Status ratificatie Europese Grondwet in Slowakije blijft onzeker (en)

Met dank overgenomen van EUobserver (EUOBSERVER) i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 19 juli 2005, 17:32.
Auteur: | By Renata Goldirova

EUOBSERVER / BRATISLAVA - New legal uncertainty has emerged about the EU constitution in Slovakia after its President Ivan Gasparovic said he could sign the charter and complete ratification, despite the country's top court's clear demand not to.

Mr Gasparovic's spokesperson indicated the president does not feel obliged to acquiece to the court's demands as the Slovak constitution does not set out the conditions under which the president ratifies international treaties.

Last week the constitutional court asked Mr Gasparovic to halt the ratification of the EU constitution, until judges decide if the document should be put to a referendum.

The ruling followed a demand by 13 activists that there should be a referendum as the constitution would mean Slovakia would be entering a transnational state.

The activists are now saying that Mr Gasparovic's move is similar to the policy style of Vladimir Meciar, an ex-prime minister, who brought the country to international isolation.

For its part, the court has refused to comment on the president's statement. However, according to other legal experts, the head of state should wait and hear the court's final verdict, adding it would be more sensitive to the public and would provide more legal certainty.

The constitutional court is expected to give its opinion by the end of this year. If the president signed the constitution before the court's verdict, judges would no longer be able to annull the parliament's ratification.

Slovakia's parliament ratified the EU constitution by an overwhelming majority on 11 May.


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