President Doesn't Intend to Veto Penal Code Amendment in Its Entirety (2)

Bratislava, 23 December (TASR) – President Peter Pellegrini told the media that he doesn't intend to return the Penal Code amendment to Parliament in its entirety, adding that he will be deciding on Tuesday between two options - either he will agree with the wording of the amendment submitted by the government, or he will return the law with a request for an amending proposal to improve some of its wording, TASR reported on Tuesday. The president will meet his advisors in the afternoon, having given them time to review the wording of the amendment. "I won't veto the law as such. Either I'll sign it in its current wording, or I'll offer the government some improvements, if they are delivered to me by my team after consultations with the relevant state authorities," said Pellegrini, adding that he plans to make his decision later on Tuesday. At the same time, Pellegrini fully subscribes to the government's opinion that changes should be made in individual areas of the Penal Code. However, he wanted to make sure that, in terms of their wording, as detailed in the law, they will meet their purpose. "We must be sure that, for example, if someone defends themselves in court against confiscation imposed under the Benes decrees, it must be clear to everyone that - in terms of interpretation of the law - this is not a crime of denying, but rather the right to a judicial process and one's own defence," stated Pellegrini. He also responded to Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka's criticism concerning statements on the Penal Code amendment. Pellegrini said he respects Zilinka and also acknowledges his objections, while he also perceives that the prosecutor-general is increasingly commenting on the statements of politicians. "I am not sure whether the Prosecutor-General should be commenting so intensively on the constitutional officials or individual political parties. He should devote himself to what he was elected for, and that is combating crime," said Pellegrini. On 11 December, Parliament passed an amendment to the Penal Code via a fast-tracked legislative procedure. It reintroduces the three-strikes rule for petty theft, with repeat offenders becoming criminally liable in the case of repeated thefts. The definition of the criminal offence of obstructing an election campaign is to be extended to include cooperation with a "foreign power", and criminal liability is also being introduced "for denying or questioning post-war documents on the arrangement of conditions after WW2 in Slovakia". It also addresses the issue of cooperating defendants. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraphs 6 and 7 jrg/mcs