PARLIAMENT amended the country's traffic laws to eliminate fines for MPs. The move came only two days after the police lifted a long-standing order prohibiting such fines.
The amendment was supported by 116 MPs. An exception was made for MPs caught driving under the influence of alcohol, in reaction to a recent scandal over the conduct of MP Ján Cuper of the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, who crashed his car while driving drunk at the end of last year.
The amendment was criticized within the legal community for extending the immunity MPs enjoy from prosecution.
"MPs will enjoy a form of immunity they currently do not have by not having to pay traffic fines," said Ladislav Orosz, an expert in constitutional law, for the Pravda daily.
