The government could grant amnesty for offences committed during the period of emergency and state of emergency declared for the pandemic COVID-19. Plenipotentiary for the review of the management of resources during the pandemic COVID-19 Peter Kotlár is to submit this proposal to thGovernment session next week. According to him, this is a procedure in accordance with the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, which allows the government to acquit offenders of offences, requiring the consent of a supermajority of the members.
With an amnesty, the government could issue an order to stop the offence proceedings that have been commenced, or not to commence proceedings at all, or a form where the sanction imposed is not enforced or mitigated. A form that would mitigate or remove the effects of a sanction already imposed would also be an option. As Mr Kotlár pointed out, such a form has never been applied before.
In connection with the proposal to introduce an amnesty for offences committed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic pointed out that the exclusive competence to assess the legality of generally binding legal regulations and their compliance with the Constitution of the Slovak Republic has the Constitutional Court. Public Health Authority also noted that the court had not found any violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms in repeated assessments of the constitutionality of the decrees issued by the Office of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic. The Chief Hygienist of the Slovak Republic, Tatiana Červeňová, will present her opinion on the topic of the COVID amnesty to the Health Minister in the next few days.
Source: TASR
