from the 
residence of the court user. Contribution from Association of Judges of Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law 
Report, p. 14. Information received from the Association of Judges of Slovakia in the context of the country 
visit to Slovakia.  

4 

 
 
                                                           
Administrative  Court17.  The  disciplinary  proceedings  are  conducted  by  a  disciplinary  panel 
composed of five members, three of which, including the Chair, are judges of the Supreme 
Administrative Court appointed according to a work schedule, and the remaining two members 
are selected randomly from a list of persons elected by the Judicial Council18. A question posed 
by the Supreme Administrative Court is pending before the Constitutional Court related to the 
composition of the panels19. The new model is assessed very positively by stakeholders, who 
have reported a good functioning of the system, reasonable time for the decision-making and 
emerging unified case law20. A judge condemned in the disciplinary proceedings may challenge 
the decision before an appellate body21 if the decided sanction is dismissal from office22. There 
is also a possibility to challenge the decision of the disciplinary panel before the Constitutional 
Court in such cases23.  

There has been no progress regarding the regime for the dismissal of the members of the 
Judicial Council. The 2022 Rule of Law Report recommended to Slovakia to “ensure that the 
members of the Judicial Council are subject to sufficient guarantees of independence as regards 
their  dismissal,  taking  into  account  European  standards  on  independence  of  Judicial 
Councils”24. As stated in the 2022 Rule of Law Report, despite the Judicial Council having 
been  granted  more  powers  by  the  2020  Constitutional  amendment25,  the  conditions  for  the 
dismissal of its members, notably those not elected by judges26, have still not been laid out in 
law27.  This  absence  may  affect  the  independence  of  the  members  of  the Judicial  Council28. 
According to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, judicial councils need 
to  be  subject  to  sufficient  guarantees  of  independence  in  relation  to  the  legislature  and  the 

17  2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, pp. 7-8. Since January 
2022, 100 cases have been decided, of which 67 cases concerned judges, 1 prosecutor, 15 notaries and 17 
enforcement agents, information provided in the context of the country visit to Slovakia from the Supreme 
Administrative Court (March 2023). 

18   Section 5 and following of the Act on the disciplinary proceedings, No. 432/2021 Coll. 
19   The Supreme Administrative Court has posed a legal question to the Constitutional Court whether prosecutors 
-  assisting  judges  -  are  independent  enough,  as  their  selection  to  the  panel  depends  on  the  opinion  of  the 
Prosecutor General.  

20   Information provided in the context of the country visit to Slovakia from the Judicial Council, the Judges for 

Open Judiciary, the Association of Judges of Slovakia and the Slovak Bar Association. 

21   An appellate  body is composed of five judges of the Supreme  Administrative Court.  Information received 
from the Supreme Administrative Court. See also 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of 
law situation in Slovakia, p. 8.  

22   Sec. 37 of Act No. 432/2021 on disciplinary proceedings conducted by the Supreme Administrative Court. 
23   Based on Art. 127 of the Constitution.  
24   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 2.  
25   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, pp. 3-4.  
26   The Council is composed of 18 Members, half of which are judges elected by their peers. The Government, 
the Parliament and the President of the Republic each choose three members as well. Members of the Council 
can be dismissed only by the body which appointed them.  

27   Input from the Slovak Government for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 2; Input from the Office of the Public 
Defender of Rights for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 10; Information received from the Ministry of Justice, 
the Judicial Council, Judges for Open Judiciary, Association of Judges of Slovakia in the context of the country 
visit to Slovakia. 

28   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 3; Contribution from 
the Association of Judges of Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 12; Information received from the 
Judicial Council and the Association of Judges of Slovakia in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. 

5 

 
 
                                                           
executive including as regards the way their members can be dismissed29. As no action has 
been taken, there has been no progress yet on the implementation of the 2022 recommendation.  

No additional safeguards have been introduced to the crime of ‘abuse of law’. The 2022 
Rule of Law Report recommended to Slovakia to “ensure that sufficient safeguards are in place 
and duly observed when subjecting judges to criminal liability for the crime of ‘abuse of law’ 
as regards their judicial decisions”30. The crime of ‘abuse of law’, under which judges may be 
prosecuted  for  an  arbitrary  decision  causing  damage  to  or  bestowing  a  favour  on  another 
person, has been introduced with the 2020 Constitutional amendment, with the aim to enhance 
the integrity regime for judges31. In practice, by March 2023, more than 100 crime reports were 
filed based on this provision, and one judge was convicted of this crime in court32. The Office 
of the Special Prosecutor reported a high burden connected with handling all these vexatious 
complaints, which have so far been dismissed in early stages of proceedings33. The possibility 
for the Judicial Council to discontinue the criminal proceedings against a judge by a vote of 
minimum 10 of its members, described in the previous editions of the Rule of Law Report34, 
can take place only after the indictment enters into effect, which means that at the moment of 
the voting within the Judicial Council on this matter, the judge may be already in detention35. 
Stakeholders reiterated that the mere existence of such crime and complaints creates a negative 

29   The Court of Justice of the European Union has recalled, as regards the process for appointing members of the 
judiciary, for a Council of the Judiciary to contribute to rendering that process more objective, it is necessary 
that such a body should itself be sufficiently independent of the legislature, the executive and the authority to 
which it is required to submit an opinion on the assessment of candidates for a judicial post (judgment of 20 
April 2021, Case C-896/19, Repubblika, ECLI:EU:C:2021:311, para. 66). 

30   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 2. 
31   Section 326a of the Slovak Criminal Code; 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law 

situation in Slovakia, p. 4.  

32   In 2021 and 2022, 114 criminal reports were filed based on the crime of abuse of law; Information received 
from the Office of the Special Prosecutor in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. The conviction was a 
result of a requalification of a previous different indictment during court proceedings. 

33   Information received from the Office of the Special Prosecutor in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. 
34   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, pp. 4-5; 2021 Rule of Law 

Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 6. 

35   Slovak Judicial Council, Decision No 63/2023 on the crime of abuse of law, as stipulated in Section 326a of 
the  Criminal  Code,  16  February  2023.  Criminal  proceedings  are  led  by  the  Special  Prosecutor  and  a 
Specialised Criminal Court. A judge accused of this crime is entitled to request the Judicial Council to express 
its  disagreement  on  the  continuation  of  the  criminal  prosecution,  which,  if  granted,  is  tantamount  to  the 
termination  of  the  proceedings  (this  safeguard  was  originally  only  effective  until  2024,  but  the  relevant 
provision  was  subsequently  amended  and  it  is  no  longer  temporary;  Art.  IX  of  Act  No.  432/2021).  The 
prosecuted judge may be temporarily suspended only by a decision of a disciplinary court; 2022 Rule of Law 
Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, pp. 4-5. Association of Judges of Slovakia 
expressed  that  the  strongest  safeguard  would  be  to  restore  the  functional  immunity  of  judges  as  it  existed 
before 31 December 2020, allowing for criminalisation of a judge for corruption and disciplinary action for an 
arbitrary  decision  in  breach  of  the  law,  if  it  caused  significant  damage  or  another  particularly  serious 
consequence. In the current regime, a change that would make the prosecution of a judge for their decision 
conditional on the consent of the majority of all members of the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic (as 
opposed to the current decision on opposition to his prosecution) would also be seen  be as a step forward. 
Information received from the Association of Judges of Slovakia in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. 
European  standards  provide  that  subjecting  judges  to  liability  for  their  judicial  decisions  may  occur  in 
exceptional cases of malice and gross negligence, the forms of conduct which may constitute a crime should 
be  defined  sufficiently  clearly  and  precisely,  and  any  regime  governing  personal  liability  of  judges  must 
provide necessary guarantees to prevent any risk of abuse, cf 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on 
the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 5. 

6 

 
 
                                                           
psychological effect on judges, as the lack of clarity and insufficient safeguards could lead to 
a potential misuse of the provision36. As there have been no additional safeguards in relation 
to the crime of ‘abuse of law’, no progress has been made on the 2022 recommendation.  

Concerns continue regarding the power of the Prosecutor General to annul decisions of 
lower ranking prosecutors. As already noted in the 2022 Rule of Law Report37, the Prosecutor 
General  has  the  power,  as  an  extraordinary  remedy,  to  annul  any  final  decision  by  lower-
ranking prosecutors or the police made in the course of criminal proceedings38. There is no 
legal remedy against such decision and no judicial review39. European standards foresee that 
interested  parties  or  victims  are  able  to  challenge  decisions  of  public  prosecutors  not  to 
prosecute40. In addition, European standards relating to autonomy and internal independence 
within the prosecution service call for a clear mechanism to allow lower level prosecutors to 
appeal against assignments or instructions of a superior prosecutor41. These apply also in cases 
where  the  Prosecutor  General  can  issue  a  decision  on  discontinuation  of  the  prosecution 
procedure directly42. A draft amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure, submitted to an 
interdepartmental consultation in September 2022, narrowed down this power of the Prosecutor 
General43. Many responded to that consultation, which was concluded in December 2022. The 
Ministry of Justice now aims at having the proposal adopted by the Government. However, 
according to the Ministry, any proposal is unlikely to be tabled to the Parliament before the 

36   Contribution from the Association of Judges of Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 13. Information 
received from the Judicial Council and Judges for Open Judiciary in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. 
The Judicial Council has publicly issued a decision No 63/2023 on the crime of abuse of law, as stipulated in 
Section 326a of the Criminal Code, from 16 February 2023.  

37   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 9. 
38   Art. 363(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Prosecutor General shall revoke the final decision of the 

prosecutor or police officer if the decision or proceedings which preceded it were in breach of the law. 

39   Art. 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code. See also Figure 59, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard. Following such 
decision, the only possibility for investigators to bring again charges is to start the process again and collect 
new evidence different from what was presented in the original case. 

40   Interested  parties  of  recognised  or  identifiable  status,  in  particular  victims,  should  be  able  to  challenge 
decisions of public prosecutors not to prosecute; such a challenge may be made, where appropriate after a 
hierarchical review, either by way of judicial review, or by authorising parties to engage private prosecution. 
Recommendation  Rec(2000)19  of  the  Committee  of  Ministers  on  the  Role  of  Public  Prosecution  in  the 
Criminal Justice System, para 34. See also Venice  Commission CDL-AD(2010)040-e Report on European 
Standards as regards the Independence of the Judicial System: Part II — the Prosecution Service (2011), para 
45 and Venice Commission Rule of Law Checklist (2016), para. 96.  

41   Clear  mechanisms  should  be  established,  which  will  allow  lower-level  prosecutors  to  appeal  against 
assignments  or  instructions  of  a  superior  prosecutor  if  they  find  that  these  assignments  or  instructions  are 
illegal or unjustified. CCPE Opinion No. 13: Independence, accountability and ethics of prosecutors (2018), 
para 43. Also Recommendation CM/Rec(2000)19 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the role 
of public prosecution in the criminal justice system, recommendation 9 and 10; Venice Commission, Rule of 
Law Checklist, CDL-AD(2016)007rev, para. 92.  

42   Venice  Commission CDL-AD(2014)042, Opinion No. 785/2014 Interim Opinion on the Draft  Law on the 

State Prosecution Office of Montenegro, paras. 34 and 108. 

43   Art. 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code was proposed to be amended to say that the Prosecutor General “shall 
revoke  a  final  order  of  the  prosecutor  or  police  officer  if  such  a  decision  violated  the  law  in  essential 
circumstances or because of substantial defects in the proceedings prior to it.” In addition, a new section was 
included: “Where a court has decided to place the accused person in custody or to replace pre-trial detention, 
or where a European Arrest Warrant or an international arrest warrant has been issued against the accused, or 
the  court has  issued a different decision in the pre-trial stage showing that the charge  is  well  founded and 
lawful, the Prosecutor General may not overturn the order imposing the charge”. LP/2022/513 Act amending 
Act No 301/2005 Coll., Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended, and amending certain acts.  

7 

 
 
                                                           
early  Parliamentary  elections  planned  for  September  202344.  In  parallel,  the  Parliamenatary 
Constitutional  Committee  also  proposed  a  partial  amendment  to  the  Article45.  Stakeholders 
generally accept the power of the Prosecutor General defined by Article 363 as an extraordinary 
remedy.  However,  they  have  raised  issues  as  regards  consistency  and  transparency  of  the 
process, especially in the way it has been applied by the Prosecutor General in several high-
profile cases (see also in section 2), and call for an expert discussion on the conditions of its 
application, including non-interference in judiciary power46. Art. 363 was challenged before 
the  Constitutional  Court,  which  confirmed  that  the  provision  does  not  violate  the 
Constitution47.  

Criminal proceedings in relation to corruption and abuse of office charges against judges 
continue. These proceedings are related to longstanding concerns regarding the independence 
and  integrity  of  the  Slovak  justice  system,  as  already  referred  to  in  the  2020  Rule  of  Law 
Report48.  The  need  to  continue  addressing  specific  concerns  on  the  overall  integrity  of  the 
justice  system  has  been  raised  in  the  context  of  the  European  Semester,  and  Slovakia  has 
received a country specific recommendation to this end49. So far, high-profile police operations, 
as also referred to in the previous editions of the Rule of Law Report50 have, as regards judges, 
resulted in four indictments, two proposals for indictments and three convictions in court in 
2022. Twelve investigations were ongoing as of March 202351.  

A  new  law  clarifies  the  conditions  for  searches  that  could  affect  the  confidentiality 
between lawyer and client, after warning by the Bar Association of repeated breaches by 
law enforcement. Following reports of threats and harassment encountered by lawyers in the 
course of their practice, noted by the 2022 Rule of Law Report52, the Bar Association has drawn 
attention to repeated breaches of the procedure that governs searches of law firms’ premises53, 
which  it  claims  undermines  confidentiality  as  stipulated  by  law,  and  as  interpreted  by 
Constitutional Court54. An amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, effective since 1 
May 2023, clarified the conditions for searches of premises where documents might be present 

44   Information received from the Ministry of Justice in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. 
45   Resolution  of  the  Constitutional  Committee  of  the  Parliament  No.  781  from  8  June  2023,  point  29  on  the 
proposal for an amendment of the Criminal Code. The amendment proposes to specify that the “violation of 
law” signifies a substantial mistake which could have influenced the decision on merit.  

