Slovakia: Notes

Execution of Functions of the President of the Slovak Republic during Vacancies

(a) 1992-1993

On 1 Oct 1992, the Constitution of the Slovak Republic came into effect. The office of President remained vacant, and, in accordance with Article 105 (1) of the Constitution, the Government of the Republic assumed all functions of the head of state, except for those explicitly excluded by the same article:

Čl. 105 (1) Ak nie je prezident zvolený, alebo ak sa úrad prezidenta uvoľní a ešte nie je zvolený nový prezident, alebo ak bol zvolený nový prezident, ale ešte nezložil sľub, alebo ak prezident nemôže svoju funkciu vykonávať pre závažné dôvody, výkon funkcie prezidenta patrí vláde Slovenskej republiky, okrem oprávnení prezidenta podľa čl. 102 písm. d) až g). V takomto prípade môže vláda poveriť svojho predsedu vykonávať niektoré právomoci prezidenta. Na predsedu vlády prechádza v tom čase aj hlavné velenie ozbrojených síl.

Art. 105 (1) If no president is elected, or if the office of the president becomes vacant before a new president is elected or before the newly elected president has been sworn in, or if the president is unable to perform his function for serious reasons, the execution of the functions of the president falls upon the Government of the Slovak Republic, with the exception of presidential powers listed in Article 102 (d)-(g). In that case the Government can entrust the President of the Government with executing some presidential powers. The supreme command of the armed forces is also transferred to the President of the Government in this period.

The functions of the President of the Republic that were not entrusted to the Government were as follows:

Čl. 102 Prezident <...> d) môže rozpustiť Národnú radu Slovenskej republiky, ak tri razy do šiestich mesiacov po voľbách nedôjde k schváleniu programového vyhlásenia vlády Slovenskej republiky. Prezident je povinný vypočuť stanovisko predsedu Národnej rady Slovenskej republiky. Nové voľby vyhlási predseda Národnej rady Slovenskej republiky do 30 dní, e) podpisuje zákony, f) vymenúva a odvoláva predsedu a ostatných členov vlády Slovenskej republiky, poveruje ich riadením ministerstiev a prijíma ich demisiu; predsedu a ostatných členov vlády odvoláva v prípadoch uvedených v čl. 115 a 116, g) vymenúva a odvoláva vedúcich ústredných orgánov a vyšších štátnych funkcionárov v prípadoch, ktoré ustanovuje zákon; vymenúva profesorov a rektorov vysokých škôl, vymenúva a povyšuje generálov,

Art. 102 The President <...> d) may dissolve the National Council of the Slovak Republic if the policy statement of the Government of the Slovak Republic is not approved three times within six months after the elections. Prior to dissolving the National Council of the Slovak Republic, the president is obliged to hear the standpoint of the chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. New elections will be called by the chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic within 30 days, e) signs laws, f) appoints and recalls the President of the Government and other members of the Government of the Slovak Republic, entrusts them with the management of ministries, and accepts their resignation; recalls the President of the Government and other members of the Government in the cases listed in Articles 115 and 116, g) appoints and recalls the heads of central bodies and higher-level state officials in cases specified by law, appoints university professors and rectors, appoints and promotes generals,

Exercising its constitutional right under Article 105 (1), the Government of the Republic delegated its authority to Vladimír Mečiar, President of the Government, on at least one occasion between 1 Oct 1992 and 2 Mar 1993. On 12 Jan 1993, he was authorized to appoint ambassadors (decision of 12 Jan 1993): "Poveruje predsedu vlády v zastúpení prezidenta Slovenskej republiky vymenovať veľvyslancov Slovenskej republiky uvedených v časti A tohto uznesenia." This authorization was not permanent and was issued for a single purpose.

On 15 Feb 1993, Michal Kováč was elected President of the Republic and formally assumed office upon his inauguration on 2 Mar 1993.

(b) 1998-1999

On 2 Mar 1998 the term of President Kováč expired, but the National Council failed to elect his successor. The Government again took over some functions of President of the Republic except for those excluded by the Constitution of 1992, Art. 105 (1).

