Prosecutors Council Slams Content and Manner of Adoption of Penal Code Amendment

Bratislava, 15 December (TASR) - The Prosecutors' Council expresses its "fundamental disagreement and deep concern" over the content and manner of adoption of amendments to penal legislation, pointing to flagrant violations of the principles of the legislative process, a direct threat to constitutional guarantees of a fair trial, and disproportionate interference with freedom of expression, TASR has learnt from Council chairman Stanislav Jakubcik. The Council made the statement in response to the adoption of an amendment to the Penal Code, which also changes the Criminal Procedure Code. "The Prosecutors' Council strongly objects that the legal conditions for a fast-tracked legislative procedure weren't met when this legislation was adopted," reads the statement. According to the Council, the submitter didn't prove the existence of extraordinary circumstances, which led to the bypassing of expert discussion. The Council considers such a procedure to be an expression of arbitrariness. According to the Prosecutors' Council, the legislative process has been degraded to a tool for enforcing purposeful changes in the form of so-called 'add-ons' that aren't related to the original bill in terms of content. am