46   Contribution from Civil Liberties Union for Europe for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, Slovakia, pp. 2, 13-16. 
Information  received  from  the  Office  of  the  Special  Prosecutor,  President  of  the  Police,  Judicial  Council, 
Association of Judges of Slovakia, Judges for Open Judiciary, Supreme Court and Via Iuris in the context of 
the country visit to Slovakia. The original absence of, need for and the contribution of expert discussion has 
also been highlighted by the Slovak Bar Association in its contribution from for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, 
p. 10 and in the contribution from CCBE for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 87.  

47   Judgment of Slovak Constitutional Court of 21 June 2023, PL. ÚS 1/2022. The motion was submitted by a 

group of Members of Parliament and the President of the Slovak Republic. 

48   2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 2.  
49   “Address the integrity concerns in the justice system.” Council Recommendation of 20 May 2020 on the 2020 
National Reform Programme of Slovakia and delivering a Council opinion on the 2020 Stability Programme 
of Slovakia, COM(2020) 525 final. 

50   2020, 2021 and 2022 Rule of Law Reports, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p.2, pp. 

2-3 and p. 8, respectively.  

51   Data received from the Office of the General Prosecutor.  
52   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 9. 
53   Contribution from CCBE for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, pp. 86-87 and contribution from the Slovak Bar 

Association for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, pp. 11-12. 

54   III. ÚS/455/2022 of 08.12.2022, II. ÚS 96/2010 and III. ÚS 68/2010.  

8 

 
 
                                                           
that  are  subject  to  legal  professional  secrecy.  In  such  cases,  the  law  enforcement  authority 
carrying out the act is obliged to seek the assistance of the Slovak Bar Association and of the 
pre-trial  judge55.  The  Slovak  Bar  Association  continued  in  its  activities  to  promote  expert 
dialogue in the justice sector, as already reported in the 2022 Rule of Law Report56, including 
a creation of criminal law sub-platform to discuss the ongoing reforms of the Criminal Code 
and Code of Criminal Procedure57. 

Quality  

A new separate system of administrative courts has become operational. The new separate 
system of three administrative courts was created by the law of 27 April 202258, as referred to 
in the 2021 and 2022 Rule of Law reports59, and finally entered into force on 1 June 2023, after 
its  implementation  was  postponed  by  five  months60.  The  postponement  was  related  to  the 
delayed coming info effect of the new judicial map (see above) and difficulties in filling the 
vacancies for judges in the new courts61. The issue was tackled, among others, by easing the 
conditions of the transfer of judges to the new courts62. Consequently, as of 1 March 2023, the 
number of judges in these courts exceeded the minimum number needed for the transition of 
the administration of justice from regional courts to the administrative courts63. The selection 
of the first presidents of the new administrative courts was performed by 31 July 2022 by a 
committee of five members chosen by the Minister of Justice, three of which were nominated 
from a list proposed by the Ministry of Justice and two from a list proposed by the Judicial 

55   Act No. 111/2023 Coll. of 16 March 2023, Art. 1.  
56   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 9. 
57   Contribution  from  Slovak  Bar  Association  for  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  19.  Lawfulness  and 
effectiveness  of  criminal  proceedings  with  an  emphasis  on  preliminary  proceedings  -  joint  statement  of 
representatives of the Supreme Court, Prosecution General, Slovak Bar Association and law faculties, 6 July 
2022. Meeting of representatives of the main judicial institutions  - a joint call of the Supreme Court of the 
Slovak Republic, the General Prosecutor's Office of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Bar Association, 21 
November 2022.  
58   Act No. 151/2022 Coll. 
59   2021 and 2022 Rule of Law Reports, pp. 7-8 and p. 7, respectively. 
60   Act  No.  398/2022  Coll.  of  10  November  2022.  The  Supreme  Administrative  Court  had  already  been 
established by the Constitutional amendment of 2020 (Constitutional Act No. 422/2020 Coll. amending the 
Constitution of the Slovak Republic No. 460/1992 Coll. ) and became operational as of 1 August 2021.  

61   DenníkN Interview with Minister of Justice Viliam Karas (4 October 2022).  
62   This included, among other, that judges of the regional court, who specialise in administrative matters, could 
apply until February 2023 for a transfer to the new administrative courts without the need to go through a 
selection process and without an ex-ante supervision of the fulfilment of the prerequisites of competence of 
the judge. The supervision would be performed by the Judicial Council within three months after the transfer. 
Other judges could also apply until February 2023 for a transfer to the administrative courts without the need 
to go through a selection process. Act No. 398/2022 Coll, Art. XII, section 4.  

63   Transition of the administration of justice from regional courts to administrative courts as of 1 June 2023, 1 
March  2023.  Positions  in  the  new  administrative  courts  were  filled  in  three  ways:  by  existing  judges  who 
applied  for  the  transfer,  judges  who  have  been  seconded  or  temporarily  transferred  and  candidates  who 
succeeded in competitions for the positions.  

9 

 
 
                                                           
Council64. The aim of the reform  is  to  improve the efficiency  and quality  of administrative 
justice65 . 

The level of digitalisation of the justice system is advanced with efforts to improve and 
integrate  electronic  case  management  systems.  Digital  tools  are  broadly  used  in  courts, 
including an electronic case management system, technology for distance communication and 
electronic case allocation. The prosecution service uses an electronic case management system 
and  allocates  cases  electronically,  but  prosecutors  and  staff  cannot  yet  securely  work 
remotely66. The Ministry of Justice prioritises the development of a new Court Management 
System and the new Commercial Register. The Office of the Prosecutor General cooperates 
with the Ministry of Interior on the connection between the information systems of the police 
and prosecution with the aim of an electronic exchange of documents in the first stage and of 
the whole investigation file progressively67. Digitalisation efforts are also supported by funding 
from the EU, including the Recovery and Resilience Facility68.  

Efficiency 

The  justice  system  continues  to  face  challenges  as  regards  efficiency  in  administrative 
cases  and  in  several  other  types  of  cases.  As  already  noted  in  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report, 
proceedings  in  administrative  cases  are  comparatively  lengthy  in  EU  perspective69.  Also  in 
2021,  the  efficiency  of  proceedings  in  administrative  cases  continued  to  decline70.  The 
estimated time of resolving administrative cases at first instance increased to 679 days in 2021 
(from 585 days in 2020)71. At the same time, the rate of resolving administrative cases at first 
instance decreased to 80.1 % in 2021 (from 86 % in 2020)72, which is one of the lowest in the 
EU and indicates that courts did not keep up with their incoming caseload73. As regards civil 
and commercial cases, the estimated length of proceedings in litigious civil and commercial 
cases was 206 days (204 days in 2020), which places Slovakia in the middle field in the EU74. 

64   Act 151/2022 Coll. of 27 April 2022, part 3, section 6; Input from Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, 

p. 4. 

65   Explanatory statement to the Government draft law on the establishment of administrative courts and on the 
amendment  of  certain  laws,  https://www.nrsr.sk/web/Dynamic/DocumentPreview.aspx?DocID=508019, 
pp.1-2.  

66   Figure 42, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
67   Input from Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 15.  
68   The Slovak Recovery and Resilience Plan plans investments into digitalisation and analytical capacities for 
the justice system, in particular under Component 15 of the Slovak Recovery and Resilience plan. Component 
15 of the Slovak National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Annex to the Proposal for a Council Implementing 
Decision on the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Slovakia, COM(2021) 339 
final, pp. 127 – 133. 

69   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 10. 
70   Figure 8, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
71   Figure 8, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
72   Figure 12, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
73   Data for 2022 from the Ministry of Justice suggests improved efficiency in administrative cases (estimated 
length of proceedings at first instance decreased to 648 days while the rate of resolving cases moving to 93 
%). Despite the improvements in administrative cases, Slovakia belongs to Member States with the longest 
disposition time while the rate of resolving cases remains below 100 %, indicating that courts did not keep up 
with incoming caseload. 

74   Figure 6, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard.   Data  for  2022  from  the  Ministry  of  Justice  suggest  improved 
efficiency (estimated length of proceedings at first instance decreased to 141 days and the rate of resolving 
cases improved to 108 %). 

10 

 
 
                                                           
The rate of resolving litigious civil and commercial cases at first instance was 104%75, which 
means  that  courts  are  generally  able  to  deal  with  the  incoming  cases  in  these  categories. 
Nevertheless, several groups of cases concerning excessive length of civil proceedings have 
been examined by the Council of Europe76. Stakeholders signal that court proceedings in some 
cases  pertaining  to  racial  discrimination77,  debt  and  claim  enforcement  or  care  for  minors78 
continued to be excessively lengthy. The reform of the judicial map and the establishment of a 
separate system of administrative courts, which have entered into force on 1 June 2023 aim to 
lead to improvements in efficiency.  

II. 

ANTI-CORRUPTION FRAMEWORK  

In Slovakia, the competences for the prevention, detection and prosecution of corruption are 
shared between several authorities. The Office of the Government, which is structurally under 
the Prime Minister’s Office, is the central body for the corruption prevention coordination. The 
National Crime Agency of the Presidium of the Police Force is in charge of the detection and 
investigation  of  corruption  offences,  with  the  exception  of  corruption  crimes  committed  by 
members of the police itself and certain law enforcement agencies falling under the remit of 
the Bureau of Inspection Service79. The Special Prosecutor’s Office80 has exclusive jurisdiction 
over the investigation of criminal offences under the substantive jurisdiction of the Specialised 
Criminal Court, including corruption offences81. 

The perception among experts and business executives is that the level of corruption in 
the public sector still remains relatively high. In the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index by 
Transparency International, Slovakia scores 53/100 and ranks 20th in the European Union and 

75   Figure 10, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
76  These  groups  of  cases  concern  excessive  length  of  civil  proceedings,  excessive  length  of  proceedings 
concerning a compensation claim of the aggrieved party attached to criminal proceedings, effectiveness of the 
remedy for excessively lengthy civil proceedings and excessive length of restitution-of-land proceedings (two-
tier proceedings consisting of an administrative phase before a Land Office and a judicial phase on appeal) 
and lack of effective remedies, respectively. Decisions on these cases were delivered by the European Court 
of Human Rights and the execution of these judgments by the Slovak authorities is ongoing and monitored by 
the  Council  of  Europe  under  the  standard  procedure.  See  statuses  of  execution  of  the  judgments  of  the 
European Court of Human Rights of 24 July 2012, Maxian and Maxianova, 44482/09, of 15 September 2015 
Javor  and  Javorova,  42360/10,  of  27  June  2017,  Ivan,  57405/15,  of  31  August  2018,  Balogh  and  others, 
35142/15.  Slovak  authorities  presented  two  action  reports:  Communication  from  the  Slovak  Republic 
concerning  the  cases  of  Maxian  and  Maxianova  (Application  No.  44482/09)  and  Ivan  v.  Slovak  Republic 
(Application  No.  57405/15),  DH-DD(2021)696,  of  6  July  2021,  and  Communication  from  the  authorities 
(05/05/2021) concerning the case of Javor and Javorova v. Slovak Republic (Application No. 42360/10), DH-
DD(2021)467 of 6 May 2021.Revised action plans or reports are awaited.  

77   Contribution from UN Human Rights Regional Office for Europe for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 2.  
78   The Ombudsperson reported 39 breaches of the right to have his or her case heard publicly without undue 
delay in 2022. Report on the activities of the Ombudsman for 2022, March 2023, p. 137 and pp. 95-104.  

79   Cf. Article 4(3) of Act No. 171/1993 Coll. on the Police Force. 
80   Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 458/2003 Coll. on the establishment of the Special 

Court and the Office of Special Prosecutor’s Office. 

81   Act No. 291/2009 Coll. on the Specialized Criminal Court. 

11 

 
 
                                                           
49th globally82. This perception has been relatively stable over the past five years.83 The 2023 
Special  Eurobarometer  on  Corruption  shows  that  82%  of  respondents  consider  corruption 
widespread in their country (EU average 70%) and 37% of respondents feel personally affected 
by  corruption  in  their  daily  lives  (EU  average  24%)84.  As  regards  businesses,  79%  of 
companies consider that corruption is widespread (EU average 65%) and 51% consider that 
corruption  is  a  problem  when  doing  business  (EU  average  35%)85.  Furthermore,  28%  of 
respondents find that there are enough successful prosecutions to deter people from  corrupt 
practices  (EU  average  32%)86,  while  13%  of  companies  believe  that  people  and  businesses 
caught for bribing a senior official are appropriately punished (EU average 30%)87.  

A  proposed  update  of  the  current  National  Anti-Corruption  Programme  has  been 
pending since November 2021. The 2019 programme88 is part of Slovakia’s overall strategic 
framework  for  anti-corruption  provided  by  the  Anti-Corruption  Policy  for  2019-2023.  The 
programme  focuses  primarily  on  prevention  through  soft  measures,  entrusting  individual 
ministries to define, adopt and update their own sectoral anti-corruption measures. While there 
is a standard monitoring system for the programme in place89, the programme lacks a dedicated, 
centralised  evaluation  system.  As  previously  reported90,  the  updated  programme91  was 
submitted to the Government in November 2021. Following the suspension of the discussions 
on the update in November 202192, a decision on its approval remains pending93. A new Anti-

82   Transparency International (2022), Corruption Perceptions Index 2022. The level of perceived corruption is 
categorised  as  follows:  low  (the  perception  among  experts  and  business  executives  of  public  sector 
corruption scores above 79); relatively low (scores between 79-60), relatively high (scores between 59-50), 
high (scores below 50). 

83   In 2018, the score was 50, while, in 2022, the score is 53. The score significantly increases/decreases when it 
changes  more than  five points; improves/deteriorates (changes between 4-5 points) and is relatively stable 
(changes from 1-3 points) in the last five years. 

84   Special Eurobarometer 534 on Corruption (2023). The Eurobarometer data on citizens’ corruption perception 

and experience is updated every year. The previous data set is the Special Eurobarometer 523 (2022). 

