The Ministry of Agriculture has submitted its draft amendment to the law on land conversion, settlement of land ownership, land register offices, the Slovak Land Fund and land communities for interdepartmental review, according to the SITA newswire. The revision, which it is planned will take effect on July 1, proposes reducing to two the number of bodies in the organisational structure of the Slovak Land Fund (SPF): the fund’s council and its director-general. A board of directors is not necessary since the SPF is not a corporate entity, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
The ministry suggests significantly boosting the supervisory and inspection activities which will be carried out by the eleven-member council of the SPF. Parliament would elect council members after nomination by the Cabinet. The director-general and deputy director-general, nominated by the Agriculture Minister and appointed by the Cabinet, would serve as the fund’s authorised representatives. The amendment defines in which areas the director-general can act independently and those that require the cooperation of the director-general and the deputy director-general. The draft revision thus distributes powers and responsibilities and prevents them from being amended.
The SPF would be obliged to publish on the Internet land transfer contracts concluded after July 1, 2008, within five days of their signing. The revision states that the SPF should disclose all contracts made before July 1, 2008, by the end of the year. The bill was drafted in response to land transfer scandals this year and last that threatened the collapse of the coalition government. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
