BRATISLAVA, June 22, (WEBNOVINY) — It is seems striking to Prime Minister Iveta Radicova that the term ‚good morals‘ was the reason that President Ivan Gasparovic cited as the reason why he vetoed and returned to parliament the amendment to the Press Act. According to his reasoning, the head of state cannot agree with the application of this formulation in examples cited in the law. The prime minister however pointed out that the term occurs in Slovak laws and President Gasparovic signed eight laws in 2006-2010 period where this term is also used. She added that in these laws the president did not mind expression ‚good morals.‘
The prime minister thinks that the question is justified on what was the real reason behind the president’s decision to veto the revised Press Act, while she is certain that it was not the term ‚good morals‘ and she named eight laws signed by the president and using this term.
“Is it the real reason or somebody minds that the amendment is aimed at restricting the right of public officials to a reply?,” asked the prime minister. According to the prime minister, practical application of the law has shown that just politicians react to stories and reporting using the respective clause in the Press Act. She admits that vetoing bills is a real possibility but here the reasons that have not been reasons before unexpectedly became such.
In line with the new wording of the Press Act that the head of state returned to lawmakers, all public functionaries, chairpersons and deputy chairs of political parties as well as political parties will lose the right to reply if the published critical statements are related to the execution of their office. The right of reply, however, is reserved for public officials if they apply it as private individuals, in compliance with the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. The right to reply will be limited to untrue, incomplete or truth distorting statements. The applicable law enables reaction even to true statements. The present wording of the Press Act was adopted by the previous government of Robert Fico, when it stirred a wave of protest from the opposition and press publishers.
SITA