SaS Launches "Anti-mafia" Petition to Force House to Reopen its Rule of Law Bill

Bratislava, 19 January (TASR) - The opposition's Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party is launching a petition calling on Parliament to debate its package of proposals to strengthen the rule of law, SaS leader Branislav Groehling announced at a press conference on Monday. The petition is titled Declaration of Slovaks Against the Mafia. The proposal has already been submitted to Parliament, but, according to Groehling, the coalition will "sweep it off the table", so the party wants to force its renewed debate through this route. SaS has dubbed its proposal the so-called lex against the mafia. "This proposal represents a set of measures aimed at strengthening the rule of law, protecting the independence of investigations and preventing the corruption of public power by organised crime, corruption networks and special interest," the party stated on the petition sheet. "You will see us collecting signatures for this petition across Slovakia. (...) If we collect 100,000 signatures, we'll deliver them to Parliament, which will have to debate this bill again," Groehling said on Monday. Through the petition, SaS is calling on Parliament to approve a package of measures drafted by the party, which would restore the original system for assessing testimony by cooperating defendants prior to the adoption of the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code. SaS also proposes a "fundamental" restriction of the range of decisions that the Prosecutor-General can review under Section 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The party is also seeking the re-establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecution (USP) and the National Criminal Agency (NAKA), and their "statutory anchoring as proven and effective institutions in the fight against organised crime and corruption". The SaS amendment also proposes tightening the conditions for holding public office for persons convicted of corruption offences, including a six-year period after expungement during which they would be barred from running for or holding the office of government member or deputy minister. The SaS draft legislation has already been submitted to Parliament. MPs are expected to debate it as standard at the next regular session. mf/mcs