A resolution of the Government of 3 Mar 1998 authorized the President of the Government to exercise some functions of President of the Republic ("... poveruje predsedu vlády 1... podľa čl. 105 ods. 1 Ústavy Slovenskej republiky výkonom právomocí prezidenta uvedených v čl. 102 písm. a), b), h) a i), v čl. 134 ods. 4, v čl. 135, v čl. 138 ods. 2, 3, v čl. 139 a v čl. 150 Ústavy Slovenskej republiky.")

When exercising some presidential functions solely for the purposes defined by the resolution of 3 Mar 1993 the President of the Government used the formula "Predseda vlády Slovenskej republiky v zastúpení prezidenta Slovenskej republiky" ("President of the Government of the Slovak Republic substituting for the President of the Slovak Republic").

In mid-1998, with the legislature still unable to elect President of the Republic and the Government facing the threat of resignation following parliamentary election, a constitutional crisis loomed. To prevent this, the National Council passed a law (Ústavný zákon zo 14. júla 1998, ktorým sa mení a dopĺňa Ústava Slovenskej republiky č. 460/1992 Zb. = Constitutional Law of 14 Jul 1998 which amended and supplemented the provisions of the Constitution of 1992):

Čl. I 2. V čl. 105 ods. 1 sa na konci pripája táto veta: „Oprávnenia prezidenta podľa čl. 102 písm. f) a g) prechádzajú v tom čase na predsedu Národnej rady Slovenskej republiky.“

The amendments became effective with publication in the Slovakia Law Collection on 5 Aug 1998 as provided in Art. II of the same law. They facilitated the further redistribution of the duties of the President of the Republic, including the President of the National Council, who was authorized to exercise certain functions of the President of the Republic that had not been entrusted to the Government by the original version of the 1992 Constitution. The President of the National Council was empowered to:

f) appoint and recall the President of the Government and other members of the Government of the Slovak Republic, entrust them with the management of ministries, and accept their resignation; recall the President of the Government and other members of the Government in the cases listed in Articles 115 and 116, g) appoint and recall the heads of central bodies and higher-level state officials in cases specified by law, appoint university professors and rectors, appoint and promote generals...

Starting from 5 Aug 1998, the functions of President of the Republic were exercised by a) Government, b) President of the Government (as restricted by the resolutions of the Government), and c) President of the National Council.

On 27 Oct 1998 the Government passed a resolution on collective resignation which was accepted but the cabinet continued in office as required by the Constitution:

Art. 115-2:

Ak prezident Slovenskej republiky prijme demisiu vlády, poverí ju vykonávaním jej funkcie až do vymenovania novej vlády.

If the President of the Slovak Republic accepts the Government's resignation, he will entrust it with the execution of its duties until a new Government is appointed.

On 29 Oct 1998 the opening session of the second National Council convened and on the same day elected Jozef Migaš as its president to replace Ivan Gašparovič. Exercising the functions assigned to him by the Law of 14 Jul 1998 (or amended Constitution of 1992), Migaš appointed a new government chaired by Mikuláš Dzurinda.

On 14 Jan 1999 the National Council passed Ústavný zákon zo 14. januára 1999, ktorým sa mení a dopĺňa Ústava Slovenskej republiky č. 460/1992 Zb. v znení ústavného zákona č. 244/1998 Z. z. (= Constitutional law of 14 Jan 1999 with further Amendments to the Constitution of 1992):

V čl. 105 ods. 1 štvrtá veta znie: „Oprávnenia prezidenta podľa čl. 102 ods. 1 písm. e), f) a g) prechádzajú v tom čase na predsedu Národnej rady Slovenskej republiky.“

This amendment extended the functions of the President of the National Council when acting on behalf of the President of the Republic and authorized him to sign laws. It came into effect on the date of publication on 27 Jan 1999. However, it did not change the actual practice that existed before the law was enacted: in the absence of the President of the Republic, both the President of the National Council and the President of the Government signed the laws.

This practice, however, was incompatible with constitutional provisions, as Article 87 required that a law passed by the National Council be signed by three people: 1) President of the National Council, 2) President of the Republic, and 3) President of the Government. The absence of the President of the Republic's signature was considered unacceptable, and this function, in their absence, was transferred to the President of the National Council. The same amendment also introduced direct elections for the President of the Republic.

On 29 May 1999, Rudolf Schuster was elected President of the Republic and assumed office upon his inauguration on 15 Jun 1999. On that day, both the President of the National Council and the Government of the Republic ceased to exercise the functions of the Head of State..