20 October 2025
No Skyfall
On 26 September 2025, the Slovak parliament adopted the 23rd amendment to the Constitution, introducing an explicit “national identity” clause and a series of provisions presented as measures to “protect the family”. The Venice Commission issued an Opinion two days earlier highlighting both procedural irregularities and substantive concerns. Yet, despite the alarm it has caused, the amendment’s immediate impact is likely to be limited: most of its provisions remain largely symbolic without accompanying legislation or supportive judicial interpretation. Instead, the real battleground will unfold in legal disputes over the amendment’s meaning and reach – with the Constitutional Court expected to play a decisive role. Continue reading >>
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23 June 2025
Haunted by Text
Slovak PM Fico renewed his attempts to amend Slovakia’s Constitution. The most controversial provisions are a “national identity safeguard” limiting the effect of international and supranational law, and a definition of sex as strictly binary. After securing backing from some opposition members, his cabinet has submitted the amendment to parliament for debate and a vote. While public mobilisation against the proposed amendment proposal is important, legal scholars and NGOs should avoid using language that might reinforce the perception that the formally powerful Constitutional Court lacks the authority to strike down or reinterpret such changes in line with constitutional values. Continue reading >>
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14 September 2021
The People v Their Representatives
On July 7, 2021, the Slovak Constitutional Court found a referendum initiative on a snap election unconstitutional. The case presented the Court with an unresolved question, whether the people can remove their elected representatives from office ahead of time. The Court’s answer was a qualified no. When people resort to direct democracy tools, the Court found, they are not only bound by explicit subject-matter restrictions on the use of referenda but also implicit norms under the doctrine of the material core. The people have a great power to make or unmake constitutional law but cannot breach it in an irregular use of a referendum. Continue reading >>
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03 December 2020