President informed Council of Europe about Slovakia's stance on convention

Following the decision of Parliament, President Zuzana Caputova sent a letter to the Council of Europe on Thursday, informing it that the Slovak Republic could not become a party to the Istanbul Convention. "Since the necessary condition to ratify the convention is the consent of Parliament, but this hasn't happened, this convention won't be ratified by the president," said the President's spokesman Martin Strizinec. As he added, Caputova repeatedly stated that if Parliament decided on the document in a constitutionally prescribed manner, she would respect the will of MPs. The Slovak Parliament in a vote at an extraordinary session in late February rejected the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.