PG Zilinka: Constitutional Court Decision on Penal Code Fundamental

Bratislava, 11 February (TASR) - The Constitutional Court's decision to suspend the amendment to the Penal Code concerning cooperating defendants is fundamental, stated Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka on social media on Wednesday. "At today's plenary session, the Constitutional Court accepted my proposal to initiate proceedings on whether a section in the Penal Code conforms with the Slovak Constitution and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and it suspended the effect of the contested legal provision," wrote Zilinka. The prosecutor-general claims that suspending the effect of the law will prevent possible "negative, irreversible and irreparable consequences of the new legal regulation in criminal proceedings and interference in the fairness of trials." At the same time, according to Zilinka, it will prevent any threat to the investigation of the most serious crimes. The Constitutional Court has suspended the effect of an amendment to the Penal Code that was aimed at making evidence obtained from a cooperating defendant inadmissible. The court didn't grant a proposal to suspend the effect of the remaining part of the Penal Code amendment adopted by Parliament last December. The Penal Code amendment, which includes changes to the Penal Procedure Code, was adopted via a fast-tracked legislative procedure. Coalition MPs argued that the institution of cooperating defendant was being abused; for example, in the conviction of individuals on the basis of testimony that proved to be unreliable. am/df