Principles of the government of the Slovak Republic for the implementation of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 270/1995 Z.z. on the state language of the Slovak Republic
These principles shall define the standard interpretation of certain provisions of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 270/1995 Z.z. on the state language of the Slovak Republic (the State Language Act) including the procedure of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic (the Ministry of Culture) in performing supervision of compliance with the provisions of the State Language Act that are subject to supervision by the Ministry of Culture under section 9 of the State Language Act, in the imposition of penalties by the Ministry of Culture under section 9a of the State Language Act and in cooperation with specialised Slovak language institutions with regard to the consultation and approval of the codified form of the state language.
Article 1
Interpretation of the provisions of the State Language Act
The application of all the provisions of the State Language Act shall be guided by appropriate methods for the interpretation of law. Appropriate methods are those that clarify the meaning of the interpreted text; individual methods are mutually interdependent and none of them has absolute priority. The interpretation methods used should be complementary and lead to a reasonable and rationally justified explanation of the text of the law. Although the interpretation and application of the law is founded upon a grammatical reading of the text of the law, the interpreter must also take into consideration the purpose of the law, its systematic context and the logical relations between the rules set out in the law. For example, it is not possible to take into consideration only a purely linguistic or mechanical interpretation that is clearly in conflict with the purpose of the law. One basic interpretation method is interpretation that ensures conformity with the constitution, especially in cases where the text of the law can is open to multiple interpretations. The legitimate purpose of all the provisions of the State Language Act is solely to protect and support the state language in official communication and to protect the right of citizens of the Slovak Republic using the state language to receive and provide information in the state language without restriction. The protection of such rights is a legitimate reason for the interference of the basic rights and freedoms of natural persons and legal persons including municipalities, though measures for the protection of the rights of citizens of the Slovak Republic using the state language must be necessary for this purpose and commensurate with it. The interpretation of the provisions of the State Language Act shall be governed by the prohibition of discrimination in the exercising of basic rights and freedoms under Article 12(2) of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. Discrimination is prohibited with regard to sex, race, skin colour, language, faith or religious belief, political or other opinions, national or social origin, membership of a nationality or ethnic group, property, ancestry or other status and no person can be harmed, favoured or disadvantaged on such grounds. Membership of any national minority or ethnic group may not be to the disadvantage of the citizen belonging to the national minority. The procedure set out in this article shall be followed with particular care when interpreting the State Language Act in relation to the citizen belonging to a national minority or a person through whom members of national minorities and ethnic groups exercise their constitutional right to full development, particularly the rights to promote their cultural heritage with other citizens of the same national minority or ethic group, receive and disseminate information in their mother tongues, form associations, and create and maintain educational and cultural institutions, their right to education in their own language, the right to use their language in official communication, the right to participate in decision-making in matters affecting national minorities and ethnic groups and the right to learn the state language. All previously adopted laws permitting the use of the languages of national minorities, in particular Act No. 184/1999 Z.z. on the use of the languages of national minorities, as amended by Act No. 318/2009 Z.z. have the status of lex specialis derogat generali in relation to the State Language Act.
The language regime regulated by Union law remains unaffected by the provisions of the State Language Act.
Article 2
Interpretation of certain concepts in the State Language Act
For the purposes of the State Language Act
a) official communication shall mean the set of activities and actions of state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law, the employees and state employees employed by such authorities and legal persons, employees in transport, posts and telecommunications, members of the armed forces of the Slovak Republic, armed security forces, other armed forces and fire service unit in the performance of their official duties. The term service communication used in section 6(1) of the State Language Act is equivalent in meaning to the term official communication. The term service communication shall be used to emphasise the service character of the official activities of the subjects listed in section 6(1) of the State Language Act. The scope of service communication under section 6(1) of the State Language Act shall be limited to service communication only within internal service activities and actions of the subjects listed in section 6(1) of the State Language Act.
b) public communication shall be understood in the scope set out in sections 5 and 8 of the State Language Act. The term pubic communication is not a prescriptive concept and is used only for information purposes in the titles of sections 5 and 8 of the State Language Act,
c) legal persons established by a state authority, a territorial self-government authority or another public administration authority shall mean budgetary organisations and allowance organisations,
d) legal person established by law shall mean a legal person established by law to perform a function in the public interest established by law. Such legal persons are the Environmental Fund, the Investment Guarantee Fund, the Audio-visual Fund, the Anti-drug Fund, the State Fund for Housing Development, the State Treasury, the Debt and Liquidity Management Agency, the Social Insurance Agency, the General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Academy of the Armed Forces, the Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, the Academy of the Police Force in Bratislava, Comenius University in Bratislava, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Prešov University in Prešov, the University of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, the University of Veterinary Medicine in Košice, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Trnava University in Trnava, the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava, the Technical University in Košice, Žilina University in Žilina, Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín in Trenčín, the University of Economics in Bratislava, the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, the Technical University in Zvolen, the Academy of the Performing Arts in Bratislava, the Academy of the Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, the Catholic University in Ružomberok, J. Selye University in Komárno, the National Nuclear Fund for the Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants and the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste, the Slovak Land Fund, the Starting Teacher Loan Fund, the Export-Import Bank of the Slovak Republic, the Chamber of Notaries of the Slovak Republic, the Slovak Chamber of Advocates, the Slovak Chamber of Chimneysweeps, the Recycling Fund, Slovak Radio, Slovak Television, Slovak Republic Railways, the Slovak Chamber of Agriculture and Food, the Slovak Chamber of Veterinarians, the Chamber of Land Surveyors and Cartographers, the Slovak Chamber of Foresters, the Matica Slovenská, the Slovak Chamber of Entrepreneurs, the Slovak Chamber of Mines, the Slovak Chamber of Tax Advisers, the Chamber of Restorers, the Slovak Chamber of Psychologists, the Slovak Chamber of Auditors, the Slovak Chamber of Architects, the Slovak Chamber of Civil Engineers, Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Slovak Medical Chamber, the Slovak Chamber of Dentists, the Slovak Chamber of Pharmacists, the Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives, the Slovak Chamber of Medical Technical Personnel, the Slovak Chamber of Physiotherapists, the Slovak Chamber of Dental Technicians, the Slovak Chamber of Orthopaedic Technicians, the Slovak Chamber of Other Medical Personnel, the Slovak Chamber of Patent Attorneys, the Slovak Chamber of Executors, the Slovak Chamber of Driving Schools, the Slovak Hunting Chamber, the National Property Fund, the Literary Fund, the Music Fund, the Visual Arts Fund, the Student Loan Fund, the Agricultural Payments Agency, the Press Agency of the Slovak Republic, the Slovak Research and Development Agency, the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Banks, health insurance companies, medical facilities and subjects providing postal, transport and telecommunications services are not legal persons established by law. A legal person established by law is not owned by any other person.