85   Flash Eurobarometer 524 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2023). The Eurobarometer 
data  on  business  attitudes  towards  corruption  as  is  updated  every  year.  The  previous  data  set  is  the  Flash 
Eurobarometer 507 (2022). 

86  Special Eurobarometer 534 on Corruption (2023).  
87   Flash Eurobarometer 524 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2023).  
88   2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 10. Government of the 
Slovak Republic, National Anti-Corruption Programme of the Slovak Republic (2019), which includes several 
sectoral  programmes  that  were  adopted  by  the  ministries  and  other  institutions,  including  the  Ministry  of 
Justice, of Economy, of the Interior, of Transport and Construction, of Environment, of Finance Sector, of 
Foreign and European Affairs, of Health, and of Labour, among others. The adopted action plans of these 
entities  contained  also  primarily  preventive  elements,  including  on  awareness-raising,  anti-corruption 
education and corruption risk-management.  

89   Government of the Slovak Republic, Anti-Corruption Policy of the Slovak Republic for 2019-2023 (2018). 
The performance of the tasks defined in the programme is reported according to their deadlines and inspected 
by the Control Department of the Office of the Government. 

90   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 12. 
91   The Updated National Anti-Corruption Programme of the Slovak Republic (October 2021). 
92   Input from Slovakia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 22. According to information received by the Office 
of the Government, officially, there were some fundamental objections from the Ministry of Finance regarding 
the terminology, the length of the draft update, the preciseness of measures, with the Government preference 
for less measures (four or five), which would require a complete re-drafting.  

93   Information received by the Office of the Government in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. The 2022 
OECD  integrity  review  contains  several  recommendations  to  enhance  the  country’s  anti-corruption  policy 
system, see OECD Integrity Review (3 March 2022). 

12 

 
 
                                                           
Corruption Programme for 2024-2028 continues to be in the preliminary stages of preparation, 
as previously reported94, and is expected to enter into inter-departmental consultation by the 
end of 2023 and to be approved after the elections95. 

The  government  initiated  some  legislative  steps  to  limit  the  powers  of  the  Prosecutor 
General  to  annul  corruption  investigations96,  yet  concerns  remain  regarding  a  more 
robust track record of high-level corruption investigations, prosecutions and judgments. 
The  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report  recommended  to  Slovakia  to  “[…]  ensure  the  objectivity  of 
prosecutorial  decisions,  including  by  continuing  to  advance  the  legislative  amendments  to 
restrict the power of the Prosecutor General to annul prosecutorial decisions with a view to 
promoting a robust track record of high-level corruption cases […]”97. Slovakia’s reform of its 
Criminal Code98 aims at introducing new definitions of the crime of bribery99 modifying and 
widening their scope to include also bribes of an intermediary influencing a decision-maker, 
and  new  sanctions100.  The  reform  provides  for  additional  possibilities  to  pursue  political 
corruption. The entry into force is planned for 1 April 2024101. The legislative amendments to 
the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure102,  originally  planned  to  be  introduced  into  the  legislative 
process in 2022, were re-submitted for inter-ministerial review in December 2022103 and are 
still pending at governmental level104. The reform aims at accelerating criminal proceedings, 
also  to  address  lengthy  pre-trial  periods105.  The  reform  also  aims  to  narrow  the  discretion 
powers of the Prosecutor General to annul final decisions of public prosecutor or police officers 

94   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 12. 
95   Written contribution from the Government Office of the Slovak Republic in the context of the country visit to 
Slovakia.  A  number  of  reforms  and  investments  to  improve  the  anti-corruption  framework,  anti-money 
laundering and law enforcement has also been included in Slovakia's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, 
see in particular Component 16 of the Slovak Recovery and Resilience Plan. 

96   See section II above. 
97   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 2. 
98   Act  amending  Act  No.  300/2005  Coll.  Criminal  Code,  as  amended,  and  amending  certain  acts 
https://www.slov-lex.sk/legislativne-procesy/SK/LP/2021/744. Act No 312/2020 added to Act No 300/2005 
provisions  on  new  criminal  offences,  in  particular  Section  233a,  Section  326a,  Section  336  ‘Indirect 
corruption’ and, Section 336 ‘Acceptance and confer of an undue advantage’. The amendment to the Criminal 
Code is based on the government commitment as laid down in the Manifesto of the Government of the Slovak 
Republic for the years 2021-2024 in the section Criminal Policy and Prisons, in response to issues identified 
in practice. 

99   Section 328 of the Criminal Code (passive bribery) and section 332(1) (active bribery). 
100  The proposed amendments to the Criminal Code introduced stricter rules on electoral corruption (for more 
information, see further below in this section II the part dedicated to political party and campaign finance) and 
the new criminal offence of ‘violation of whistleblower protection’, as well as, among others, a grace period 
to express ‘efficient regret’, while making compensation for damages more enforceable. 

101  Input from Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 34. 
102  Act No. 301/2005 Coll. Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended. See 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country 

Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 13. 

103  For more background information on the process, see section I above. 
104  Information received from the Ministry of Interior/ National Crime Agency/ Police President in the context of 

the country visit to Slovakia. 

105  The envisaged simplification of the pre-trial procedure is overall welcomed by the police, as it would prevent 
to repeat witness interrogations and provide for swifter procedures, pursuant to information received from the 
National Crime Agency in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. According to information received from 
the  Ministry  of  Justice/  Government  Corruption  Prevention  Department,  more  emphasis  is  also  placed  on 
restorative aspects of the criminal proceedings, including mediation and other alternative dispute resolution 
approaches.  

13 

 
 
                                                           
to prosecute corruption cases106. As previously reported, this power resulted in the closure of 
investigations against several high-profile defendants held in pre-trial detention for corruption 
allegations without the possibility of a remedy against the annulment107, which triggered calls 
for more transparency of the process108. The reform is not expected to be adopted before the 
next parliamentary elections in autumn 2023109 and the adoption of the partial amendment to 
Article 363 proposed by the parliamentary Constitutional Committee to the Criminal Code is 
not certain. Against this background, and given that concerns remain regarding a more robust 
track record of high-level corruption investigations, prosecutions and judgments, only some 
progress has been made regarding the implementation of the recommendation made in the 2022 
Rule of Law Report. 

The  lack  of  adequate  coordination  among  corruption  investigators  and  prosecutors 
remains an obstacle, hampering a more robust track record of high-level corruption. The 
2022 Rule of Law Report recommended to Slovakia to “improve the coordination among the 
different law enforcement entities […] with a view to promoting a robust track record of high-
level corruption cases”110. In 2022, investigations on charges of bribery, procurement fraud and 
other  crimes  were  opened  against  several  high-ranking  public  officials,  including  eight 
members of Parliament111, while some high-level corruption defendants were indicted in cases 
from previous years or entered into plea bargains112. In at least one case, charges were brought 
again  in  cases  that  had  previously  been  annulled  by  the  Prosecutor  General  on  the  basis  of 
Article  363  of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure113.  In  2022,  the  National  Crime  Agency 
recorded 292 new cases of corruption114. The number of individuals convicted for corruption 

106  Article 363 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.  
107  For  example,  on  31  August  2021,  Article  363  of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure  was  invoked  to  annul 
corruption charges against a former director of the Slovak Secret Service (SIS) and four other individuals held 
in  custody.  See  in  this  context  also  Euractiv  (2021),  ‘Prosecutor  General  dismisses  high-level  corruption 
charges’. Notably, Article 363 of the Criminal Code of Procedure was considered controversial already before 
it was used in high-level corruption cases, due to which the government committed itself to explore narrowing 
down this provision in April 2020. Information received from Transparency International in the context of the 
country visit to Slovakia.  See also the  Zastavme  korupciu  interview on actuality.sk, Let’s  stop corruption: 
Žilinka can go to court using Section 363 (25 January 2023). 

108  Transparency International (2021), The cancellations call for a clear justification in front of the public. As 
previously  reported,  the  legality  of  the  criminal  charges  had  previously  been  upheld  by  different  courts, 
including the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, see 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on 
the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 15. 

109  Information received from National Crime Agency in the context of the country visit to Slovakia.  
110  2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 2. 
111  Rubriky news, Police President Hamran: We don't have the capacity for migrants´ (28 September 2022). 
112  The Slovak Spectator, Haščák and other people from the Gorilla case charged with serious crime (1 December 
2022); The Slovak Spectator, Third man confesses in case of alleged bribe to Pčolinský (27 May 2022);Press 
Agency SITA, Beňa first entered into a plea bargain, now he is seeking a retrial (29 May 2022). 

113  The possibility for investigators to bring charges again is by providing new evidence different from what was 
presented in the original case. See, for example, the case against the former Minister of Finance and Governor 
of the National Bank of Slovakia, Reuters, Slovak police renew bribery charge against central bank governor 
Kazimir – lawyer (24 November 2022); Press Agency SITA, Kažimír is charged again. This is the same act 
for which his prosecution was cancelled by Žilinka (24 November 2022). See also, SME.sk, The arguments 
of Žilinka's office are denied by courts and witnesses (29 November 2022). 

114 Notably, this figure only indicates crimes under the competence of the National Crime Agency, excluding other 
corruption  offences  classified  under  the  Criminal  Code  and  other  specific  legislation.  There  is  no 
comprehensive annual report summarising and evaluating the agency’s results to publicly present its work. 
Analyses,  statistical  surveys  and  annual  reports  of  its  branches  are  produced  in-house  on  an  annual  basis, 
comparing data with the previous period and identifying trends in crime and related security risks for internal 

14 

 
 
                                                           
offences remained relatively stable with 118 convictions in 2022 (compared to 132 convictions 
in  2021)115.  Foreign  bribery  remains  an  area  with  low  enforcement  levels116.  The  level  of 
human  and  financial  resources  for  corruption  cases  within  the  police  and  the  prosecution 
service are not considered fully adequate to carry out their tasks, particularly for complex high-
level  corruption  cases117.  Shortages  of  specialised  police  investigators  and  financial  data 
analysts for corruption-related crimes have been noted by several stakeholders, including the 
European  Public  Prosecutor  (EPPO),  which  continues  to  pose  a  significant  obstacle  to  the 
effective investigation of corruption-related crimes in practice118. This is still the case despite 
the previously reported police reform, which aimed to increase the effectiveness of the police 
in fighting corruption and to set up regional analytical and financial investigation departments 
across Slovakia to facilitate the police’s anti-corruption investigations119. There are therefore 
plans to  hire additional financial experts in  support of police investigations until the end of 
2023,  especially  for  large-scale  financial  schemes,  agricultural  schemes  and  IT  tenders120, 
while  training  for  the  staff  of  the  newly  established  analytical  and  financial  investigation 
departments  is  foreseen  to  take  place  in  the  course  of  2023121.  Coordination  between  the 
relevant anti-corruption entities, among different law enforcement agencies and between the 
prosecution  service  and  the  police,  continue  to  present  significant  obstacles  to  the  effective 
prosecution of corruption122. Allegations of politically motivated decisions to open corruption 
law  enforcement 
investigations  made  against 

investigators  persist,  risking  eroding 

management purposes. The  latest  publicly  available  annual  report  is  from  2017  (for  the  year  2016),  see 
https://www.minv.sk/swift_data/source/policia/naka_opr/opr/inf_o_cinnosti_naka/Informacia%20o%20cinn
osti%20NAKA%20P%20PZ%20za%20rok%202016%20public.pdf.  The  Ministry  of  Interior  publishes 
monthly crime statistics online.  

115  Crimes included in the  statistics are passive corruption (section 328), passive corruption  – procurement of 
items of general interest (section 329), active  corruption (section 332), active corruption  – procurement of 
items  of  general  interest  (section  333),  trading  in  influence  (section  336),  electoral bribery  (section  336a), 
sports corruption (section (336b), see General Prosecutor, Statistics for the year 2022 (March 2023), p. 45, 
https://www.genpro.gov.sk/statistiky/statisticky-prehlad-trestnej-a-netrestnej-cinnosti-za-rok-2022-
3b03.html . 

116  See Transparency International, Exporting Corruption (2022), p. 72, referencing little to no enforcement in 
foreign bribery cases, including one opened investigations, and no commenced or concluded cases in the years 
2018-2021,  while  also  noting  the  main  weaknesses  in  the  legal  framework  are  jurisdictional  limitations;  a 
failure  to  hold  companies  responsible  for  subsidiaries,  joint  ventures  and  agents;  political  interference  in 
enforcement  and  a  lack  of  independence;  a  lack  of  public  awareness;  and  a  lack  of  resources,  skilled 
investigators and prosecutors to make and process mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests.  

117  Input  from  Slovakia  for  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  20,  and  information  received  from  Special 
Prosecutor’s  Office/  National  Crime  Agency  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Slovakia,  adding  that 
resources are also limited regarding technical equipment and operative officials within the police, which the 
Special Prosecutor’s Office reported to the Parliament for several years. 
118  See contribution from the EPPO for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 4. 
119  The regional analytical and financial investigation departments across Slovakia are not all fully functional yet. 
In  addition,  oftentimes  staff  was  transferred  from  local  police  offices  to  the  newly  created  specialised 
departments,  weakening  local  capacities  as  a  result,  according  to  information  received  According  to 
information received from the Police President/ NAKA in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. Cf. also 
2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 13. 

120  Information received from the Police President/ NAKA in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. 
121  This measure is financed under Slovakia’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. See also Input from Slovakia for the 

2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 21. 

122  Input from Slovakia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 39-40. See also information received from the Police 
President/  Special  Prosecutor’s  Office  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Slovakia,  indicating  an 
environment, in which investigators and operatives fear retaliation from state authorities for carrying out their 
work conscientiously and irrespective of the status of the suspect. 

