At a session behind closed doors on Wednesday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the amnesties issued by Vladimír Mečiar as acting president in 1998 as well as the pardon granted by former president Michal Kováč [1993-98] to his own son in 1997 can be scrapped in line with a decision by Parliament. As many as eight out of the ten judges present at the session voted in favour of allowing the abrogation, while the remaining two judges were against. MPs on April 5 revoked Mečiar's amnesties as well as Kováč's pardon via a resolution that garnered 129 votes from the 144 MPs present at the session.
Prime Minister Robert Fico views the ruling issued by the Constitutional Court as proof that the solution adopted by the governing coalition was correct and fully in line with the Constitution. Other members of the coalition Smer-SD party have welcomed the court's ruling as well. "This step has also an important symbolic meaning, as it represents the end of the Mečiar era," stated Béla Bugár, leader of the coalition party Most-Híd. According to the Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská from the Most-Híd party, after 19 years and several failed attempts, a major trauma for this country has finally been healed. Žitňanská also highlighted the fact that the move to revoke the amnesties issued by Mečiar in 1998 was made in unison by the Government, Parliament, the president [Andrej Kiska] and now also the court.
The non-governmental organisation Via Iuris also welcomed the verdict issued by the Constitutional Court, moreover they underlined the positive signal to the public.
Mečiar's amnesties relate to the 1995 kidnapping of then President Michal Kováč's son Michal Kováč Jr. and the murder in 1996 of Robert Remiáš, who served as a contact for a key witness of the abduction. The amnesties issued by Mečiar as acting president in 1998 also concern a thwarted referendum of 1997. These cases can now be reopened in court. In the case of the abduction of Michal Kováč Jr., 13 people had already been accused before the case was stopped by the amnesties. Oskar Fegyveres, the key witness of the abduction is prepared to testify at court. "At this moment, I think it was all worth it. It was worth waiting those 20 years. Even though it took so long, the day has come," stated Fegyveres on Wednesday.
