President to Question Amendment to Penal Code at Constitutional Court

Bratislava, February 16 (TASR) - President Zuzana Caputova announced at the Presidential Palace on Friday that she'll question the amendment to the Penal Code at the Constitutional Court.
        At the same time, the president will ask the court to suspend the effect of the law until it issues its verdict on it.
        Caputova won't make use of her right of veto in this case.
        "The precondition for filing a motion with the Constitutional Court was that I had to sign the amendment, although I disagree with it, and that's why I'm contesting it in court. However, it is the only way to prevent the effects of the amendment from being triggered for even one day," explained the head of state.
        Parliament passed the amendment to the Penal Code, sponsored by the Justice Ministry, last week. The piece of legislation would usher in several fundamental changes, such as the scrapping of the Special Prosecutor's Office (USP), the shortening of statutes of limitation, higher criminal damage classifications and lighter sentencing. The House dealt with the amendment via a short-tracked procedure.
        Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Wednesday (February 14) signed the amendment and subsequently submitted the bill to the Presidential Palace. At the same time, he addressed a letter to the president in which he proposed that statutes of limitation in the approved amendment should be adjusted according to, among other matters, the gravity of crimes and the range of penalties than can be imposed for individual crimes.