15 

 
 
                                                           
cooperation123. In this context, the Ministry of Interior is registering the low interest of citizens 
in cooperating with police124 due to the lack of trust in successful criminal proceedings and 
possible repercussions for the crime reporting individual in the course of the proceedings125. 
The Government also stated that the effectiveness of investigations is hampered by the lack of 
a secure, central electronic information exchange system and central access to databases that 
hold  relevant  information  for  the  police  and  the  prosecution126.  In  this  context,  cooperation 
between  the  police  and  the  Financial  Intelligence  Unit  (FIU)  also  needs  to  be  enhanced  in 
practice127. Against this background, there is no progress regarding the implementation of the 
recommendation made in the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

Slovakia’s  dedicated  Whistleblower  Protection  Office  invests  in  public  awareness 
campaigns, while low reporting in practice continues to be an obstacle. On 24 May 2023, 
the President signed the adopted amendment to Slovakia’s Whistleblowing Act128 to transpose 
the  related  EU  Directive129.  The  Whistleblower  Protection  Office  welcomes  the  proposed 
amendments that provide for more distinguished sanctions for wrongdoings while highlighting 
that  the  lack  of  rules  regulating  whistleblower  disclosures  to  entities  outside  his  or  her 
workplace  may  create  legal  uncertainty  for  whistleblowers  in  practice130.  Slovakia’s 
Whistleblower Protection Office processed in 2022 a total of 163 reports, out of which 39 were 
eligible  whistleblowing  reports,  including  13  cases  of  corruption-related  cases131.  As 
previously reported, the Office’s mandate focuses on the reporting of breaches of law and the 
protection  against  retaliatory  measures  based  on  the  principles  of  confidentiality  and 

123  Information  received  from  the  National  Crime  Agency  and  civil  society  organisation  and  Transparency 
International in the context of the country visit, reporting about the consequences of increasing public distrust 
in the police in the context of the country  visit to Slovakia.  See also the  Slovak Spectator, Police  chief to 
general  prosecutor:  ‘Do  your  job’-  Four  elite  investigators  are  still  charged  with  serious  offences  after  18 
months,  despite  a  court  describing  them  as  unjustified  (17  March  2023);  The  Slovak  Spectator,  The  key 
evidence does not fit – A year has passed since the indictment of NAKA investigators (16 September 2022). 
See also, as previously reported, The Slovak Spectator (2021), ‘War among the police? Big corruption cases 
complicate relations between institutions’; and Euractiv (2021), ‘Slovakia’s police chief charged for abuse of 
power, obstructing justice’. See also Contribution from AKJK law firm and from Association “For Democracy 
and Rule of Law” for the 2023 Rule of Law Report. 

124  See in this context also further below on initiatives taken by the Whistleblower Protection Office to increase 

public awareness of reporting.  

125  This can include media attacks launched by the accused and the defense attorney against the reporting person’s 
integrity, according to the input from Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 40. See also the written 
contribution from the National Crime Agency in the context of the country visit in Slovakia, indicating that 
corruption is almost exclusively detected through the investigation of other related criminal activities, while it 
is  difficult  to  get  witnesses  of  corruption,  as  they  fear  to  testify  because  of  possible  retaliation  as  well  as 
intimidation, including by politically involved individuals. 

126  According to the Ministry of Interior, the set-up of reliable, efficient and secure means of communications is 

essential to exchange information on corruption investigations in a targeted, timely and safe manner.  

127  Input from Slovakia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 39-40. 
128  Law  amending  Act  No.  54/2019  on  the  Protection  of  Whistleblowers  of  Anti-Social  Activity  and  on 
Amendments and Supplements to Certain Acts and amending Act No. 327/2005 on the provision of legal aid 
to persons in material need and amending Act No. 586/2003 on advocacy. 

129  The transposition of Directive 2019/1937 of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches 

of Union law is delayed. 

130  Information received by the Whistleblower Protection Office in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. 
131  According to the written contribution from the Whistleblower Protection Office in the context of the country 
visit in Slovakia, the cases related to bribery, public procurement, unauthorized use of public funds or property, 
and  abuse  of  authority,  of  which  the  most  serious  ones  relate  to  state-owned  enterprises  and  public 
procurement. See also Report on the activities of the Office to protect whistleblowers for the year 2022. 

16 

 
 
                                                           
anonymity132. A number of challenges133 have been identified for the Office to effectively carry 
out its oversight and sanctioning powers134. Despite the Office’s increased public awareness 
campaigns, active reporting enabling the detection of corruption still remains low135, especially 
in areas where business meets politics136. In practice, central government entities receive few 
whistleblower reports, according to a recent survey, while so far only 13 percent of government 
organisations have been found to have effective internal channels in place137.  

Lobbying remains unregulated in Slovakia. The 2022 Rule of Law Report recommended to 
Slovakia  to  “introduce  proposals  to  regulate  lobbying  […]”138.  Since  2020  Slovakia  has 
reiterated  and  postponed  its  commitment  to  adopt  new  lobbying  rules139.  The  government 
considers  including  the  lobbying  regulation  in  the  update  of  the  2019  anti-corruption 
programme140, which has not yet been approved141. Furthermore, no ministry has been assigned 
to  propose  the  lobbying  bill  in  the  Government  plan  of  the  upcoming  legislative  tasks  for 
2023142.  According  to  that  Government  plan,  the  lobbying  bill  is  supposed  to  be  submitted 
alongside  amendments  to  Slovakia’s  conflict  of  interest,  asset  declarations  and  post-

132  For more details on the office’s role, see 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Slovakia, p. 13. The Office is accountable to the Parliament and provides annual reports. The target audience 
for the Office is both the public and the private sector. 

133  In this context, a more supportive engagement by politicians would be beneficial and carry the potential to 
influence the  willingness to report.  Reportedly, government  members are openly skeptical or not active  in 
promoting  a  whistleblower  agenda,  including  also  the  internal  reporting  in  institutions.  A  relatively  low 
engagement can also be observed in the Parliament with few parliamentarians attending the Whistleblower 
Office’s annual reporting. 

134  According  to  information  received  from  the  Whistleblower  Protection  Office,  Transparency  International, 
Investigative Center of Jan Kuciak, and the Slovak Syndicate of Journalists in the context of the country visit 
to Slovakia. The Office has submitted a request to the Ministry of Finance for four additional posts of lawyers 
that would help ensure the necessary independence and functional separation  between staff that deals with 
administrative issues and staff that provides attorney services directly to whistleblowers. 

135  Input  from  Slovakia  for  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  report,  p.  30,  indicating  that  the  low  level  of  reporting  of 
corruption, when it occurs presents the biggest obstacle to the detection of corruption. . Similarly, information 
received from the Whistleblower Protection Office/ Transparency International/ Investigative Center of Ján 
Kuciak in the context of the country visit to Slovakia.  

136  Input  from  Slovakia’s  Special  Prosecution  Office  for  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  report,  p.  33,  highlighting  in 
particular the high-risk corruption areas of bribes from entrepreneurs to public officials for the provision of 
subsidies, non-refundable financial contributions, and lucrative contracts, among others. 

137  Whistleblower  Protection  Office,  Functionality  of  internal  notification  systems  in  the  state  administration 
(January 2023), p. 28. According to the findings, only 1 out of 10 government entities has registered at least 1 
whistleblower  report  in  the  past  3  years.  See  also  the  second  survey  conducted  in  2022,  assessing 
whistleblowing practice in Slovakia’s private sector, Whistleblower Protection Office, Do Slovak companies 
support whistleblowers (February 2023). 

138  2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 2. 
139  Cf. 2020, 2021 and 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 8 

(for 2020), p. 13 (for 2021) and p. 16 (for 2022). 

140  Written contribution from the Government Office of the Slovak Republic in the context of the country visit in 

Slovakia, p. 4. 

141  See further above in this section on the anti-corruption programme and action plan. 
142  In 2021, the task to prepare and submit the draft law was assigned to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 
as  per  the  Plan  of  legislative  tasks  of  the  Government  of  the  Slovak  Republic  for  the  months  of  June  to 
December 2021, see task no. 57. 

17 

 
 
                                                           
employment  rules143.  Thus,  as  lobbying  remains  unregulated,  no  progress  has  been  made 
regarding the implementation of the recommendation made in the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

Some  initial  steps  have  been  taken  to  reform  Slovakia’s  conflict  of  interest  and  asset 
declaration rules. The 2022 Rule of Law Report recommended to Slovakia to “[…] strengthen 
the  legislation  on  conflicts  of  interest  and  asset  declarations”144  concerning  members  of 
Parliament,  judges,  prosecutors,  public  officials  and  civil  servants.  The  Parliamentary 
Committee  responsible  for  the  publication  of  asset  declarations  of  members  of  Parliament 
reduced  the  time  between  submission  and  publication  of  declarations  in  2022,  following 
previously reported significant delays in 2020 and 2021145. In 2022, out of 1 589 public officials 
under the obligation to declare their assets 132 did not submit their notifications on time146. On 
7 March 2023, the Corruption Prevention Department of the Government Office submitted an 
analysis of the current asset declaration system to inter-departmental consultation, including 
the  recommendations  to  prepare  a  legislative  proposal  to  unify  and  streamline  Slovakia’s 
fragmented  asset  declaration  rules  and  to  amend  the  Constitutional  Act147  to  introduce  an 
electronic asset declaration system148. For the time being, the system of asset declarations for 
members  of  Parliament,  judges,  prosecutors,  public  officials  and  civil  servants  remains 
decentralised  and  fragmented149.  Also,  the  establishment  of  the  Office  for  the  Protection  of 
Public Interest remains at an initial stage that is still a question of political discussion150. The 
Office  would  oversee  the  majority  of  asset  declarations  of  public  officials  and  other  civil 
servants151, check tax declarations, and conflict of interest along with violations of codes of 
conduct and lobbying152. Against this background, even if only initial, some progress has been 
made  regarding  the  implementation  of  the  recommendation  made  in  the  2022  Rule  of  Law 
Report. 

143  Government  Office  of  the  Slovak  Republic,  Plan  of  Legislative  Tasks  of  the  Government  of  the  Slovak 

Republic for 2023.  

144  2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 2. 
145  Cf.  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country  Chapter  on  the  rule  of  law  situation  in  Slovakia,  pp.  16-17.  Press 
Agency SITA, ‘Politicians' property declarations will be delayed, and they have hired an external company to 
help (22 August 2021). 

146  Information received from the Parliamentary Institute of the Slovak Parliament in the context of the country 

visit to Slovakia. 

147  Constitutional Act No. 357/2004 Coll. on Public Interest Protection in the Performance of Office of Public 

Officials. 

148  Written contribution from the Government Office of the Slovak Republic in the context of the country visit in 
Slovakia, p. 4, indicating that Slovakia’s asset declaration rules are regulated in eight different legal norms. 
The  proposal  is  sponsored  by  the  Government  Office,  the  Ministry  of  Justice  with  the  cooperation  of  the 
General Prosecutor’s Office, the Judicial Council and the Civil Service Council. 

149  As reported in previous years, 2022 and 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 

in Slovakia, p. 16 (for 2022) and p. 14 (for 2021). 

150  Written contribution from the Government Office of the Slovak Republic in the context of the country visit in 
Slovakia, p. 4. Reportedly, the chairperson of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of Slovakia’s 
parliament announced to prepare an amendment to the Slovak constitution to be able to regulate conflicts of 
interest and tax returns of public officials in August 2022. The bill foresees the establishment of an Office for 
Protecting Public Interest by  the end of the  parliamentary term,  while there  may not be sufficient political 
support to do so in the Parliament and the minority government, see  NovinyPlus, MP Vetrák is preparing a 
"whip" to control MPs' property of deputies (5 August 2022). 

151  Municipal deputies and members of the National Council would be subject to the oversight by this Office. 
152  Noviny Plus, MP Vetrák is preparing a "whip" to control MPs' property of deputies (5 August 2022). 

18 

 
 
                                                           
Amendments  to  the  criminal  offence  of  electoral  corruption  and  to  transparency 
requirements in political party finance remain pending. The Ministry of Justice carried out 
a public consultation on the amendments until December 2022, with a planned entry into force 
by  1  April  2024153.  As  previously  reported,  the  reform  of  the  Criminal  Code  aims  at 
criminalising active and passive bribery in the electoral context, including acts of bribery of a 
larger number of voters, thus including the more regular and serious cases beyond the scenario 
of  one  bribe  for  one  vote154.  The  National  State  Commission  for  Elections  and  Control  of 
Funding  of  Political  Parties  proposed  that  considerations  should  prospectively  be  given  to 
making  the  offence  of  electoral  corruption  also  applicable  to  municipal  and  regional 
elections155. In addition, more severe penalties are proposed for electoral corruption taking into 
consideration its social impact156. The main law regulating the financing of political parties is 
the Act on Political Parties and Movements157, allowing for donations to political parties of up 
to  EUR  300 000  per  calendar  year,  while  donations  from  foreign  entities  and  anonymous 
donors  are  banned158.  Stakeholders  raised  concerns  about  the  possible  circumvention  of 
transparency obligations during election campaigns, when candidates and political parties hire 
public relations agencies in support of their campaign activities, as their campaign services are 
not published in detail159. In turn, the State Commission for Elections and Control of Funding 
for Political Parties emphasised as operational challenge in the fulfilment of its statutory tasks 
the  increasing  number  of  complaints  related  to  violations  of  electoral  rules  as  well  as  the 
increasing number of requests for advice by candidates and political parties on the financing of 
campaigns160.  

153  See the resolution of the Parliament´s Constitutional Committee (Amendment No. 29). Input from Slovakia 
for  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  34.  According  to  the  written  contribution  from  the  National  State 
Commission for Elections and Control of Funding for Political Parties in the context of the country visit in 
Slovakia, p. 1, the Commission was not invited to comment on the draft amendment to the Criminal Code so 
far but considers the proposed amendments to respond to challenges arising in electoral practice.  

154  Act No. 300/2005 Coll. Criminal Code, as amended, introducing a new sub-section in Section 336(1)(e) of the 

Criminal Code. 

155  Written contribution from the National State Commission for Elections and Control of Funding for Political 

Parties in the context of the country visit in Slovakia, p. 1. 
156  Input from Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 27. 
157  Act 85/2005 on political parties and political movements, largely reflecting GRECO recommendations. 
158  Written  contribution  received  by  the  National  State  Commission  for  Elections  and  Control  of  Funding  of 
Political Parties and the Ministry of Interior in the context of the country visit to Slovakia, p. 2. Failure to 
comply can result in a fine by the State Commission on Election and Control of the Financing of Political 
Parties in the amount of double the income from the donation or the gratuitous service. Parties are required to 
report on their finances annually to the State Commission. Financial reports are made publicly available. The 
reports are overseen by the National Council of the Slovak Republic and must reveal financial information in 
relation to election campaigns and the identity of donors (section 22(5) of the Act 85/2005 on political parties 
and political movements of 2005, as amended in 2019. 

