Politicians Have Right to Reply, House Passes Press Act Amendment

Bratislava, September 17 (TASR) – Politicians have the right to reply again, as this possibility was reintroduced by an amendment to the Press Act approved by Parliament on Tuesday.

As many as 86 MPs voted for the amendment sponsored by MP Dusan Jarjabek (Smer-SD), while 51 were against.

The right to reply was introduced into Slovak legislation for the first time on June 1, 2008, i.e. during the first government of Robert Fico (Smer-SD). It was altered during Iveta Radicova’s (then SDKU-DS) government in 2011, when it was made available only to private individuals. Jarjabek has reintroduced the original conditions.

The amendment extends the right to reply to politicians. Public officials will have the right to reply if the periodical press or news agencies publish untrue, incomplete or truth-distorting statements that “affect the honour, dignity or privacy of a natural person or the name or reputation of a corporate entity”.

The amendment will take effect as of November 1. 2019.