Compensation for land confiscated under the communist regime that should be returned to its original owners (restituents) could, under certain conditions, be provided in the form of money, according to an amendment to the law on adjusting property rights to land and other agricultural property that was submitted to the government by Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday, January 13.
According to current law, if the Slovak Land Fund (SPF) isn't able to return the same piece of land that a person owned before it was confiscated by the communist regime, the restituents should be offered substitute plots.
According to the proposed rules, restituents would be able to choose the replacement land themselves. “If the restituents don't agree to receive substitute land or it isn't possible to provide them with the replacement land that they have chosen for justified reasons, the compensation for the land will be provided ... in the form of money,” reads the proposal, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
The proposal also increases the number of plots that cannot be provided as compensation, especially because of the public interest. It also deals with improving the transparency of the procedure. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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