e) post office shall mean a fixed establishment that receives and delivers mail and sells postage stamps and stamped stationary and a contact location where people can collect mail under an agreement with a universal service provider and an employee of a universal service provider,
f) fire service unit shall mean a fire service unit belonging to the Fire and Rescue Service, a municipality, a legal person or a self-employed person,
g) business in the governing boards of the legal persons referred to in section 3(1) of the State Language Act shall mean business in state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities and legal persons established by law,
h) official records shall mean only official records relating to the performance of the official duties of state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law, employees and state employees employed by such authorities and legal persons, employees in transport, posts and telecommunications, members of the armed forces of the Slovak Republic, armed security forces, other armed forces and fire services units, and forms intended for their official, service and operational needs,
i) official records relating to information intended for the public shall include information under Act No. 211/2000 Z.z. on free access to information and the amendment of certain acts (the Freedom of Information Act), as amended,
j) official records of churches and religious communities intended for the public shall mean written records relating to marriage before a religious authority, including marriage records,
k) information system and mutual communication of the authorities and legal persons referred to in section 3(1) of the State Language Act shall mean information systems and mutual communication of state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities and legal persons established by law,
l) another language shall mean any language other than the state language, which is Slovak. Other languages used in official international communications in accordance with established international practice shall mean only foreign languages,
m) foreign language shall mean any language other than the state language and the languages of national minorities and ethnic groups living in the territory of the Slovak Republic,
n) language of a national minority shall mean the language of a national minority living in the territory of the Slovak Republic. These are the language of the Bulgarian national minority, the language of the Czech national minority, the language of the Croatian national minority, the language of the Hungarian national minority, the language of the Moravian national minority, the language of the German national minority, the language of the Polish national minority, the language of the Romani national minority, the language of the Ruthenian national minority, the language of the Russian national minority, the language of the Ukrainian national minority, the language of the Jewish national minority.
o) geographical name shall mean the name of a municipality set by regulation of the government of the Slovak Republic, the name of a part of a municipality set by the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, the name of a street set by municipal regulation, the name of another public space set by municipal regulation and the name of another geographical object standardised by the Office of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre of the Slovak Republic, which is
1. the name of an uninhabited geographical object in the territory of the Slovak Republic,
2. the name of a specific inhabited object in the territory of the Slovak Republic,
3. the common form of the Slovak name of an inhabited geographical object outside the territory of the Slovak Republic,
4. the common form of an uninhabited geographical object outside the territory of the Slovak Republic,
5. the common form of a specific inhabited object outside the territory of the Slovak Republic and
6. the name of an extraterrestrial object.
Terms that are “geographical names that are common and established in the language of a national minority” in accordance with section 13(2) of Act No. 245/2008 Z.z. on education (the Schools Act) and the amendment of certain acts, as amended by Act No. 37/2009 Z.z., shall not be geographical names for the purposes of the State Language Act.
p) denomination in the language of a national minority shall mean the denomination of the municipality in the language of a national minority in accordance with the List of denominations of municipalities in the languages of national minorities by districts, which forms an annex of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 191/1994 Z.z. on the denomination of municipalities in the language of national minorities as amended by Act No. 318/2009 Z.z., the denomination of the street in the language of a national minority in a municipality included in the List of municipalities in which citizens of the Slovak Republic belonging to a national minority make up at least 20% of the population, which forms an annex to Government Regulation No. 221/1999 Z.z. and the denomination for other geographical objects (designation) in municipalities included in the List of municipalities in which citizens of the Slovak Republic belonging to a national minority make up at least 20% of the population, which forms an annex to Government Regulation No. 221/1999 Z.z. A denomination in the language of a national minority shall not be a geographical name.
q) pedagogical documentation of a school or school establishment shall mean the set of written documents used to manage upbringing and education processes, and the set of written documents on the basis of which a school or school establishment issues public documents and decisions. Pedagogical documentation shall comprise teaching plans, upbringing plans, teaching schemes, upbringing schemes, educational standards, upbringing standards, the class book, the class report, a child’s record card, a pupil’s record card, a child’s personal file, a pupil’s personal file, a maturita (secondary school graduation) test report, a final examination report, an absolutorium (secondary school leaving) report, reports on commission tests, the journal of a school establishment, the timetable, the report on a state language exam, school rules in a school, school rules in a school establishment, a plan of upbringing and educational activity, school work plan, school establishment work plan, journal of an upbringing group, thematic upbringing and education plans in individual subjects, decisions under specific regulations, for example under Act No. 71/1967 Zb. on administrative proceedings, as amended, and under section 5 of Act No. 596/2003 Z.z. on state administration in education and school self-government and the amendment of certain acts, as amended. The said written documents are subject to direct supervision of the competent control authorities in the relevant field.
r) other documentation in a school or school establishment shall mean the set of documents that support the organisation and management of schools and school establishments. Other documentation shall comprise a recommendation for placement of a pupil with special upbringing and educational needs in a special school, special nursery school, elementary school or secondary school, a report on a psychological or special-pedagogical examination, a written opinion on school placement, an individual upbringing and educational programme for an individually placed pupil, the statute of a school establishment, organisational regulations, the list of schools and school establishment that a school establishment cooperates with, minutes of the sessions of the pedagogical council, the subject commission and the methodological association and sessions of the upbringing commission, the overview timetable for the whole school and individual classes, documentation relating to optional subjects and free-time activities, records relating to the organisation of school trips and visits, skiing and swimming exercises, outdoor activities holidays and other activities, the annual plan for control activity by the director and deputy director, records of inspections and other control activity, the summary of the use of funds provided by the establisher for the needs of the school and the upbringing and education process, gifts from sponsors and other gifts, the summary of the scope of upbringing and educational activities of employees and the professional skills of teachers and leaders of school clubs for children, the summary of continuing training for teaching and non-teaching staff including training relating to occupational health and safety, the rules of procedure of the pedagogical council, the work regulations for employees, records of pupils’ accidents in schools, records of complaints, filing regulations, the collective agreement. The said written documents are subject to direct supervision of the competent control authorities in the relevant field.
