The coalition is speaking about changes to the so-called Lex Assassination. These are measures that the government is calling for after the May attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. The rules for organising protests are to be tightened, and top constitutional officials are to be given state-provided housing. Twice-serving prime ministers or speakers of parliament will in turn receive lifetime protection and an annuity. The opposition is calling on the government to withdraw the Lex Assassination as, according to them, a number of measures are unrelated to security.
Under the current draft, the state could fine municipalities if the police demanded a reported protest to be cancelled but the municipality allowed it anyway.
“If there is a significant concern that this thing might cause a certain form of alibism and precautionary ban on gatherings, we can clearly state that this is not the purpose of this draft,” says Robert Kaliňák, deputy prime minister for Smer-SD.
In this context, the ombudsman Róbert Dobrovodský recommends the government to take inspiration from Germany. Berlin has placed the decision to restrict the right of assembly solely in the hands of the Constitutional Court. The government has not yet said what the announced compromise should look like.
RTVS