159  Instead, the campaign details of their paid services are published only under one single budget item. For more 
details, see Transparency International, ´Every third euro in the election campaign went through the agency´ 
(3 April 2020). In turn, the National State Commission for Elections and Control of Funding of Political Parties 
considers that the legislation in force on the financing of the electoral campaign, including section 15 of the 
Electoral  Campaign  Act,  is  in  principle  satisfactory,  see  written  contribution  from  the  National  State 
Commission for Elections and Control of Funding for Political Parties in the context of the country visit in 
Slovakia, p. 2. 

160  Another practical challenges according to the written contribution received by the National State Commission 
for Elections and Control of  Funding of Political Parties and the Ministry of Interior in the  context of the 
country  visit  to  Slovakia,  p.  2,  concerns  the  combined  elections  for  local  and  regional  authorities 

19 

 
 
                                                           
Several reforms to address corruption in the agricultural sector remain pending161. The 
Slovak  Land  Fund162  provided  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  with 
proposals for legislative amendments to prevent corruption schemes such as those that occurred 
between  2016-2020163.  The  Slovak  Land  Fund  also  took  steps  to  address  previous  OLAF 
concerns164, regarding the lack of a complete central digital depository of EU payment-related 
documentation  in  the  agricultural  sector,  guaranteeing  the  accessibility  and  storage  of 
information for transparency and control165. These include, among others, the publication of 
lease contracts signed by the Slovak Land Fund that allow interested parties to monitor free 
and  leased  land166.  In  addition,  the  Slovak  Land  Fund  Board  has  introduced  several 
organisational  reforms,  including  on  transparency,  and  aims  at  tackling  its  significant 
applications backlog by December 2023167. The Land Fund could still benefit from introducing 
clear internal procedural rules to ensure more legal certainty for applicants and those who lease 
land168.  A  large-scale  fraud  case  concerning  EU  funds  involving  the  Agricultural  Paying 
Agency is currently pending in court169, while public concerns arose concerning the award of 

(municipalities  and  higher  territorial  units)  in  October  2022,  in  which  the  State  Commission  supervised 
compliance with the electoral moratorium. 

161  Amendments have been proposed to Act No. 330/1991 Coll. on Land Modifications, Arrangement of Land 
Ownership,  Land  Offices,  Land  Fund  and  Land  Communities,  to  Act  No  504/2003  Coll.  on  the  lease  of 
agricultural  land,  agricultural  enterprise  and  forest  land  and  on  the  amendment  of  certain  acts,  and  to 
Government  Regulation  No  238/2010  laying  down  details  on  the  conditions  of  lease,  sale,  exchange,  and 
acquisition of real estate by the Slovak Land Fund, as amended. 

162  The Slovak Land Fund  is in  charge of the  management of agricultural land under State ownership or land 
without a known private owner. These parcels cover approximately 20% of all agricultural land in Slovakia 
and are in majority eligible for EU direct payments grants.  

163  As previously reported, the National Crime Agency detained several high-ranking officials of the Land Fund 
allegedly involved in corruption schemes between 2016 and 2020, see 2022 Rule of Law Report,  Country 
Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 17. 

164  To  help  prevent  corruption  schemes  in  Slovakia’s  agricultural  land  management  system,  as  identified  in 
previous Rule of Law reports, the European Anti-Fraud Office has issued several financial and administrative 
recommendations, including on more transparency and better coordination between the Land Fund and the 
Agricultural Paying Agency. See European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF closes cases on EU agricultural funds 
in Slovakia (21 January 2021), and also 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Slovakia, pp. 17-18. 

165  The OLAF recommendations were issued following an administrative investigation, see in this context also 

2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, pp. 17-18.  

166 This includes lists of valid lease agreements, new applications and contracts ending in a given year. It is now 
also  possible  to  apply  digitally  for  the  lease  of  agricultural  land,  see  https://pozfond.sk/verejny-pristup-k-
informaciam/uzatvorene-zmluvy. However, there is not yet a link with the cadaster, which makes searches 
more difficult and calls for enhanced transparency.  

167  Reportedly, the Land Funds’ activities were seriously hampered due to backlogs at the outset of 2022 with 
approximately 30 000 files pending, while 11 000 new applications were received in the course of last year, 
see written contribution from the Slovak Land Fund in the context of the country visit in Slovakia, p. 1. Also 
by the end of 2023, the Land Fund indicated the intention to link the lease contracts with the parcel meta-data 
data  and  make  it  available  via  the  relevant  portal  managed  by  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Rural 
Development.  

168 The EU Anti-Fraud Office had already raised concerns in this regard following investigations. 
169  Information received from the Ministry of Interior/ Police National Crime Agency/ Police President in the 
context of the country visit to Slovakia, with the police indicating that more financial experts will be hired to 
better investigate such agricultural schemes in the future. For more background details, see Euractiv, Audit 
reveals large-scale fraud of EU funds in Slovak agricultural paying agency (19 March 2021). 

20 

 
 
                                                           
EU funds to a recycling company in majority owned by a Minister who, as a consequence, 
stepped down over conflict of interest allegations170. 

Public contracting remains vulnerable to risks of corruption.  Government procurements 
continue to be among the most vulnerable sectors for corruption risks also in 2022, including 
reportedly  the  most  serious  corruption  cases171.  The  Flash  Eurobarometer  on  Businesses’ 
attitudes towards corruption in the EU shows that 42% of companies in Slovakia (EU average 
26%)  think  that  corruption  has  prevented  them  from  winning  a  public  tender  or  a  public 
procurement  contract  in  practice  in  the  last  three  years172.  Despite  Slovakia’s  public 
procurement reform in 2021 that aimed, among others, at speeding up tender procedures173, 
stakeholders emphasised that challenges in the application of law remain in practice, including 
the systemic misuse of public tenders and the lack of professional expertise in public tendering 
particularly in smaller towns and villages174. In 2022, the use of quality-related criteria in public 
procurement continues to remain limited, limiting competition and reducing the possibility for 
strategic use of public procurement in support of other policies175. Due to the increase of single 
bids  awarded  in  public  procurement  procedures,  competition  on  Slovakia’s  procurement 
market decreased, risking to further increase corruption vulnerabilities in public tenders176. 

III.  MEDIA PLURALISM AND MEDIA FREEDOM 

The Slovak Constitution enshrines the right to express opinions, the right to search for, receive 
and  disseminate  ideas  and  information  as  well  as  the  right  of  access  to  information177.  The 
Media  Services  Act,  which  came  into  force  in  August  2022,  replaces  the  Broadcasting  and 
Retransmission  Act  and  the  Act  on  Digital  Broadcasting  is  aimed  at  ensuring  plurality  of 
information178. The Publications Act, which also came into force in August 2022, replacing the 
former Press Act, establishes rules relating to the press, news media portals, press agencies, the 

170  For more details, see Slovak agriculture minister resigns after EU funds controversy (4 May 2023), Slovak 
Spectator, Agriculture minister to step down over subsidy to his firm (4 May 2023),  Agriculture minister to 
step down over subsidy to his firm - spectator.sme.sk. 

171  Information  received  from  the  Ministry  of  Interior/  NAKA/  Police  President/  Special  Prosecutor’s  Office/ 
Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers/ Transparency International in the context of the country visit to 
Slovakia. 

172  Flash Eurobarometer 524 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2023). This is 16 percentage 
points above the EU average. Similar proportions of companies think that corruption is widespread in public 
procurement  managed  by  national  authorities  (63%;  EU  average  52%)  or  managed  by  regional  or  local 
authorities (62%; EU average 54%). 

173  See  in  this  context  also  Slovakia’s  commitments  made  to  reform  its  public  procurement  laws  under  the 

Recovery and Resilience Plan (reform C14.R3.M6). 

174  Information received by Transparency International in the context of the country visit to Slovakia. 
175  In  2022,  approximately  96%  of  the  public  contracts,  i.e.  the  highest  proportion  in  the  EU  in  2022,  were 
awarded on the basis of the lowest price  only, cf. Single Market Scoreboard 2022 and  European Semester 
Country Report Slovakia (2023), p. 55 

176  Ibid. From 2018 to 2022, there is a percentage increase of single bids awarded of almost 10 percentage points 

(from 21% in 2018 compared to 30% in 2022). 

177 Slovakia ranks 17th in the 2023 Reporters without Borders World Press Freedom Index compared to 27th the 

previous year. 

178 Act No. 264/2022 Coll. on media services and amending certain acts (Media Services Act) of 22 June 2022 

transposes Directive 2018/1808 on audiovisual media services.  

21 

 
 
                                                           
media register and to journalists179. The right to access information finds legal expression in 
the Freedom of Information Act180.  

The Council for Media Services operates autonomously and is sufficiently funded. The 
Council’s remit was extended under the Media Services Act to include research, media literacy, 
liaison  with  digital  media  platforms  and  it  oversees  a  specific  co-regulatory  commission 
dedicated  to  the  protection  of  minors.  The  Council  disposes  of  its  own  budget,  allocated 
resources are considered adequate for the accomplishment of its tasks and clear rules on the 
appointment  and  dismissal  of  the  Council’s  members  are  established  by  law.  To  ensure 
transparency of the decision-making process, Council proceedings and voting are public. The 
Council is composed of nine members who are elected and may be dismissed by the National 
Council of the Slovak Republic after a public hearing of the candidates which is broadcast live. 
The Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 confirms that the independence of the Council is overall 
guaranteed  and therefore presents  low risk though  purely political  nominations  are possible 
given that the selection of candidates remains solely in the hands of the Parliament181.  

Legislative  frameworks  are  in  place  to  ensure  transparency  of  media  ownership.  The 
interplay of the new Media Services Act and Publications Act ensures that all media need to 
make information about their ultimate beneficial owners available via a public register. In light 
of this positive development,  the Media Pluralism  Monitor has reduced  the risk score, now 
considering that this is an area presenting low risk182. Under the provisions of the new Media 
Services  Act,  the  Council  for  Media  Services  performs  a  market  analysis  of  the  media 
landscape with  a view to assessing risk of disruption to  media plurality, based on levels of 
expected impact, namely decisive impact (more than 60%), relevant impact (more than 30%) 
and low impact (up to 30%)183. It shall withhold its consent to a market operation if it concludes 
that it would lead to a decisive interference with media plurality in the country184. Despite this 
improvement,  given  that  audience  concentration  in  the  newspaper,  audio-visual,  and  radio 
sectors remains very high the Media Pluralism Monitor considers news media concentration to 
be an area presenting high risk185.  

Some  progress  has  been  made  to  enhance  the  independent  governance  and  editorial 
independence  of  public  service  media.  The  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report  recommended  to 
Slovakia to “strengthen the rules and mechanisms to enhance the independent governance and 
editorial independence of public service media taking into account the European standards on 
public service media”186. The Media Services Act has introduced some novelties in this regard 
given that the election of the director general of the public service broadcaster by the National 
Council  of  the  Slovak  Republic  is  now  public  (as  opposed  to  by  secret  vote)  and  the 
Parliamentary  committee  in  charge  sets  up  a  special  expert  advisory  commission  for  the 
selection. The Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 concludes that the legislative framework is fit 

179 Act No. 265/2022 Coll. on publishers of publications and on the media and audiovisual register of 22 June 

2022.  

180 Act No. 211/2000 Coll. on free access to information.  
181 Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 report on Slovakia, p. 12. 
182 Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 report on Slovakia, p. 14. 
183 Article 101 of Act No. 264/2022 Coll. on media services and amending certain acts (Media Services Act). 
184 Input from Slovak Government for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, pp. 46-47. 
185 Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 report on Slovakia, p. 14. 
186 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 2. 

22 

 
 
                                                           
for purpose but that politicisation and political interference in the appointments and dismissals 
of managers and board members remain issues of concern187. Furthermore, additional concerns 
have been raised by various stakeholders with regard to the fragile situation related to Radio 
and Television Slovakia (RTVS) funding given that the license fee paid by households under 
the Act on Slovak Radio and Television has been abolished as from July 2023188 and is likely 
to be replaced by funds allocated directly from the state budget. For all these reasons the Media 
Pluralism Monitor confirms that this remains an area of high risk189. Against this background, 
there has been some progress regarding the implementation of the recommendation made in 
the 2022 Rule of Law Report190. The issue of financing of RTVS is scheduled to form part of 
Slovakia’s Cultural Policies Strategy 2030, currently under discussion191. 

Positive  amendments  have  been  introduced  to  the  regime  regulating  access  to  public 
documents. The Freedom of Information Act has been amended by means of two amending 
acts.  Act  No.  428/2022  has  clarified  and  widened  the  scope  of  entities  obliged  to  provide 
information and the definition of information considered to be in the possession of an obliged 
entity192.  The  Act,  as  amended,  now  also  expressly  provides  that  persons  who  obtain 
information under the Act may further disseminate such information and shall not be held liable 
for doing so except in cases where it may breach an individual’s right to privacy193. Act No. 
251/2022  has  brought  the Freedom  of  Information Act  in  line with Directive 2019/1024  on 
open data and the re-use of public sector information194. 

Legislative progress on a bill amending the Criminal Code means that some progress has 
been  made  on  safeguards  to  improve  the  physical  safety  and  working  environment  of 
journalists.  The 2022 Rule of  Law Report recommended to  Slovakia to “advance with the 
process to establish legislative and other safeguards to improve the physical safety and working 
environment  of  journalists,  including  the  reform  of  defamation  law,  taking  into  account 
European  standards  on  the  protection  of  journalists”195.  A  bill  aimed  at  strengthening  the 
protection  of  journalists  via  amendments  to  the  Criminal  Code  has  passed  first  reading  in 
parliament.  The  bill  adds  an  aggravating  circumstance  if  a  crime  is  committed  due  to  the 
“performance of (the victim’s) employment, position or function”. With regard to the crime of 
defamation, the proposal establishes a higher level of proof (intention to cause real damage to 
the victim’s reputation) for criminal liability to arise while reducing the maximum sanction 
contemplated for the crime of defamation to one year imprisonment196. Furthermore, the bill 
stipulates that sanctions other than imprisonment should be preferred and that imprisonment 
shall  be  excluded  in  the  case  of  first-time  offenders.  Plans  to  amend  the  Constitution  to 
strengthen provisions relating to media freedom have been stalled. Since July 2022, the Council 

187 Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 report on Slovakia, p. 18. 
188 Information received from Transparency International, the Jan Kuciak Investigative Center, the Slovak Print 

and Digital Media Association and RTVS itself in the context of the country visit to Slovakia.  

