CULTURE Minister Daniel Krajcer is nearly ready to submit an amendment to Slovakia’s Press Code, one of the pieces of legislation that was changed by the previous government, earning the country a boatload of criticism from local as well as international press freedom watchdog groups.
A working group which was asked to prepare the language of the amendment has reached agreement on the final version of the draft, the TASR newswire reported on October 27.
According to Krajcer, the amendment is small but it makes several changes, the most important of which concerns the right of reply that was inserted into the Press Code in 2008. The newly drafted amendment modifies the right of reply to restrict the ability of constitutional or public officials to demand that the media publish responses in all situations. However, Krajcer told the SITA newswire that public officials’ right of reply will not be changed in regards to their private lives, as stripping them of that right would contravene Slovakia’s constitution.
“[A person] who takes the courage to enter public life and gain such a position voluntarily gives up certain protection,” Krajcer said, as quoted by SITA.