Opposition Turns to Constitutional Court over Whistleblowers Protection Office

Bratislava, 10 December (TASR) - The opposition has turned to the Constitutional Court over the law transforming the Whistleblowers Protection Office (UOO) into a new office, pointing to possible incompatibility with the Slovak Constitution and EU law, while also criticising the process of its adoption, opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) MP Lucia Plavakova said on Wednesday, adding that the court should also look into the possibility of suspending its effect. "On Wednesday morning, on behalf of 63 MPs from all opposition parties (PS, Freedom and Solidarity/SaS, Christian Democrats/KDH, and 'Slovakia'), I submitted a motion to the Constitutional Court to declare the adopted law incompatible with the Constitution," she said. "Given the urgency of the situation and the irreversible impact brought by this law, we also asked the court to assess the possibility of suspending its effective date that has been set to as early as 1 January 2026," added Plavakova. In addition to conveying opposition's objections to the law, such as shortening the term of the duly elected UOO chair and the changes concerning the provision and review of whistleblower protection, she also criticised the legislative process in that the conditions for a fast-tracked legislative procedure haven't been met. "It's important that the Constitutional Court will once again deal with the question of whether the legislative process, as perceived by the governing coalition, is in order and whether such conduct is consistent with the Constitution. I think it's important for the Constitutional Court to send a signal that this is in stark contrast with the Constitution," added SaS MP Maria Kolikova. On Tuesday (9 December), Parliament approved the legislation transforming UOO into a new office which, in addition to handling the agenda of whistleblowers reporting criminal activity, should also take over the agenda for compensating the victims of crime from the Justice Ministry. jrg