189 Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 report on Slovakia, p. 18. 
190According  to  the  European  Parliament’s  Flash  Eurobarometer:  News  &  Media  Survey  2022,  41%  of 
respondents in Slovakia stated that they trust public TV and radio stations, below the EU average of 49%. 

191 Input from Slovak Government for the 2023 Rule of Law Report. 
192 Act No. 428/2022 Coll. on amendment of the Act No. 211/2000 Coll. on free access to information. 
193 Paragraph 5, Section 3 of Act No. 211/2000 Coll. on free access to information, as amended. 
194 Act No. 251/2022 Coll. on amendment of the Act No. 211/2000 Coll. on free access to information. 
195 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 2. 
196  A  previous  version  of  the  proposed  legislation  contemplated  abolishing  imprisonment  in  the  case  of 

defamation.  

23 

 
 
                                                           
of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists published 
three  new  alerts197.  They  relate,  respectively,  to  anonymous  death,  torture  and  rape  threats 
targeting a female anchor of an RTVS talk show198 and to simultaneous criminal defamation 
cases  lodged  by  a  political  party  against  three  political  commentators199.  The  MPM  2023 
reports that Slovak journalists frequently face threats and are subject to intimidation, including 
from politicians and that SLAPP cases are on the increase200. A 2023 survey conducted by the 
Ján Kuciak Investigative Center (ICJK) found that two-thirds of Slovak journalists experienced 
a threat or intimidation in the preceding 12 months while 4% experienced a physical attack201. 
For these reasons, there has been some progress on the recommendation made in the 2022 Rule 
of Law Report.  

IV.  OTHER INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES RELATED TO CHECKS AND BALANCES 

Slovakia is a parliamentary republic with a unicameral parliament (the National Council) as 
the  sole  legislative  body202.  The  right  to  introduce  legislative  proposals  belongs  to  the 
Committees  of  Parliament,  individual  members  of  Parliament,  and  the  Government203.  The 
Constitutional Court decides on the compliance of laws with the Constitution, constitutional 
acts  and  international  agreements,  and  ensures  respect  for  fundamental  and  constitutional 
rights. Independent authorities also play a role in safeguarding fundamental rights, notably the 
Office  of  the  Public  Defender  of  Rights,  the  National  Centre  for  Human  Rights,  the 
Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and the Commissioner for Children.  

The level of involvement of stakeholders in the law-making process remains a concern, 
especially in connection with the use of fast-track procedures. Stakeholders reported that 
their inclusion in the legislative process continues not to be systematic204. They pointed out, in 
particular, to tendencies to exclude civil society from discussions in relation to major legislative 
projects,  such  as the  reform of the Code of Criminal  Procedure205, as well as  to  limitations 
stemming from the use of fast-track procedures206. In 2022, 20 out of 175 laws were adopted 
in a fast-track procedure207, which amounts to 11.4 %, thus representing an increase compared 

197 Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. 
198 The Slovak police announced that they had opened an investigation into several persons suspected of having 

sent these threats. 

199  On  19  May  2023  the  Specialised  Criminal  Court  delivered  its  verdict  in  the  retrial  of  the  two  alleged 
masterminds of the assassination of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in 2018. The 
court acquitted one suspected mastermind over lack of evidence while finding another guilty of ordering the 
murder,  sentencing  the  latter  to  25  years  imprisonment  and  to  the  payment  of  €160,000  in  damages.  The 
victims’ families have announced that they will appeal this decision in front of the Supreme Court. 

200 Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 report on Slovakia, p. 12. 
201 ICJK, 2023. Výskum: Cítia sa slovenskí novinári bezpečne? 
202  Article 72 of the Slovak Constitution. 
203  Article 87 of the Slovak Constitution. 
204  2022 Rule of Law Report, pp. 20 – 21. 
205  Information  received  from  the  Slovak  Bar  Association  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Slovakia. 
Contribution from CCBE for the 2023 Rule of Law Report reports lack of consultations when preparing the 
reform of the judicial map, as well as the revision of the Criminal Code, p. 88. 

206  Contribution from the Public Defender of Rights for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 18, European Network 
of National Human Rights Institutions, p. 516, p. 529 and p. 537, Association of Judges  of Slovakia, p. 20, 
Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Via Iuris), p. 3.  

207 Contribution from the Office of the Public Defender of Rights for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 18; Slovak 
procedure: 

Parliament  website 

containing 

fast-track 

adopted 

laws 

list 

the 

of 

in 

24 

 
 
                                                           
to the rate from the pre-COVID-19 pandemic years208. The Constitutional Court has, for the 
first time, ruled that an adopted law is unconstitutional due to the unjustified use of a fast-track 
procedure209.  

Efforts have been made to enhance participation in the creation of public policies, while 
stakeholders raise concerns over legislative riders. The Office of the Plenipotentiary of the 
Government for Civil Society Development is in the process of implementing a national project 
for  participatory  policy  making210,  which  also  contains  an  analysis  of  the  quality  of  the 
legislative process211. The results will be presented by the end of 2023212. An action plan of the 
open government initiative for 2022-2024 was adopted by the Government in July 2022 with 
the aim to increase the level of participation, transparency and accountability213. On the other 
hand, stakeholders voiced concerns with regard to the initiation of the legislative process by 
the members of Parliament, as this excludes public consultation, as well as consultations with 
ministries  and  experts.  There  has  been  a  significant  increase  of  these  initiatives,  which 
stakeholders attribute also to the fact that the Government was  acting in resignation214. The 
addition of “legislative riders” to unrelated draft laws has also been identified as one of the 
reasons  for  less  public  consultation215.  The  quality  of  law-making  and  frequent  changes  in 
legislation remain a reason for concern about the effectiveness of investment protection among 
companies in Slovakia216.  

https://www.nrsr.sk/web/default.aspx?sid=zakony/prehlad/slk; Via Iuris (2022) Dredging laws (‘Bagrovanie 
zákonov‘). 

208 The average rate of laws enacted in fast-track procedure between the years 2002-2020 was 7.3%; Contribution 
from  the  Office  of  the  Public  Defender  of  Rights,  p.  18;  Via  Iuris  (2022)  Dredging  laws  (‘Bagrovanie 
zákonov’).  

209  Decisioin of the Slovak Constitutional Court No. Pl. ÚS 13/2022 from 13.12.2022. 
210  Support  for  Partnership  and  Dialogue  in  Participatory  Public  Policy  Making  2  („Podpora  partnerstva  a 

dialógu v oblasti participatívnej tvorby verejných politík 2“) 

211  Input from Slovak Government for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 54.  
212  Ibidem. 
213  Action Plan of the Open Government Initiative in the Slovak Republic for 2022-2024 (‘Akčný plán Iniciatívy 
pre otvorené vládnutie v Slovenskej republike na roky 2022-2024‘); Input from the Slovak Government for 
the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 59.  

214  Contribution from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions  for the 2023 Rule of Law 

Report, p. 538, and CCBE, p. 87. 

215  The term ‘legislative riders’ in this context refers to a practice where already existing and content-unrelated 
law is amended within the legislative process for a different piece of legislation. According to the Office of 
the Public Defender of Rights, such practice makes the legal system disarranged and unsystematic, and the 
process is non-transparent, as such amendments are not subject to regular procedure and, as a consequence, 
public consultations; Input from the Office of the Public Defender of Rights for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, 
p. 18. 

216  The rate is 43% of those respondents among companies who rated their level of confidence in the effectiveness 
of  investment  protection  by  the  law  and  courts  as  ‘fairly  unconfident’  or  ‘very  unconfident’,  compared  to 
45.4% in 2022; Figure 54, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard. Concerns in this respect have also been raised in a 
joint letter to the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic regarding the 
draft amendment to Act No. 235/2012 Coll. on the special levy on business in regulated sector, drafted by 
several business organisations on 9 February 2023, available at: https://amcham.sk/press-room/news/273872-
rule-of-law-the-unpredictable-state-tax-policy-is-sending-a-negative-signal-to-foreign-investors-and-risks-
deepening-the-economi. 

25 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
On 1 January 2023, Slovakia had 24 leading judgments of the European Court of Human 
Rights pending implementation, an increase of four compared to the previous year217. At 
that time, Slovakia’s rate of leading judgments from the past 10 years that remained pending 
was at 51% (compared to 41% in 2022) and the average time that the judgments have been 
pending implementation was 2 years and 11 months (compared to 2 years and 10 months in 
2022)218. The oldest leading judgment, pending implementation for 10.5 years, concerns the 
excessive length of civil proceedings219. On 15 June 2023, the number of leading judgments 
pending implementation has increased to 27220. 

A new Ombudsperson took office after a prolonged vacancy period, and a constitutional 
amendment was adopted to prevent such a situation in the future. A new Ombudsperson 
was  elected  by  the  National  Council  on  9  November  2022  and  has  taken  up  office  on  1 
December 2022. The election followed several rounds of unsuccessful elections after the end 
of the term of office of the previous Ombudsperson on 29 March 2022. In the period before the 
election of the new Ombudsperson221, most of the public defender’s competencies could not 
be exercised and 620 cases were accumulated for final approval of the Ombudsperson222. Since 
December,  the  Ombudsperson  has  addressed  all  these  cases,  prioritising  those  in  which 
violations of human rights and freedoms were detected. Operating with reduced resources, as 
already  reported  in  the  2022  Rule  of  Law  Report223,  had  a  limiting  impact  on  the  work 
performance of Office of Defender of Rights224. The prolonged vacancy has been accompanied 
by a 50% drop in the number of received complaints compared to 2021225. To prevent a similar 
situation in the future, a constitutional amendment was adopted on 8 November 2022226, under 
which the Ombudsperson’s mandate will be prolonged until a new Ombudsperson takes the 
office.  

217 The  adoption  of  necessary  execution  measures  for  a judgment  by  the  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  is 
supervised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It is the Committee’s practice to group 
cases against a State requiring similar execution measures, particularly general measures, and examine them 
jointly. The first case in the group is designated as the leading case as regards the supervision of the general 
measures and repetitive cases within the group can be closed when it is assessed that all possible individual 
measures needed to provide redress to the applicant have been taken. 

218 All figures are calculated by the European Implementation Network and are based on the number of cases that 
are considered pending at the annual cut-off date of 1 January 2023. See the Contribution from the European 
Implementation Network for the 2022 Rule of Law Report, p. 6. See also  Contribution from the European 
Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, pp. 547 – 552. 

219  Judgment  of  the  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  of  24  July  2012,  Maxian  and  Maxianova  v.  Slovakia, 

44482/09, pending implementation since 2012. 

220  Data according to the online database of the Council of Europe (HUDOC-EXEC). 
221  From 30 March 2022 to 30 November 2022.  
222  Information received in the context of the country visit from the Ombudsperson. The individual cases received 
at the Office have been analysed and draft responses have been prepared by the Office of the Public Defender 
employees, but the findings or recommendations could not be communicated to the relevant authorities and 
the citizens.  

223  2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, p. 22. 
224  Information received in the context of the country visit from the Ombudsperson. Report on the activities of 

the Ombudsman for 2022, March 2023, p. 152 and 156. 

225  Information received in the context of the country visit from the Ombudsperson.  
226  Constitutional Act No. 378/2022 Coll.  

26 

 
 
                                                           
The  law  establishing  a  National  Preventive  Mechanism  (NPM)  was  adopted  by 
Parliament. The act227, which entered into force on 1 May 2023, establishes an NPM, whereby 
its agenda is divided between three institutions, namely the Public Defender of Rights, who 
will also have a coordinating role, the Commissioner for Children, and the Commissioner for 
Persons  with  Disabilities.  It  extends  the  power  of  these  institutions  to  inspect  and  monitor 
places of detention with the aim of preventing ill-treatment of those detained. All three NPM 
entities raised the issue that the planned financial budget for 2023 was insufficient to carry out 
the new powers effectively228. To complete the creation process of the NPM in Slovakia, the 
ratification  of  the  Optional  Protocol  to  the  Convention  Against  Torture  is  in  the  legislative 
process229.  The  Slovak  National  Centre  for  Human  Rights,  with  a  mandate  as  NHRI  and 
equality body, continues to be accredited with B-Status, as reported in the 2022 Rule of Law 
Report230. The act establishing the NPM also specifies that reports prepared and published by 
the  Centre  are  independent.231  The  Centre  has  been  continuously  strengthened  financially, 
allowing its expert staff to reach 25 in 2022, and, in December 2022, introduced a publicly 
available tool for monitoring and evaluating the state of the rule of law in Slovakia232.  

While measures are planned to improve the environment, funding framework and status 
of  civil  society,  organisations  and  defenders  on  gender  equality  and  LGBTIQ  rights 
continue  to  face  a  difficult  environment.  Civil  society  space  in  Slovakia  is  considered  as 
‘narrowed’233. As already noted in the 2021 and 2022 Rule of Law Reports234, stakeholders 
continue raising concerns over fragmented regulation and a lack of systemic funding of civil 
society by the state, which creates obstacles for civil society organisation (CSOs) and human 
rights  defenders  to  access  financing235.  In  September  2022,  Government  approved  the  new 
Concept of Civil Society Development for 2022 – 2030 and the related action plan for 2022 – 
2026, which were developed with broad participation of civil society actors236. Together, they 
define measures and tasks aimed at improving the environment and status of CSOs and other 
civil society actors, and at increasing the level of participation and cooperation with the public 

227  Act 110/2023 Coll. amending Act No 564/2001 on the Public Defender of Rights, as amended, and amending 

certain acts.  

