The Slovak Republic is a relatively new independent nation. Its governmental structure includes administrative regions and executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Slovakia Becomes Independent Nation

The Slovak Republic, along with the Czech Republic, became an independent state on January 1, 1993. The official break-up of Czechoslovakia into its nationalistic component parts was a peaceful dissolution. Referred to as the “velvet divorce,” the split occurred due to continuous disagreements between Czech and Slovak politicians about the structure of the Czechoslovakian Federation.

Political System

The Slovak Republic is considered a parliamentary representative democratic republic, with the seat of government centered in the capital city, Bratislava. The country celebrates its independence on January 1 and Constitution Day on September 1.

Ratification of the Slovak constitution occurred on September 1, 1992, and the document became effective on January 1, 1993. The Constitution was altered in September 1998 to allow for the direct election of the President. The document was also amended in February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and European Union membership. The constitution allows for universal suffrage at 18 years of age.

The independent Slovak Republic joined NATO in March 2004 and the European Union in May 2004.

Administrative Regions

The Slovak Republic of Croatia consists of eight regions (kraje):

• Banskobystricky kraj
• Bratislavsky kraj
• Kosicky kraj
• Nitriansky kraj
• Presovsky kraj
• Trenciansky kraj
• Trnavsky kraj
• Zilinsky kraj

Executive Branch

The President is the Czech Republic’s chief of state. This person is elected by popular vote to a five year term, and is eligible for a second term. Ivan Gasparovic, the current President, was elected to the position on June 15, 2004.

The head of government is the Prime Minister. The leader of the majority party or coalition is typically appointed to this position by the President following National Council elections. Robert Fico, the current Prime Minister, began his official duties on July 4, 2006. His four Deputy Prime Ministers are Dusan Caplovic, Robert Kalinak, Stefan Harabin, and Jan Mikolaj.

Legislative branch

The National Council of the Slovak Republic (Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky) is a unicameral body consisting of 150 officials. Members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four year terms.

The current structure of the National Council, by political party is (number of seats):

• Direction-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) - 50
• Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU-DS) - 31
• Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK) - 20
• Slovak National Party (SNS) - 19
• People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (LS-HZDS) - 16
• Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) - 14

Judicial branch

The country’s judicial branch consists of the Supreme, Constitutional, and Special Courts. Supreme Court judges are elected by the National Council. Constitutional Court judges are appointed by the President from a group of nominees approved by the National Council. Special Court judges are elected by a council of judges and appointed by the President.

Legal system

The Slovak civil law system is based upon Austro-Hungarian codes. The country has accepted compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction with reservations. The legal code has been modified to function with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations, and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory.

References

Barrientos, Miguel. Index Mundi. 2007.

National Council of the Slovak Republic Official Website.

The Slovak Republic Government Office Website.