s) upbringing shall mean a child-centred or pupil-centred process of teaching and socialisation that aims to develop the child’s or pupil’s personality in both mind and body. As a part of an upbringing process a contact of teaching staff with the legal representative of a child or pupil.
t) education shall mean a process of upbringing and educational guidance and teaching that is organised and implemented to encourage the development of the child or pupil in accordance with his or her interests and abilities and to stimulate his or her own efforts to become a well-rounded person. As a part of an educational process a contact of teaching staff with the legal representative of a child or pupil.
u) municipal address system or similar technical means shall mean a technological system used to communicate notices intended to inform the public by means of sound. Such technological systems shall not include the internet,
v) non-periodical publications shall mean printed matter with a specific purpose, copies of literary, photographic, scholarly or artistic works published once a year, including works published in instalments, regardless of the form and method of presentation, publication or production. A non-periodical publication shall not be a periodical or another periodical publication published at least twice a year under the same name, with an indication of periodicity and in a format typical of such publications, a three-dimensional cartographical work, basic state maps and thematic state maps, a three-dimensional reproduction of a work of art, printed material intended for use in social or family life, in particular an invitation or notice, a banknote, a coin, a postage stamp, a fee stamp, a lottery ticket, a security, a deposit certificate, a payment card or another bearer of value, a telephone card, a voter card, a list of voters, ballot paper and a notice of the results of an election or referendum, a copy of a literary, scholarly or artistic work in a run of less than 50 copies,
w) occasional book posts (booklets) shall mean a reproduced document that is not a periodical or a non-periodical publication,
x) cultural event shall mean a theatrical, film or other audio-visual performance, concerts, a musical or dance production, an exhibition of fine arts, applied arts or works of human creativity, a festival or show in the area of art and culture, a public dance or another social entertainment that takes place in a location open to the public or is not organised for specific invitees. An assembly that takes place in accordance with Act No. 84/1990 Z.z. on the right of assembly, as amended, shall not be considered a cultural event. Cultural event of a national minority shall mean an event associated with the cultural of the national minority or an event relating to another culture if it takes place in the language of the national minority.
y) upbringing and educational event shall mean an event that takes place for upbringing and educational purposes that takes place in a location open to the public or is not organised for specific invitees,
z) accompanying verbal presentation shall mean very brief information on the programme of the cultural or upbringing and educational event presented at the start of the event before the first programme or before the relevant programme,
aa) memorial and monument shall mean a work that addresses the public and is in physical or visual contact with the public whose its purpose is to evoke a specific response from the population (e.g. the payment of respect, motivation or the evocation of memories of important people or events), to support gatherings of groups with shared interests for the purposes of performing a particular ceremony (e.g. mourning, celebration or commemorative assembly) or for artistic effect. Gravestones, grave slabs and grave markers shall not be considered memorials and monuments,
bb) binding opinion of the Ministry of Culture for a developer shall mean an opinion of the Ministry of Culture by which the Ministry of Culture, after assessing the text proposed by the developer of a memorial, monument or memorial plaque to avoid the need for subsequent changes to the text of a memorial, monument or memorial plaque that does not conform to the requirements of the State Language Act, requires the developer to respect provisions of the State Language Act relating to the linguistic properties of text in the state language and, where a text in another language is also present, the order of texts in other languages in relation to text in the state language, the size of text in other languages in relation to the size of text in the state language, the correspondence of the content of text in other languages and in the state language, and geographical names. A binding opinion is not a decision in administrative proceedings. A binding opinion shall be valid unless it is proven to be otherwise in supervision of compliance with the State Language Act and in administrative proceedings on the imposition of a fine for a breach of obligations under the State Language Act. The retrospective invalidity of a binding decision cannot be used to the detriment of the permit holder.
cc) written legal act in an employment relationship or in a similar employer-employee relationship is a written legal act in an employment relationship or in a similar employer-employee relationship executed pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 311/2001 Coll. the Labour Code, as amended,
dd) financial documentation includes books and financial statements, which are kept and created pursuant to Act No. 431/2002 Coll. on Accounting as amended, except for accountable documents,
ee) technical documentation is only that technical documentation whose execution or submission is required for an action pursuant to special regulation valid in the Slovak Republic,
ff) the constitutions of associations, clubs, political parties, political movements and business organisations are the constitutions of associations, clubs, political parties, political movements and business organisations which are entered in registers pursuant to laws valid in the Slovak Republic,
gg) administrative paperwork of healthcare facilities and social service facilities shall mean documents including lists and data including information systems in written or electronic form whose production, provision, making available or keeping is explicitly required under Legislation of the Slovak Republic mainly under Act No. 576/2004 Z.z. on healthcare and services relating to the provision of healthcare, as amended, Act No. 578/2004 Z.z. on healthcare providers, medical personnel and professional organisations in healthcare, as amended, Act No. 355/2007 Z.z. on the protection, support and development of public health, as amended, and Act No. 448/2008 Z.z. on social services. The said written documents are subject to direct supervision of the competent control authorities in the relevant field.