228  Information  received  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  from  the  Ombudsperson  and  National  Centre  for 

Human Rights. 

229  LP/2023/30,  at  the  stage  of  addressing  comments  received  in  the  interdepartmental  consultation  by  the 

Ministry of Justice.  

230 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Slovakia, pp. 22-23. 
231  Article II, Act 110/2023 Coll. 
232  Contribution from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law 
Report, p. 526. The monitoring tool is accessible at https://www.snslp.sk/en/rule-of-law-tracker/#nadpis3.  
233  Rating  given  by  Civicus,  https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/slovakia-overview/.  Ratings  are  on  a  five-

category scale defined as: open, narrowed, obstructed, repressed and closed. 

234  2021 and 2022 Rule of Law Reports, p. 20 and p. 23, respectively. 
235  Contribution from Civil Liberties Union for Europe for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 30, and the European 
Network  of  National  Human  Rights  Institutions,  pp.  534-535.  Analysis  of  sources  of  funding  for  non-
Republic, 
governmental 
https://www.minv.sk/swift_data/source/rozvoj_obcianskej_spolocnosti/ekonomika_mno/2022/Analyza%20z
drojov%20financovania%20MNO,%20verzia%2008.03.2023.pdf,  September  2022.  “Up  to  80  %  of  non-
governmental non-profit organisations identified the lack of finance as an obstacle to the achievement of their 
objectives. Organisations also stated that project financing, as the predominant form of funding, did not allow 
to  achieve  financial  stability  of  organisations  and  entailed  a  high  administrative  burden.”  Concept  for  the 
development of civil society in Slovakia for 2022-2030, p.16.  

organisations 

non-profit 

Slovak 

the 

in 

236  Resolution No 549/2022 of 7 September 2022, Concept for the development of civil society in Slovakia for 
2022-2030, Action plan to the Concept for the development of civil society in Slovakia for 2022-2026.  

27 

 
 
                                                           
sector. Measures to simplify and enhance financing of CSOs are also included237. To enhance 
transparency in the non-profit sector, since 1 January 2023, an electronic collection of deeds 
and  documents  of  CSOs,  complementing  the  already  existing  public  register  of  Non-
Governmental  Non-profit  Organisations,  has  become  publicly  available238.  Recognising  an 
important  contribution  of the civil  society organisations in  the wake of the war in  Ukraine, 
during a conference organised by The Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government for Civil 
Society Development on 8 November 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed 
by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  and  11  non-profit  organisations,  regarding  cooperation  in 
addressing the emergency related to the inflow of Ukrainian refugees239. Despite these efforts, 
organisations working on issues related to gender equality and LGBTIQ rights continue to face 
a  difficult  environment,  exacerbated  by  disinformation  campaigns  and  verbal  attacks  from 
politicians240. In the wake of an attack on 12 October 2022, in which two LGBTIQ people were 
killed241,  LGBTIQ  rights  organisations  unveiled  the  “Our  Lives  Are  at  Stake”  initiative242, 
calling on the Government and Parliament to create a safe environment for LGBTIQ people 
and  their  families  and  proposing  concrete  recommendations243.  The  Prime Minister  and  the 
President of the Republic strongly condemned the murders. 

237  Concept for the development of civil society in Slovakia for 2022-2030, pp. 18 – 19. Action plan to the Concept 

for the development of civil society in Slovakia for 2022-2026, pp. 8-9.  

238  The register is accessible at https://ives.minv.sk/rmno/. Contribution from the European Network of National 

Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, p. 542. 

239  Franet (2023), Country research - Legal environment and space of civil society organisations in supporting 

fundamental rights – Slovakia, p. 7.  

240  Contribution from Civil Liberties Union for Europe for the 2023 Rule of Law Report, pp. 32-33, and from the 

European Network of National Human Rights Institutions, p. 530 and pp. 536-537.  

241  BBC (2022), Slovakia: Two dead after shooting outside LGBT bar, Euronews, (2022), Bratislava shooting: 

Two dead after gunman opens fire in front of LGBT venue in Slovak capital.  

242  www.idenamozivot.sk  
243  More than 50 Slovak organisations and civic associations have joined the initiative. Franet (2022), Country 
research  -  Legal  environment  and  space  of  civil  society  organisations  in  supporting  fundamental  rights  – 
Slovakia , pp. 4-5 and contribution from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions, p. 536. 
The recommendations included specific references to the fight against disinformation about LGBTI+ persons 
in online space, the inclusion of information about human rights of LGBTI+ people in schools, the creation of 
services and community spaces for  LGBTI+  people, as  well as legal recognition for  LGBTI+  couples and 
families.  

28 

 
 
                                                           
Annex I: List of sources in alphabetical order* 

* The list of contributions received in the context of the consultation for the 2023 Rule of Law report 
can 
https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2023-rule-law-report-targeted-
found 
stakeholder-consultation_en.  

be 

at 

Aktuality.sk  (2023),  Let’s  stop  corruption:  Žilinka  can  go  to  court  using  Section  363  (Zastavme 
korupciu: 
súd), 
používaním 
https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/33ZCWKI/zastavme-korupciu-zilinka-moze-s-pouzivanim-
paragrafu-363-narazit-na-sud/. 

paragrafu 

naraziť 

Žilinka 

môže 

363 

na 

s 

Association of Judges of Slovakia (2022), Comments on the draft law to delay the entry into force of 
the 
https://zdruzenie.sk/wp-
content/uploads/2022/10/ZSS_pripomienky_sudna_mapa.pdf. 

judicial  map 

17  October 

so-called 

2022, 

from 

new 

Association of Judges of Slovakia (2023), Contribution from the Association of Judges for the 2023 
Rule of Law Report. 

BBC  (2022),  Two  dead  after  shooting  outside  LGBT  bar,  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-
63239523, 13 October 2023. 

Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, Monitoring Media Pluralism in the Digital Era in the 
year 2022 (2023) Country report: Slovakia. 

Civil Liberties Union for Europe (2023), Contribution from Civil Liberties Union for Europe for the 
2023 Rule of Law Report. 

Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (2022), Decision No. Pl. ÚS 13/2022 from 13.12.2022. 

Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (2016), Decision No. II. ÚS 298/2015 from 15 December 
2016. 

Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (2022), Decision No. III. ÚS/455/2022 from 8 December 
2022. 

Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (2011), Decision No. II ÚS 96/2010 from 3 February 2011. 

Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (2010), Decision No. III. ÚS 68/2010 from 25 August 2010. 

Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE) (2018), Opinion No. 13(2018): Independence, 
accountability and ethics of prosecutors. 

Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) (2023), Contribution from the CCBE for the 2023 
Rule of Law Report. 

Council of Europe (1998), European Charter on the statute for judges (DAJ/DOC (98) 23). 

Council  of  Europe:  Committee  of  Ministers  (2000),  Recommendation  CM/Rec(2000)19  of  the 
Committee of Ministers to member states on the role of public prosecution in the criminal justice system. 

Council  of  Europe:  Committee  of  Ministers  (2010),  Recommendation  CM/Rec(2010)12  of  the 
Committee of Ministers to member states on judges: independence, efficiency and responsibilities. 

Council of Europe: Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. 

Council of Europe: Venice Commission (2010),  Report on the Independence of the Judicial System 
Part II: The Prosecution Service (CDL-AD(2010)040). 

Council of Europe: Venice Commission (2014), Interim Opinion No. 785/2014 on the draft law on the 
state prosecution office of Montenegro (CDL-AD(2014)042). 

Council of Europe: Venice Commission (2016), Rule of Law Checklist, (CDL-AD(2016)007rev). 

29 

 
 
Council of Europe Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (2021), Study on the functioning of judicial  

systems  in  the  EU  Member  States  https://commission.europa.eu/publications/two-studies-prepared-
european-commission-cepej-european-commission-efficiency-justice-functioning-3_en.  

Council of the European Union (2020), Recommendation of 20 May 2020 on the 2020 National Reform 
Programme of Slovakia and delivering a Council opinion on the 2020 Stability Programme of Slovakia, 
(COM(2020) 525 final) 

Council of the European Union (2021), Annex to the Council Implementing Decision on the approval 
of  the  assessment  of  the  recovery  and  resilience  plan  for  Slovakia  (10156/21  ADD  1),  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CONSIL:ST_10156_2021_ADD_1&from=EN.  

Court of Justice of the European Union, judgment of 25 July 2018, LM, C-216/18 PPU. 

Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Union,  judgment  of  20  April  2021,  Repubblika,  C-896/19, 
ECLI:EU:C:2021:311 

DenníkN (2022), Interview with Minister of Justice, Viliam Karas: I want to lean on all Members of 
Parliament  in good  will.  I have  already  spoken  to Mr  Tarabo,  https://dennikn.sk/3039809/minister-
spravodlivosti-karas-chcem-sa-opierat-o-vsetkych-poslancov-dobrej-vole-s-poslancom-tarabom-som-
uz-rokoval-video/?ref=tit. 

Directorate-General for Communication (2022), Special Eurobarometer 523: Corruption. 

Directorate-General for Communication (2023), Special Eurobarometer 534: Corruption. 

Directorate-General  for  Communication  (2022),  Flash  Eurobarometer  507:  Businesses’  attitudes 
towards corruption in the EU. 

Directorate-General  for  Communication  (2023),  Flash  Eurobarometer  524:  Businesses’  attitudes 
towards corruption in the EU. 

Euractiv (2021), Audit reveals large-scale fraud of EU funds in Slovak agricultural paying agency (19 
March 2021) https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/audit-reveals-large-scale-fraud-of-
eu-funds-in-slovak-agricultural-paying-agency/.  

Euronews (2022), Bratislava shooting: Two dead after gunman opens fire in front of LGBT venue in 
Slovak  capital,  https://www.euronews.com/2022/10/13/bratislava-shooting-two-dead-after-gunman-
opens-fire-in-front-of-lgbt-venue-in-slovak-capi, 13 October 2023. 

European  Anti-Fraud  Office  (2021),  OLAF  closes  cases  on  EU  agricultural  funds  in  Slovakia  (21 
January  2021)  https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu/media-corner/news/olaf-closes-cases-eu-agricultural-
funds-slovakia-2021-01-21_en.  

European Commission (2020), 2020 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Slovakia.  

European Commission (2021), 2021 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Slovakia.  

European Commission (2022), 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Slovakia.  

European  Commission  (2023),  Positive  preliminary  assessment  of  the  satisfactory  fulfilment  of 
milestones  and  targets  related to  the  second payment  request  submitted  by  Slovakia  on  25  October 
2022,  transmitted  to  the  Economic  and  Financial  Committee  by  the  European  Commission 
https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2023-02/C_2023_1038_1_annexe_EN.pdf.  

European Commission (2023), 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard.  

European Court of Human Rights, judgment of 24 July 2012, Maxian and Maxianova, 44482/09.  

30 

 
 
European Court of Human Rights, judgment of 15 September 2015, Javor and Javorova, 42360/10. 

European Court of Human Rights, judgment of 27 June 2017, Ivan, 57405/15.  

European Court of Human Rights, judgment of 9 March 2021, Bilgen v Turkey, 1571/07.  

European Court of Human Rights, judgment of 31 August 2018, Balogh and others, 35142/15.European 
Implementation  Network  (2023),  Contribution  from  the  European  Implementation  Network  for  the 
2023 Rule of Law Report. 

European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (2012-2013), Report on Minimum standards for the 
evaluation of professional performance and the irremovability of members of the judiciary. 

European  Network  of  National  Human  Rights  Institutions  (2023),  Contribution  from  the  European 
Network of National Human Rights Institutions for the 2023 Rule of Law Report.  

European Parliament: Flash Eurobarometer: News & Media Survey 2022. 

Franet, Centre for the Research of Ethnicity and Culture (2023), Country research - Legal environment 
and  space  of  civil  society  organisations  in  supporting  fundamental  rights  –  Slovakia,  Vienna,  EU 
Agency for Fundamental Rights, https://fra.europa.eu/en/country-data/2023/civic-space-report-2023.  

Government  of  Slovakia  (2018),  Anti-Corruption  Policy  of  the  Slovak  Republic  for  2019-2023 
https://rokovania.gov.sk/download.dat?id=588DFBA123494910A70AF18737B85A81- 
034BF7E75BABC88FC3A419E44DED1345.    

Government  of  Slovakia  (2019),  National  Anti-Corruption  Program  of  the  Slovak  Republic 
https://rokovania.gov.sk/download.dat?id=F75436C4AF3C4D96AE93D60FD6BCA184- 
99C291B1BA87B0B9BF1E773CB8DA6BA0.   

Government 
https://www.vlada.gov.sk/share/RVLP/lpv_sr-14122022.pdf?csrt=12208025320509349348.   

Slovak  Republic, 

Legislative 

rules 

the 

of 

of 

the  Government, 

Government of the Slovak RepublicSlovakia (2021), Communication No. DH-DD(2021)696 from the 
Slovak Republic concerning the cases of Maxian and Maxianova (Application No. 44482/09) and Ivan 
v. Slovak Republic (Application No. 57405/15) from 6 July 2021.  

Government of the Slovak RepublicSlovakia (2021), Communication No. DH-DD(2021)467 from the 
authorities (05/05/2021) concerning the case of Javor and Javorova v. Slovak Republic (Application 
No. 42360/10) from 6 May 2021.  

of 

Government 
Programme 
https://rokovania.gov.sk/download.dat?id=AC1F28C57AFC4404A10668B388D1E04F01E859E1A25
86E19FA0FCBA4FF3E8A45.   

(2021),  Updated  National  Anti-Corruption 

Slovakia 

Government  of  Slovakia  (2021),  Draft  Plan  of  Legislative  Tasks  of  the  Government  of  the  Slovak 
Republic for the months June to December 2021 https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/26139/1.    

Government 
https://www.vlada.gov.sk/share/RVLP/lpv_sr-14122022.pdf?csrt=12208025320509349348.   

Legislative 

Slovakia 

(2022), 

rules 

the 

of 

of 

Government 

Government of the Slovak RepublicSlovakia (2022), Resolution No 549/2022 of 7 September 2022, 
https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/27581/1.   

