The Slovak parliament on Thursday approved a reform that will disband a special prosecutor’s office that fights organized crime and corruption. International news agencies write this. The plan for its abolition was devised by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was elected for the fourth time last October after a thirteen-year absence. The reform was approved by the incumbent government parties with a narrow majority of 79 out of 150 seats.
The reform, which came about through an accelerated procedure, was approved despite major concerns from the European Commission and resistance from tens of thousands of Slovaks who took to the streets in recent months. Critics fear that scrapping the special office introduced in 2004 will protect Fico’s political and business allies in particular from possible investigations.
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In concrete terms, the decision means that the corruption fighter will be disbanded within a few weeks, meaning that sentences for various crimes will be lower from now on. The estimated thousand corruption investigations that are still ongoing may therefore not be followed up.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova has now indicated that he will challenge the reform, via a veto or a lawsuit. According to him, the Slovak rule of law is at risk and the reform threatens to cause “unpredictable” damage to society. According to Fico, the reforms are necessary to put an end to what he describes as “excesses” of the special public prosecutor’s office and the “prejudices” within the institution against his party. The ruling party believes that Slovak criminal law is actually being “modernized” with the change in the law.