hh) healthcare facility shall mean an establishment that provides healthcare and related services. Such operations are: outpatient care facilities that are general outpatient facilities, specialised outpatient facilities, first aid centres, first aid centres for adults, first aid centres for children and young people, first aid facilities specialising in dental treatment, paramedical rescue services, rapid medical assistance services, rapid paramedical assistance services, rapid medical assistance services with intensive care units, helicopter paramedical rescue services, facilities providing one day healthcare, day care centres, medical centres, home care agencies, facilities with combined examination and treatment units, mobile hospices; inpatient care facilities that are general hospitals, specialised hospitals, long-term treatment facilities, hospices, nursing homes, natural spas, long-term treatment facilities in spas, biomedical research facilities; pharmaceutical healthcare facilities that are hospital pharmacies, public pharmacies and branches thereof, dispensaries of medical aids, public pharmacies serving as a teaching institution. The operations centre of a medical rescue service shall not be considered a healthcare facility,
ii) social service facility shall mean a facility providing the necessary conditions to satisfy the basic needs of life that are night shelters, refuges, half-way houses, low-threshold day centres, emergency housing facilities; temporary care facilities for children, low-threshold centres for children and family; facilities for natural persons dependent on the assistance of other natural persons and natural persons over retirement age that are sheltered accommodation facilities, old people’s homes, care homes, rehabilitation centres, social services homes, specialised facilities, day care centres,
jj) signs, advertisements and notices intended to inform the public shall mean signs, advertisements and notices intended to provide information to the public displayed in a public place or a location visible from a public place,
kk) the codified form of the state language shall respect the current, universal rules of the standardised language, which is a supradialectal form of the national language used throughout society. It is the common national language used in public communication throughout the territory of the state. The standardised language shall be the official language of authorities (state authorities, the legislature, commercial authorities, the judiciary and other administration authorities), schools (the language shall be used in all upbringing and education processes in all levels of schools) and other public, state and self-government bodies; it shall be used in academic and popular literature, as a means of communication in the media; it shall be used in gathering the scholarly, technical, artistic and cultural products of the national community and so on. All users of the Slovak language shall have a command of the codified form of the language from the start of compulsory school attendance. This form of the language shall be described in all school language manuals.
ll) interference with the codified form of the state language in conflict with the rules of the state language shall mean arbitrary changes to the form of the state language as it is in force.
mm) codification shall mean the set of rules governing the functioning of the standardised language at every level. It shall be based on a scholarly description of the current standardised form of the Slovak language and shall be obligatory for users of the standardised language, ensuring its unified form throughout society and its trouble-free use in communication. It shall apply to the spoken and written forms of the standardised language, in particular the phonological and grammatical levels and pronunciation. Where, from time to time, the evolution of language rules establish a social need for an amendment of the codification, the necessary amendment shall be drafted in accordance with long-term systematic research by researchers and competent institutes of linguistics.
Article 3
Official communication
State authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law shall use the state language throughout the territory of the Slovak Republic. The application of such an obligation shall not restrict the parallel use of the language of a national minority for official communication in the territory of municipalities in which 20% of the population belong to the relevant national minority. The following provisions shall continue to apply in the territory of such municipalities:
a) state administration authorities and territorial self-government authorities shall provide written replies to the written submissions of citizens belonging to a national minority also in the language of the national minority, except where a public document is provided,
b) state administration authorities and territorial self-government authorities shall issue copies of decisions in administrative proceedings also in the language of a national minority on request,
c) state administration authorities and territorial self-government authorities shall display signs on buildings also in the language of a national minority,
d) territorial self-government authorities shall provide forms for citizens also in the language of a national minority that they provide within their competence in the state language,
e) important information, in particular warnings, cautionary and health information, shall be visibly and accessibly provided in public areas also in the language of the minority. In emergencies, for example in the event of a fire, disaster or other circumstances representing a risk to life, health and property, important information shall simultaneously be made available in the language of the national minority if a competent person has a command of the language of the national minority,
f) state administration authorities and territorial self-government authorities shall provide information on generally applicable regulations also in the language of a national minority on request,
g) sessions of a territorial self-government authority can be conducted also in a minority language with the agreement of all present. A member of a municipal council shall have the right to address the council in a minority language. Interpretation shall be provided by the municipality,
h) the municipal chronicle can be kept also in the language of the national minority. The meaning of the text in the language of the national minority must be identical to the meaning of the text in the state language,
i) an obliged person under Act No. 211/2000 Z.z. on free access to information and the amendment of certain acts (the Freedom of Information Act), as amended, shall publish information under section 6 of Act No. 211/2000 Z.z., as amended, also in a minority language.
j) denominations for streets and other geographical objects in the language of the national minority can be displayed in accordance with a municipal regulation.
The mandatory use of the state language in state administration authorities and territorial self-government authorities in the territory of municipalities where at least 20% of the population belong to a national minority shall not affect the duty of such an authority to create conditions for the use of the language of the national minority in official communication nor the right of citizens belonging to a national minority to use the language of the national minority in official communication in the situations guaranteed in Act No. 184/1999 Z.z. on the use of the languages of national minorities, as amended by Act No. 318/2009 Z.z. The Ministry of Interior shall provide for continuing education for employees in public administration authorities.
The mandatory use of the state language by state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities and legal persons established by law shall not limit the use of foreign languages by these authorities and legal persons in official communication with foreign countries in accordance with established practice in international communication.
Employees and state employees employed by state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law, persons employed in transport, posts and telecommunications, members of the armed forces of the Slovak Republic, armed security forces, other armed forces and fire service units shall be obliged to have a command of the state language. Employees of state administration authorities and territorial self-government authorities shall not be obliged to have a command of a national minority language. The State Language Act does not establish any obligation to prove knowledge of the state language when entering employment. An employer can use one or more of the following methods by which job candidates shall demonstrate their command of the state language: a spoken interview, a written test, submission of proof of command of the state language. The employer may not disadvantage a job candidate on the grounds of membership of a national minority or ethnic group or on grounds of language.
Employees and state employees employed by state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law, persons employed in transport, posts and telecommunications, members of the armed forces of the Slovak Republic, armed security forces, other armed forces and fire service units shall be obliged to use the state language in official communication. The implementation of this obligation shall not limit such persons in the parallel use of the language of a national minority in official communication in the territory of municipalities in which 20% of the population belong to the relevant national minority, if they are members of the relevant national minority and there is no other participant in communication who does not have a command of the language of the national minority; in the presence of such a third party the state language must be used. This provision shall not affect the obligation of employees and state employees to use the state language in official communication with a person who has a command of the language of a national minority and wishes to communicate in the state language. In municipalities in which 20% of the population belong to a national minority, a citizen belonging to the relevant national minority can use the language of the relevant national minority in official communication with state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law, the employees and state employees employed by such authorities and legal persons, employees in transport, posts and telecommunications, members of the armed forces of the Slovak Republic, armed security forces, other armed forces and fire service units. Such a citizen has the right to make written submissions to state administration authorities and territorial self-government authorities also in the language of the relevant national minority.
Citizens who belong to a national minority, can use the language of their national minority in official oral communication in the territory of a municipality in which citizens belonging to their national minority do not make up at least 20% of the population, provided that no third party is present at the communication who is not a member of the same national minority or who is a member of the same national minority and does not give explicit consent for official oral communication to be conducted in the language of the national minority.
