Penal Code
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The legal challenge to the Penal Code, filed by president Caputova before the Constitutional Court, was followed by similar petitions on Tuesday from a group of 36 opposition members from SaS, KDH and 'Slovakia' parties. The Progressive Slovakia party filed a separate motion.
Maria Kolikova of SaS called the bill a ‚de facto amnesty‘ for hundreds of cases. "Parliament is staking a claim here to something it has no power to do. In the democratic division of power, Parliament doesn't have the right to grant amnesty," she said.
The Court can only consider these objections after the bill has been formally published in the so-called Collection of Laws.
Opposition parties accused the government and the speaker of Parliament on Tuesday of delaying the publication of the new Penal Code.
Speaker Peter Pellegrini replied he would proceed in accordance with the law. He has 21 days from the approval of the law to send it to the relevant minister; the minister has 15 days to announce the law in the Collection of Laws. So that would be 15 March, the day the new law would go into effect.
Gábor Grendel of the Slovakia party called it ‘dirty tactics.’ He said the time spent waiting now, could have been given to parliament for a thorough debate of the bill, instead of a fast-track treatment.
