BRATISLAVA, January 2, (WEBNOVINY) — Public officials in Slovakia will not enjoy protection from verbal attacks, contrary to what a recent draft amendment suggested. “I am very sorry that the draft amendment to the law on transgressions contained a provision that more severely punished verbal attacks against public officials. I consider this a sign of that some colleagues at the ministry have not yet fully understood the substance of their work. Their work is not about boosting privileges of public officials but just the other way round,“ said Justice Minister Daniel Lipsic. The controversial clause will be dropped from the draft amendment to the law on transgressions, the minister said.
Lipsic promises to draw consequences against those responsible for preparation of the draft. He announced reshuffles at managing positions. “Since my civil servants failed to notice that their own minister supports other opinions, then they will bear the consequences,” he added. In a free society, everybody has the right to say what s/he considers appropriate. “It can be also something harming, sometimes vulgar as well, I am not happy with it, but it is so,“ the minister underscored. This is already for the second time in a short period when the minister decided to intervene in legislative work at his own ministry. His first intervention pertained to the draft state citizenship law.
The prepared draft amendment is aimed at guaranteeing impunity of a person reporting a transgression in order to make it simpler to reveal corruption, said the minister. He admitted that he has not read the draft amendment. „I am concerned that it is not possible to go though all materials in detail,” he explained. According to him, the reasoning report to the amendment failed to mention the change he objects.
The PRAVDA daily pointed to the problem in its Monday issue informing that according to the amendment from the Justice Ministry’s workroom, one is to be fined EUR 500 for insult or slander of a public official.
SITA