If a person participating in official communication with an employee or state employee employed by a state administration authority, territorial self government authority, another public administration authority, a legal person established by one of the above authorities or by law, an employee in transport, posts or telecommunications, a member of the armed forced of the Slovak Republic, armed security forces, other armed forces or a fire service unit does not have a command of the state language and is not obliged to have such a command under the State Language Act or special regulations, and the employee or state employee employed by a state administration authority, territorial self government authority, another public administration authority, a legal person established by one of the above authorities or by law, an employee in transport, posts or telecommunications, a member of the armed forced of the Slovak Republic, armed security forces, other armed forces or a fire service unit wishes to use a language that the person understands in official communication, and if the use of such a language is not restricted by special regulations, the employee or state employee employed by a state administration authority, territorial self government authority, another public administration authority, a legal person established by one of the above authorities or by law, an employee in transport, posts or telecommunications, a member of the armed forced of the Slovak Republic, armed security forces, other armed forces or a fire service unit can use such a language.
Internal service communication within the armed forces, the Police Force, the Slovak Information Service, the Prison and Judicial Guard Corps of the Slovak Republic, the Railway Police, the Fire and Rescue Service and municipal police forces shall take place only in the state language.
A language that meets the criterion of basic comprehensibility in relation to the state language (e.g. Czech) can be used in official communication (including written communication) with state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities or by law by any person whose mother language is a language that meets the criterion of basic comprehensibility to the state language regardless of whether they are or are not a citizen of the Slovak Republic. State authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities or by law shall accept a document in a language that meets the criterion of basic comprehensibility in relation to the state language only if it is issued or authenticated by a competent authority of the Czech Republic and if special regulations do not require that documents in public communication must be in the state language.
The State Language Act shall not limit the voluntary creation of conditions for the organised education of persons in the languages of national minorities.
Article 4
Geographical names
For the purposes of the State Language Act, any linguistic expression in the state language, the language of a national minority or a foreign language, a geographical name shall be used in a way that excludes the use of any other term referring to the geographical object except for use of the geographical name in text books, teaching books and workbooks published in the language of a national minority and the use of a geographical name in radio broadcasts in the language of a national minority or in a foreign language, in television broadcasts in the language of a national minority or in a foreign language, in periodicals in the language of a national minority or in a foreign language and in non-periodical publications in the language of a national minority or in a foreign language. The system for the use of a geographical name in a broadcast radio programme in the language of a national minority or a foreign language or in a broadcast television programme in the language of a national minority or a foreign language shall be set by the Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission in cooperation with the Office of Land Surveyor, Cartography and Cadastre of the Slovak Republic; the Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission shall supervise the use of geographical names in accordance with set system. The use of a geographical name that is the common form of the Slovak name of an inhabited geographical object outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, the common form of an uninhabited geographical object outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, the common form of a specific inhabited object outside the territory of the Slovak Republic and the name of an extraterrestrial object, which is standardised by the Office of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre of the Slovak Republic shall not be compulsory in linguistic expressions in the language of a national minority or a foreign language. The use of geographical names in radio and television broadcasting shall be supervised by the Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission. The use of geographical names in periodicals shall not be supervised by any public administration authority. The derogations from the use of geographical names in a manner that excludes the use of another term referring to a geographical object under the first sentence of this article and the derogations from supervision under the second and fourth sentences of this article shall not affect the liability of a natural person for a contravention in the area of geodesy and cartography under section 23(1)(e) and section 25(1)(d) of Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic no. 215/1995 Z.z. on geodesy and cartography as amended by Act No. 423/2003 Z.z. The method for the use of geographical names in periodical publications in other languages published in the Slovak Republic, non-periodical publications in other languages published in the Slovak Republic and cartographic works in foreign languages published in the Slovak Republic and intended for export and sale outside the territory of the Slovak Republic shall be set by the Office of Land Surveyor, Cartography and Cadastre of the Slovak Republic in accordance with international principles for the standardisation of geographic names and in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. Regulations on the use of geographical names shall not affect the use of a denomination in the language of a national minority.
Article 5
Educational System
Educational staff in all schools and school establishments in the territory of the Slovak Republic other than foreign teachers and language assistants shall have a command of and use the state language in both spoken and written form. This obligation shall not apply to educational staff at universities, in the teaching of other languages and upbringing and education in a language other than the state language. Pedagogical employees performing pedagogical activity and specialised employees performing specialised activities are entitled to continuing education and professional development in the language in which they perform pedagogical or specialised activities.
The Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic shall provide expert, technical and financial assistance and advice to schools and school facilities where upbringing and education is conducted in the language of a national minority for the keeping of bilingual pedagogical documentation, especially that which is not published or approved by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic: the school rules of a school, the school rules of a school establishment, the plan of educational activities, the work plan of a school, the work plan of a school establishment, the journal of an upbringing group, thematic upbringing and education plans in individual subjects, which is pedagogical documentation of schools and school establishments. The Ministry of Culture shall supervise the conformity of the pedagogical documentation of schools and school establishments with the provisions of sections 3 and 4 of the State Language Act from 1 September 2010.
Textbooks and teaching books used in the upbringing and education process in the Slovak Republic shall be issued in the state language. This obligation shall not apply to the publication and use of textbooks and teaching books for teaching in the language of a national minority, ethnic group or in foreign languages and textbooks and teaching books used at universities.
Article 6
Broadcasts of radio services and television services
The Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission shall supervise the use of the state language, the languages of national minorities, foreign languages and geographical names in radio and television broadcasting. The Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission shall set rules for the interpretation of the provisions of the State Language Act relating to the broadcasting of radio services and television services with suitable application of the parts of these government principles, in particular relating to the definition of the terms, foreign language, another language and language of a national minority. Such interpretation may not be subject to broader limitations than those laid down by these principles of the government.
Article 7
Periodical and non-periodical publications
The use of the state language, the languages of national minorities and foreign languages in periodical and non-periodical publications published in the language of a national minority or in a foreign language shall not be supervised by any public administration authority. Non-periodical publications published in the state language shall be supervised by the Ministry of Culture.
