Slovakia’s parliament failed to muster enough support for lawmakers to discuss amending the penal code to monitor people undergoing outpatient treatment, as proposed in response to the recent murder of a woman by her stalker.
The first and second attempts to open the meeting to discuss the amendment failed. A third attempt to open such a meeting should take place on Friday.
“The parliament is in a desolate state,” said Hlas leader Peter Pellegrini, whose supporters oppose opening the criminal code due to the fear parliament may pass irrelevant amendments in the process.
Poll leader Smer-SD is also against it, as Chairman Robert Fico anticipates attempting to push through Section 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code changes. It represents the power to annul final decisions in pre-trial proceedings, which has previously helped Fico get rid of criminal charges.
In addition to the government, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová also supported the proposal to amend the Criminal Code.
Amendments to the criminal law are intended to ensure sufficient supervision of individuals under outpatient protective treatment.
According to the government’s proposal, the urgency of adopting this law is primarily due to the well-publicised case of premeditated murder only a few weeks ago in Dubnica nad Váhom.
The perpetrator had previously been prosecuted for stalking the victim and had been committed to a psychiatric hospital.
On top of that, Slovakia is one of six member states that have refused to ratify the Istanbul Convention, which aims to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence.
The EU is also working on its own gender violence law.
In July, the European Parliament adopted its opinion on the directive for combating violence against women and domestic violence. This directive is the first piece of EU legislation to address the issue of gender-based violence.
(Barbara Zmušková | EURACTIV.sk)
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