Anti-Discrimination Legislation
Constitution of Slovakia.
Article 12, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution guarantees basic rights and freedoms within the Slovak Republic for all, regardless of gender, race, colour, language, religion and faith, political or other beliefs, national or social origin or any other characteristic. Paragraph 3 notes that every person has the right to self-determination. Any pressure aimed to change person’s nationality is strictly prohibited.
Article 24 guarantees freedom of conscience, religion and faith (including the right to change religion and faith), as well as freedom to practice religion.
Articles 33-34 are dedicated to minority rights. They note that belonging to any national minority or ethnic group shall not be detrimental to any person. Minorities are given the right to develop their culture and use their language”.
Slovak legislation allows for bilingual documents being issued in areas where minority population is at least 20%.
Criminal Code (Article 193) prohibits restricting freedom to practice religion. Articles 365 - 366 - vandalism at cemeteries. Art. 418 considers the punishment for genocide, Art. 419 - for terrorism. Art. 421-422 supporting extremist groups; Art. 422a - punishment for production of extremist materials; 422b - their distribution; 422s – their storage. Art. 422d is devoted to countering denial of the Holocaust and horrors of the fascist regime. Art. 423 devoted to slandering a person on the basis of his nationality; Article. 424 -424a hatred on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, colour, ethnicity, sex or origin of their religion” However, extremist motivation is not considered an aggravating circumstance.
On February 1, 2014, Slovakia enacted the law on organising public sport events, which prohibits racist banners and provides for severe sanctions against football clubs which allow this.
In 2004, the Law on Equal Treatment and Protection against Discrimination was adopted. It prohibits discrimination based on sex, religion or belief, race, nationality or ethnic origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, family and marital status, color, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status position. Direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and harassment, incitement to discrimination and the use of subordinates for the purpose of discrimination against a third person are prohibited.
Art. 3 of the Law emphasizes that everyone must observe the principle of equal treatment in employment and similar legal relations, social security, health care, the provision of goods and services, and education.
Art. 8a provides for the possibility of introducing, as temporary measures, the so-called. positive discrimination to facilitate the access of discriminated groups in employment, education, culture, health and services. The relevant provisions were included in a number of laws regulating the situation in the labor market, in the sphere of education and social security.
Article 23 of the Constitution states that freedom of movement and of abode are guaranteed and everyone who is rightfully staying on the territory of the Slovak Republic has the right to freely leave this territory; A foreign national can be deported only in cases specified by law”.
Article 52, P.2 notes: foreign nationals enjoy in the Slovak Republic basic human rights and liberties guaranteed by this Constitution, unless these are expressly granted only to citizens.
Article 53 states that the Slovak Republic grants asylum to foreign nationals persecuted for upholding political rights and liberties. Asylum may be denied to those who acted at variance with basic human rights and liberties.
Paragraph 8, art.2. of the law states that the law does not apply to "registered churches, religious societies and other entities based on religion or belief, with regard to differences in treatment based on age, gender, religion or belief and sexual orientation ", in case such restrictions are related to religious beliefs and the rules of a religious organization.
On April 5, 2017, the National Council of the Slovak Republic rejected a bill banning the construction of mosques in the country. The proposal was made by MP Milan Krajniak from the party faction "We are a family". The MP believes that mosques carry security risks, and his initiative is aimed at preventing terrorism. To date, Slovakia is the only EU country where there are no mosques, although about 5,000 Muslims live in the country. Milan Krajniak proposed amending the Law on Construction and the Law on Freedom of Religion. According to the amendments to the Law on Construction, the initiators of the construction of a religious building would be required to request permission from the Ministry of Culture and the local municipality. Krajniak's novelty in the Religious Freedom Act would oblige any new denomination to inquire the Slovak Information Service (SIS) about the organization's security.
If the SIS gave a positive opinion, then the religious association would receive a 5-year temporary registration, and after this period and a second opinion, the SIS could receive a permanent registration with the Ministry of Justice. The connection between the two initiatives of M. Krainiak is that only a religious organization with a permanent registration would receive the right to build places of worship.
On January 1, 2017, an amendment to the Criminal Code came into force, the author of which was the Minister of Justice (03/23/2016 - 03/22/2018) Lucija Zhitnianska (b. 06/03/1964) (Most). According to the amendment, the powers of the investigation to qualify extremist crimes have been expanded. Previously, the law banned "support for groups that violently or non-violently aimed at the suppression of fundamental rights and freedoms", the new bill prohibits "support for groups that seek to suppress rights" or practice hatred.