Government of Slovakia (2022), Input from Slovakia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report.  

Government of Slovakia (2022), Action Plan of the Open Government Initiative in the Slovak Republic 
for 2022-2024 (‘Akčný plán Iniciatívy pre otvorené vládnutie v Slovenskej republike na roky 2022-
2024‘) 
https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Slovak-Republic_Action-
Plan_2022-2024_SVK.pdf.    

31 

 
 
Government of the Slovak RepublicSlovakia (2023), Input from Slovakia for the 2023 Rule of Law 
Report.  

2023 

Government of Slovakia (2023), Plan of Legislative Tasks of the Government of the Slovak Republic 
for 
https://www.slov-lex.sk/legislativne-
procesy?p_p_id=processDetail_WAR_portletsel&p_p_lifecycle=2&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=vi
ew&p_p_cacheability=cacheLevelPage&p_p_col_id=column-
2&p_p_col_count=1&_processDetail_WAR_portletsel_fileCooaddr=COO.2145.1000.3.5336495&_p
rocessDetail_WAR_portletsel_file=Vlastn%C3%BD--
materi%C3%A1l.docx&_processDetail_WAR_portletsel_action=getFile.   

Ján Kuciak Investigative Center (2023), Contribution from the Ján Kuciak Investigative Center for the 
2023 Rule of Law Report.  

Ministry of Interior (2022), Concept for the development of civil society in Slovakia for 2022-2030, 
https://www.minv.sk/swift_data/source/rozvoj_obcianskej_spolocnosti/rozvoj_obcianskej_spolocnost
i/2022/kros_2022_2030/KROS%202022-2030.pdf.   

Ministry of Interior (2022), Action plan to the Concept for the development of civil society in Slovakia 
for 
2022-2026, 
https://www.minv.sk/swift_data/source/rozvoj_obcianskej_spolocnosti/rozvoj_obcianskej_spolocnost
i/2022/kros_2022_2030/AP%20KROS%202022-2026.pdf.   

Ministry  of  Justice  (2022),  Bill  amending  Act  No.  301/2005  Coll.,  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure, 
LP/2022/513, https://www.slov-lex.sk/legislativne-procesy/SK/LP/2022/513   

NovinyPlus (2022), MP Vetrák is preparing a "whip" to control MPs' property of deputies (5 August 
https://plus.noviny.sk/698809-poslanec-vetrak-chysta-bic-na-kontrolu-majetku-poslancov-
2022) 
tvrdo-sa-donho-pustili-robert-kalinak-aj-sutaj-estok.   

NovinyPlus (2022), MP Vetrák is preparing a "whip" to control MPs' property of deputies (5 August 
https://plus.noviny.sk/698809-poslanec-vetrak-chysta-bic-na-kontrolu-majetku-poslancov-
2022) 
tvrdo-sa-donho-pustili-robert-kalinak-aj-sutaj-estok.    

OECD (2022), Integrity Review of the Slovak Republic: Delivering Effective Public Integrity Policies, 
https://www.oecd.org/gov/oecd-integrity-review-of-the-slovak-republic-45bd4657-en.htm.   

Office of the Government Plenipotentiary of the Government for Civil Society Development (2022), 
Action Plan of the Open Government Initiative in the Slovak Republic for 2022-2024 (‘Akčný plán 
Iniciatívy 
2022-2024‘) 
v  Slovenskej 
,https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Slovak-Republic_Action-
Plan_2022-2024_SVK.pdf.     

republike 

vládnutie 

otvorené 

roky 

pre 

na 

Office of the Government Plenipotentiary of the Government for Civil Society Development (2022), 
Analysis of sources of funding for non-governmental non-profit organisations in the Slovak Republic , 
https://www.minv.sk/swift_data/source/rozvoj_obcianskej_spolocnosti/ekonomika_mno/2022/Analyz
a%20zdrojov%20financovania%20MNO,%20verzia%2008.03.2023.pdf.   

Parliament of the Slovak Republic (2022), Explanatory statement to the Government draft law on the 
, 
establishment  of 
https://www.nrsr.sk/web/Dynamic/DocumentPreview.aspx?DocID=508019.   

courts  and  on 

amendment  of 

administrative 

certain 

laws 

the 

Press Agency SITA (2021), ‘Politicians' property declarations will be delayed, and they have hired an 
external company to help (22 August 2021) https://sita.sk/majetkove-priznania-politikov-budu-meskat-
na-pomoc-si-najali-aj-externu-firmu/.   

Press Agency SITA (2022), Beňa first entered into a plea bargain, now he is seeking a retrial (29 May 
teraz  žiada  o  obnovu  konania) 
2022)  (Beňa  najprv  uzavrel  dohodu  o  vine  a 

treste, 

32 

 
 
https://domov.sme.sk/c/22923585/bena-najprv-uzavrel-dohodu-o-vine-a-treste-teraz-ziada-o-obnovu-
konania.html.   

Press Agency SITA (2022), Kažimír is charged again. This is the same act for which his prosecution 
was cancelled by Žilinka (24 November 2022), (Kažimír je opäť obvinený. Ide o ten istý skutok, pre 
ktorý  jeho  stíhanie  zrušil  Žilinka)  https://sita.sk/kazimir-je-opat-obvineny-ide-o-ten-isty-skutok-pre-
ktory-jeho-stihanie-zrusil-zilinka/.   

Public Defender of Rights (2023), Contribution from the Public Defender of Rights for the 2023 Rule 
of Law Report.  

Public  Defender  of  Rights  (2023),  Report  on  the  activities  of  the  Ombudsman  for  2022  , 
https://vop.gov.sk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Sprava_2022_final2.pdf.   

Reporters Without Borders (2023), 2023 World Press Freedom Index.RTVS (2023), Contribution from 
RTVS for the 2023 Rule of Law Report.  

Reuters (2022), Slovak police renew bribery charge against central bank governor Kazimir  – lawyer 
(24  November  2022),  https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/slovak-police-again-charge-central-
bank-governor-kazimir-over-bribery-lawyer-2022-11-24/.    

Rubriky news (2022), Police President Hamran: We don't have the capacity for migrants (Policajný 
prezident  Hamran:  Na  migrantov  nemáme  capacity)  https://dennikn.sk/3029823/policajny-prezident-
hamran-na-migrantov-nemame-kapacity-video/?ref=list.   

Slovak Bar Association (2022), Lawfulness and effectiveness of criminal proceedings with an emphasis 
on  preliminary  proceedings  –  joint  statement  of  representatives  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Prosecution 
, 
General, 
https://www.sak.sk/web/sk/cms/news/form/list/form/row/1368937/_eventhttps://www.sak.sk/web/sk/c
ms/news/form/list/form/row/1493306/.   

Association 

faculties 

Slovak 

Bar 

and 

law 

Slovak Bar Association (2022), Meeting of representatives of the main judicial institutions - a joint call 
of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, the General Prosecutor's Office of the Slovak Republic 
and 
, 
Slovak 
https://www.sak.sk/web/sk/cms/news/form/list/form/row/1493306/_event.    

Association 

Bar 

the 

Slovak Bar Association (2023), Contribution from the Slovak Bar Association for the 2023 Rule of Law 
Report.  

Slovak  Government  (2018),  Anti-Corruption  Policy  of  the  Slovak  Republic  for  2019-2023 
https://rokovania.gov.sk/download.dat?id=588DFBA123494910A70AF18737B85A81- 
034BF7E75BABC88FC3A419E44DED1345.   

Slovak  Government 
https://rokovania.gov.sk/download.dat?id=F75436C4AF3C4D96AE93D60FD6BCA184- 
99C291B1BA87B0B9BF1E773CB8DA6BA0.   

(2019),  National  Anti-Corruption  Program  of 

the  Slovak  Republic 

Government 

Slovak 
Programme 
https://rokovania.gov.sk/download.dat?id=AC1F28C57AFC4404A10668B388D1E04F01E859E1A25
86E19FA0FCBA4FF3E8A45.   

Anti-Corruption 

National 

Updated 

(2021), 

Slovak Government (2022), Input from Slovakia for the 2022 Rule of Law Report.  

Slovak Judicial Council (2023), Decision No 63/2023 on the crime of abuse of law, as stipulated in 
Section 326a of the Criminal Code, from 16 February 2023,  https://zasadnutia.sudnarada.sk/trestny-
cin-ohybania-prava-podla-326a-trestneho-zakona-a-suvisiacich-ustanoveni/   

Slovak  Judicial  Council  (2023),  Transition  of  the  administration  of  justice  from  regional  courts  to 
administrative courts as of 1 June 2023, https://www.sudnarada.gov.sk/prechod-vykonu-sudnictva-z-
krajskych-sudov-na-spravne-sudy-od-1-juna-2023/?csrt=4880594203998622709   

33 

 
 
Slovak Print and Digital Media Association (2023),  Contribution from the Slovak Print and Digital 
Media Association for the 2023 Rule of Law Report.  

The Slovak Spectator (2022), Third man confesses in case of alleged bribe to Pčolinský (27 May 2022) 
https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22922372/third-man-confesses-in-case-of-alleged-bribe-to-pcolinsky.html.   

The Slovak Spectator (2022), Haščák and other people from the Gorilla case charged with serious crime 
(1  December  2022)  https://spectator.sme.sk/c/23083885/hascak-and-other-people-from-the-gorilla-
case-charged-with-serious-crime.html.     

Transparency International (2020), ´Every third euro in the election campaign went through the agency´ 
(3  April 
https://volby.transparency.sk/parlament2020/2020/03/04/kazde-tretie-euro-v-
predvolebnej-kampani-slo-cez-agenturu/.   

2020) 

SME.sk (2022), The arguments of Žilinka's office are denied by courts and witnesses (29 November 
2022), (Argumenty Žilinkovho úradu popierajú súdy aj svedkovia. Otázky a odpovede o oslobodení 
Fica) https://domov.sme.sk/c/23082364/fico-kalinak-zrusenie-obvinenia.html.   

The Slovak Spectator (2022), The key evidence does not fit – A year has passed since the indictment 
of NAKA investigators (16 September 2022) https://dennikn.sk/3012659/klucove-dokazy-nesedia-od-
obvinenia-vysetrovatelov-naka-presiel-rok/?ref=list    

The Slovak Spectator (2023), Police chief to general prosecutor: ‘Do your job’- Four elite investigators 
are still charged with serious offences after 18 months, despite a court describing them as unjustified 
(17  March  2023)  https://spectator.sme.sk/c/23147569/police-chief-to-general-prosecutor-do-your-
job.html.   

Transparency  International  (2022),  Exporting  corruption  2022:  assessing  enforcement  of  the  OECD 
anti-bribery convention https://www.transparency.org/en/publications/exporting-corruption-2022.   

Transparency International (2022), Corruption Perceptions Index 2022.  

Transparency International (2023), Contribution from Transparency International for the 2023 Rule of 
Law Report.  

UN  Human  Rights  Regional  Office  for  Europe  (2023),  Contribution  from  the  UN  Human  Rights 
Regional Office for Europe for the 2023 Rule of Law Report.  

Via Iuris (2022), Dredging laws (‘Bagrovanie zákonov‘), https://viaiuris.sk/aktuality/blog/bagrovanie-
zakonov/.    

Via Iuris (2023), Press release ‘The Government has quietly changed the rules of commenting on laws’ 
https://viaiuris.sk/wp-
zákonov’), 
(‘Vláda 
content/uploads/2023/03/TS-vlada-potichu-zmenila-pravidla-16032023.pdf.   

pripomienkovania 

pravidlá 

zmenila 

potichu 

Whistleblower Protection Office (2022), Report on the activities of the Whistleblower Protection Office 
for the year 2022 https://www.oznamovatelia.sk/en/vyrocne-spravy/.   

Whistleblower  Protection  Office  (2023),  Functionality  of  internal  notification  systems  in  the  state 
administration (January 2023), https://www.oznamovatelia.sk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/funkcnost-
vnutornych-systemov.pdf.   

Whistleblower  Protection  Office  (2023),  Do  Slovak  companies  support  whistleblowers  (February 
2023), https://www.oznamovatelia.sk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/komentar-sukromny-sektor.pdf.  

34 

 
 
 
  
 
 
Annex II: Country visit to Slovakia 

The Commission services held virtual meetings in March 2023 with: 

Investigative Center of Jan Kuciak 

  Association of Judges of Slovakia 
  Government Office – Corruption Prevention Department 
 
  Judges For Open Judiciary 
  Judicial Council  
  Ministry of Culture 
  Ministry of the Interior 
  Ministry of Justice 
  National Centre for Human Rights 
  National Union of Employers 
  Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers 
  Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government for Civil Society Development 
  Parliament administration 
  Police National Crime Agency 
  President of Slovak Police Force 
  Prosecutor General’s Office  
  Public Defender of Rights 
  Radio and Television Slovakia (RTVS) 
  Slovak Bar Association  
  Slovak Council for Media Services 
  Slovak Land Fund (replies received in writing) 
  Slovak Syndicate of Journalists 
  Slovak Print and Digital Media Association 
  Special Prosecutor’s Office 
  State  Commission  for  Elections  and  Control  of  Funding  of  Political  Parties  (replies 

received in writing) 

  Supreme Administrative Court 
  Supreme Audit Office 
  Supreme Court 
  Transparency International 
  Via Iuris  
  Zastavme korupciu 

* The Commission also met the following organisations in a number of horizontal meetings:  

  ALDA (European Association for Local Democracy) 
  Amnesty International  
  Civil Liberties Union for Europe  

35 

 
 
 
 
  Civil Society Europe 
  Culture Action Europe  
  European Centre for Press and Media Freedom  
  European Civic Forum  
  European Federation of Journalists  
  European Partnership for Democracy  
  European Youth Forum  
  Free Press Unlimited 
  Front Line Defenders 
 
 
 
 
 
  JEF Europe  
  Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa 
  Philea  
  Reporters Without Borders  
  SOLIDAR 
  Transparency International EU 

ILGA Europe  
International Commission of Jurists 
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)  
International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network 
International Press Institute  

36