Article 8
Judicial proceedings, administrative proceedings, proceedings before law-enforcement authorities and proceedings before other bodies and legal persons
The head of the court shall supervise the use of the state language in judicial proceedings, including court rulings and records, communication between judges and citizens and the recognition in judicial proceedings of only the state language text of contracts establishing obligations. The Ministry of Culture shall supervise the use of the state language in administrative proceedings and proceedings before law-enforcement authorities including rulings and records of administrative authorities and law-enforcement authorities and the recognition of only the state language text of contracts establishing obligations in administrative proceedings, proceedings before law-enforcement authorities and proceedings before state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities and legal persons established by the above authorities or by law. The use of a language that meets the criterion of basic comprehensibility in relation to the state language shall be governed by the conditions that apply to its use in official communication.
In proceedings before law-enforcement authorities, if the defendant, his or her legal representative, the injuried party, another party to proceedings is a member of a national minority and declares that he or she does not have a command of the state language, he or she shall have the right to take on an interpreter. If the defendant is a member of a national minority, has a command of the state language and does not declare that he or she does not have a command of the state language but wishes to testify in the language of a national minority, a law enforcement authority in the territory of a municipality where citizens belonging to the relevant national minority make up at least 20% of the population should take on an interpreter and interview the defendant in the language of the national minority. A law enforcement authority in the territory of a municipality where citizens belonging to a national minority make up at least 20% of the population should accept a request or statement that is submitted only in the language of the relevant national minority and take on a translator.
Article 9
Administrative documentation of healthcare facilities and social services facilities
The administrative documentation of healthcare facilities and social services facilities can be kept in both the state language and another language if it is necessary for the purposes of communication with the patient (client).
Article 10
Communication between staff and patients in healthcare facilities and social service facilities
No public administration authority shall supervise the use of the state language, the languages of national minorities or foreign languages in communication between staff and patients (clients) in healthcare facilities and social services facilities. If a patient (client) does not have a command of the state language, communication between staff and the patient (client) can be conducted in the language of the national minority or a foreign language anywhere in the territory of the Slovak Republic. Communication between staff and patients (clients) can also be conducted in the language of a national minority when a patient (client) is a member of a national minority, has a command of the state language and communication takes place in a healthcare facility or social service facility in a municipality where members of the relevant national minority make up at least 20% of the population. Communication between staff and patients or clients can also be conducted in the language of a national minority or a foreign language where the patient or client has a command of the state language and is not a member of a national minority whose members make up at least 20% of the population of the municipality in exceptional circumstances where it is more effective to use the language of the national minority or the foreign language and the member of staff has a command of the language used at a reasonable professional level and the member of staff and the patient or client explicitly express a wish to communicate in the language of the national minority or the foreign language. Staff members shall not be obliged to have a command of the language of a national minority and if they have a command of the language of a national minority, they cannot be ordered to use it in communication with clients or patients.
Article 11
Signs, advertisements and notices intended to inform the public
The Ministry of Culture shall supervise only advertising whose purpose is not to promote goods, services, real estate, a business name, a trade mark, a label of product origin or other rights and obligations relating to business in any form for marketing purposes. The Ministry of Culture shall supervise signs identifying the seat of a legal entity, the permanent residence of a natural person, signs for buildings, land and other immovable or movable property owned by such persons other than signs identifying operational facilities or organisational units of a legal entity or natural person by means of a business name. Business names, trademarks and the names of institutions registered in accordance with the law in force in the Slovak Republic and a Member State of the European Union or the European Free Trade Area, and personal forenames and surnames need not be given in the state language in signs, advertisements or notices intended to inform the public.
Article 12
Bringing situations arising before 31 August 2009 into conformity with the State Language Act
If a municipal chronicle was not kept in the state language between 1 January 1996 and 31 August 2001, an identical text in the state language must be added by 31 December 2009. In municipalities where at least 20% of the population are members of a national minority, the municipal chronicle can be kept in both the state language and the language of the relevant national minority. The Ministry of Culture shall require that the inscription of a memorial, monument or memorial plaque be modified to conform to the State Language Act by 31 December 2009; this shall apply only to the text of a memorial, monument or memorial plaque put in place between 1 January 1996 and 31 August 2009. If the inscription on a memorial, monument or memorial plaque put in place between 1 January 1996 and 31 August 2009 contains not only text in the language of a national minority but also text with the same content in the state language that is of the same or larger size, the text in the state language need not be placed before the text in the language of a national minority. If the inscription on a memorial, monument or memorial plaque put in place between 1 January 1996 and 31 August 2009 includes text in the state language that is smaller than text with the same content in the language of a national minority, the Ministry of Culture shall decide on the need to enlarge the text in the state language in accordance with criteria for the reasonable visibility and distinguishability of the text in the state language compared to the text in the language of a national minority. If the text of occasional book posts (booklets) intended for the public for cultural purposes, the catalogues of galleries, museums or libraries and programmes for cinemas, theatres, concerts or other cultural events are not in the state language as at 1 September 2009, text with the same content in the state language must be added by 31 December 2009, with the exception of parts informing about events ending before 1 January 2010.
Within individual subsidy programmes the Ministry of Culture shall provide subsidies with 5% participation of the applicant to cover costs relating to compliance with the provisions of the State Language Act in relation to municipal chronicles, the text of memorials, monuments and memorial plaques, occasional book posts (booklets) intended for the public for cultural purposes, the catalogues of galleries, museums and libraries, programmes for cinemas, theatres, concerts and other cultural events.
Article 13
Performance of supervision of compliance with obligations performed by the Ministry of Culture in accordance with section 9(1) of the State Language Act
In performing supervision of compliance with the obligations set out in sections 3 to 4, section 5(3), (4)(b) and (5) to (7) and sections 6 and 7 in administrative proceedings and proceedings before law enforcement authorities, section 8(2) to (6) other than the communication of the personnel of healthcare facilities and social service facilities with their patients and clients and except for advertising supervised by authorities specified in separate regulations and section 11a in accordance with these government principles, the Ministry of Culture shall proceed in accordance with section 9(1) to (3) of the State Language Act and the provisions of sections 8 to 13 and section 16 of the Act No. 10/1996 Z.z. on control in state administration, as amended. No other public authority or public administration authority must interfere in the powers of the Ministry of Culture in the scope established by the provisions of the State Language Act set out in the previous sentence. In performing supervision the Ministry of Culture shall determine the actual state of affairs, its conformity with the State Language Act, these government principles and other generally binding regulations that apply to the matter under supervision, the causes of any unlawful situation, dangerous and damaging effects of any unlawful situation, the adoption and implementation of measures by the supervised subject to restore compliance with the law within a set period commensurate with the character of the measure or the fulfilment of the subject’s responsibility in relation to employees in accordance with the Labour Code and other generally binding regulations within a set period commensurate with the character of the measure. The Ministry’s supervision activities are performed by employees of the Ministry of Culture based on written authorisation granted by the minister of culture. Decisions on the bias of supervisors shall be governed by section 10 of Act No. 10/1996 Z.z. on control in state administration as amended by Act No. 164/2008 Z.z. Supervision proceedings shall be terminated in accordance with section 13(8) of Act No. 10/1996 Z.z. on control in state administration as amended by Act No. 164/2008 Z.z.
