Opposition MPs turned to the Constitutional Court for a ruling on whether the Press Act is constitutional, the TASR newswire was told on September 24 by Pavol Gmitter, Iveta Radičová's (SDKÚ nominee and a presidential candidate) consultant.
According to over 40 opposition MPs from the SDKÚ, KDH and SMK, the Code violates the Slovak Constitution and the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights by infringing on freedom of speech and the right to obtain and disseminate information.
The opposition criticises the Code’s requirement that the press publish corrections. As well, while in favour of media having the right to protect its sources, the opposition disagrees with making this obligatory. The obligation to publish replies (from those disagreeing with media reports) and the parallel existence of the right to reply and the right to corrections are also opposed by the opposition MPs.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
