Coalition parties Smer and the Slovak National Party (SNS), together with MPs from the opposition Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) allied forces in the Slovak parliament on March 4 to pass the Act on Disclosure of Origin of Property along with approving an amendment to the Slovak Constitution that enables the law to come into effect, the TASR newswire reported.
Prime Minister Robert Fico is the author of the proposed law. It differs from a similar bill submitted by KDH vice-chairman Daniel Lipšic that was given the thumbs down in parliament in early February because it lacked specifics on its retroactivity.
Of the 132 present MPs, 112 voted for the amendment to the Constitution, while the disclosure act itself was passed with 116 votes, TASR wrote. Fico defended both the law and the amendment by saying that the public backs measures that will allow the relevant authorities and institutions to intervene in cases in which somebody is strongly suspected of having gained part of their property illegally.
The Disclosure Act, if signed by Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič, will take effect as of January 1, 2011. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