Employees authorised to perform supervision must abide by the following conditions in the performance of supervision
a) to notify the subject of supervision at least 7 days in advance of the scope, purpose and duration of supervision, to present proof of authorisation to perform supervision together with proof of their identity.
b) to provide the supervised subject with a receipt for confiscated original documents, written documents and other materials and to ensure that they are duly protected against loss, destruction, damage and abuse; if confiscated materials are no longer necessary for the performance of supervision or other proceedings under other regulations, they shall be returned to the person from whom they were confiscated,
c) to submit the report of the results of supervision to the head of the supervised subject before discussion of the report and to request a written response to all findings of supervision within a period commensurate with the character of the results of supervision set by the employee authorised to perform supervision. Written responses casting doubt on the findings of supervision and submitted within the set period shall be treated as objections. Responses submitted after expiry of the set period shall not be taken into consideration.
d) to check the legitimacy of objections to the findings of supervision; legitimate objections shall be incorporated into an addendum to the report, which shall be presented to the head of the supervised subject.
e) if they evaluate an objection to be illegitimate, they shall explain the grounds on which they find it illegitimate to the head of the supervised subject no later than the date for discussion of the report,
g) to discuss with the head of the supervised subject the report on the results of supervision including the parts thereof, the progress report, any subordinate report and any addendum to the report; to inform the head of the supervised subject of the consequences of a breach of the obligation to attend discussion of the report at the request of employees authorised to perform supervision (the possible imposition of a procedural fine under section 16 of Act No. 10/1996 Z.z. on control in state administration, as amended),
h) to require, in the minutes of discussion of the report, the head of the supervised subject to inform Ministry of Culture within a set period from the end of supervision of the measures adopted to remedy the identified deficiencies and if necessary to appoint employees responsible for supervision of the identified deficiencies and to submit a written report to Ministry of Culture on the implementation of the adopted measures and the performance of legal obligations. Requirements imposed on the head of the supervised subject in this way by the employees authorised to perform supervision shall be considered written caution of the Ministry of Culture under section 9a(1) of the State Language Act.
i) to inform a competent superior authority that is a state authority, territorial self-government authority or other public administration authority of the results of supervision in cases where it is necessary for the proper functioning of public power and public administration,
j) to present the report on the results of supervision, the progress report, any subordinate reports, any addendum to the report and the minutes of discussion of report or a record of supervision to the head of the supervised subject. A record of supervision shall be prepared if no breach of the State Language Act was identified during supervision.
k) to maintain the confidentiality of any matters that they become aware of during the performance of supervision if they are not released from this obligation by the person whose interest is served by this obligation or by the minister of culture in cases of public interest; this shall not affect the duty not to disclose official secrets and personal data.
Article 14
Obliged subjects under the State Language Act on whom a fine shall be imposed under section 9a of the State Language Act
Under section 3(1): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law.
Under section 3(3)(a): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons, self-employed persons
Under section 3(3)(b): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law.
Under section 3(3)(c): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 3(3)(d): - state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 3(4): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law.
Under section 3a: state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 4(1) to (4): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 5(3): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 5(4)(b): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 5(5): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 5(6): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 5(7): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 6(1) and (2): state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 7(1): state authorities other than courts, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 8(2) and (3) – state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under the first sentence of section 8(4) – state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 8(5): state authorities other than courts, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons established by the above authorities, legal persons established by law.
Under section 8(6) – state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
Under section 11a – state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, other public administration authorities, legal persons and self-employed persons.
In the case of penalties for self-employed natural persons and legal persons who possess fundamental rights and freedoms, special consideration must be given to the results of comprehensive use of the methods for the interpretation of the State Language Act set out in article 1 of these Principles of the Government, which must be applied to each individual case when assessing the conditions and limitations of each case involving a self-employed natural person or legal person who possesses fundamental rights and freedoms.
Article 15
Penalties
If the Ministry of Culture finds that conformity with the law has not been restored or that irregularities have not been remedied at the end of the period for performance of measures adopted by a supervised subject found to be in breach of the State Language Act, it shall immediate begin administrative proceedings under Act No. 71/1967 Zb. on administrative proceedings (the Code of Administrative Procedure), as amended, for the imposition of a fine for a breach of the obligations set out in the provisions of the State Language Act listed in article 14 of the government principles in relation to a subject on whom a fine can be imposed under article 14 of the government principles. In the notice of the start of administrative proceedings for the imposition of a fine, the Ministry of Culture shall include a list of the actions that the party to administrative proceedings for the imposition of a fine was required to perform or refrain from under the State Language Act, including the date and time and the provisions that the party is alleged to have breached through their action or inaction. The notice of the start of administrative proceedings shall also include information on the rights of the party to proceedings under the code of administrative procedure necessary to ensure full exercise of the party’s right to defend themselves and the minutes of discussion of the report together with the report on the results of supervision.
A finding on the content and meaning of the law based on the systematic use of the methods for interpreting the State Language Act set out in article 1 of these government principles shall be an essential part of the decision-making process of the Ministry of Culture, including the application of abstract law to the specific circumstances of the given case. The role of the Ministry of Culture in this case is to interpret the relevant provision of the law in accordance with the Constitution and to justify its decision in a manner that rationally, logically, persuasively and legitimately answers all the arguments of the party to administrative proceedings on the imposition of a fine and the relevant legal and material issues relating to the imposition of responsibility and defence against such imposition. The Ministry of Culture shall ensure that arbitrary decisions are not taken in the application of abstract law in administrative proceedings for the imposition of a fine. Any decision of the Ministry of Culture must be based only on precise and fully reliable proven findings on the state of affairs and must state in the justification of its decision which matters formed the basis for its decision and what considerations it was guided by in the assessment of evidence and the use of the laws on the basis of which it made its decision. The Ministry of Culture must account for all the factual and legal matters that are materially and legally significant for its decision in a clear, legally correct and comprehensible manner. The Ministry of Culture shall assess evidence only after all possible action has been taken to resolve discrepancies that exist in the evidence. The assessment of evidence is an abstract activity in which the Ministry of Culture assesses evidence in terms of its relevance for its decision, its lawfulness and its truthfulness. Before the ruling on the imposition of a fine the Ministry of Culture shall present in its decision on the imposition of the fine a specification of the action that the party to administrative proceedings was obliged to carry out or refrain from under the State Language Act stating the place, time and method of the action or the failure to perform action and any other particulars necessary to ensure that the action or failure to perform action cannot be confused with other actions or failure to perform actions, as well as specification of the provisions breached by the action or failure to perform action with full legal references. It must be reliably proven that the subject that committed an illegal act did not take all measures to prevent the occurrence of a breach of legal obligations under the State Language Act.
When setting the amount of a fine under section 9a of the State Language Act, the Ministry of Culture shall take the following factors into consideration in order to ensure that the fine is commensurate with the breach of the law and its consequences:
Where a fine is imposed for multiple breaches of the State Language Act and where the Code of Administrative Procedure does not include principles governing the imposition of fines in the relevant circumstances, principles of sentencing shall be derived from the Criminal Code on the basis of analogia legis. For example, when imposing a fine for multiple breaches of the State Language Act in ideal or real concurrence the “principle of absorption” shall apply so that if the same range of fine is set for both breaches of the state language act, only one fine shall be imposed in the given range and the fact of multiple breaches of the State Language Act shall be criterion that is taken into consideration when setting the specific amount of the fine for the breach.
The Ministry of Culture must include an assessment of at least eleven of the 21 listed criteria and a statement of the considerations that guided the Ministry of Culture in setting the amount of the fine must be included in the explanation of the decision on the imposition of a fine.
There should not be unjustified differences between the level of fine imposed in materially identical or similar cases.
A party to administrative proceedings can submit an appeal against a decision to impose a fine up to 15 days from the delivery of the decision. The minister of culture shall decide on the appeal based on the recommendation of the appeals commission of the Ministry of Culture. A party to proceedings who is a legal subject can appeal against a decision of the minister of culture confirming a decision by filing a complaint in the Regional Court in Bratislava within two months of delivery of the minister’s decision. A negative judgement of the Regional Court in Bratislava can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic. If the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic confirms the judgement, a natural person or legal entity can file a complaint in the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic up to two months from delivery of the judgement if they claim that a final judgement of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic violated their fundamental rights and freedoms. A territorial self-government authority that is a party to proceedings can submit a complaint to the Constitutional Court against a decision of the minister of culture confirming a decision up to two months from the delivery of the decision, if it claims that an unconstitutional or illegal decision has interfered in territorial self-government.
Article 16
Public information on the imposition of fines
The Ministry of Culture shall keep a register of fines imposed and every decision on the imposition of a fine issued in administrative proceedings on a breach of the State Language Act shall be published on the Ministry’s website. The Ministry of Culture shall make it possible for the general public to access the current register of fines imposed. Every two years, as part of its report to the government on the situation in the use of the state language, the Ministry of Culture shall assess the overall effectiveness of the fines imposed in the previous period and propose measures that should be taken in response to this, especially in areas with an increased number of citizens belonging to national minorities.
Article 17
The codification process relating to the state language
The codification process relates to the standardised Slovak language. As a living, dynamically developing and differentiated instrument of communication, the standardised language is closely related to the current evolution of society. Changes in the standardised language relating to the evolution of civilisation must also be reflected in the codification. Every change in the codification must be scientifically justified and for this reason thorough linguistic research must be carried out before any change is made to the codification. Comprehensive academic research into language, its evolution and its use in society shall be used not only to identify specific changes and their causes but also to map trends in the evolution of the language. Changes to the codification must be based on this research and its results. In Slovakia such research shall be carried out primarily by the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) and higher education institutions in the Slovak Republic.
If social demand and the results of linguistic research indicate a need to amend the codification, a competent academic institution shall develop a plan for the preparation of a proposal for the amendment of the codification. The preparation of the proposal shall take place in an academic institution, usually with the participation of representatives of other linguistic institutions, in particular institutions specialising in the Slovak language. A team of authors shall be assembled at this research institution who shall prepare a concept of the basic topics of the new codification rules. This concept shall be presented for internal review in the academic institution and if it receives a positive assessment from its opponents it shall be presented for professional and public discussion involving not only language specialists but also representatives of the broader cultural community (writers, translators, commentators, actors, editors, workers in publishing, teachers and the like). Discussion open to the professional and general public shall take place at academic events (academic conferences, specialist seminars etc.) and in specialised and more general publications. The competent academic institution shall incorporate recommendations from these consultations in further work.
The proposed amendment to codification formulated by the competent academic institution shall then be submitted for assessment by specialised linguistic commissions with responsibility at the national level or a national scope of representation (e.g. the Spellings Commission of the Ľudovít Štúr Institute of Linguistics at SAV or the Pronunciation Commission of the Ľudovít Štúr Institute of Linguistics at SAV). After it is considered by the commissions the final proposal for the amendment of codification and the standpoint of the commissions shall be submitted to the Ministry of Culture.
In the Ministry of Culture, the submitted proposal shall be consulted with the Central Language Council, a consultative body of the Ministry of Culture for issues relating to the state language which is made up of leading Slovak specialists in linguistics and representatives of Slovak language institutions in the academy of sciences and the universities.
After the delivery of the opinion of the Central Language Council to the minister of culture, the Ministry of Culture can decide to approve the proposed amendment and publish the amendment on its website. If there are any doubts, the Ministry of Culture can request the opinion of other independent experts and Slovak language institutions or the response of the submitter of the proposal (the competent academic institution) to the expert opinion of the Central Language Council.
The Ministry of Culture shall confirm the approved changes in the codification, which shall also be published in book form as the codification manual, by issuing a codification certificate, which shall be included in the codification manual.
Article 18
Effect and Validity
These Government principles enter into effect and validity on January 1, 2010.