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Constitution of the Slovak Republic
Adopted on: 1 September 1992
Preamble
We, the Slovak nation,
mindful of the political and cultural heritage of our forebears, and of
the centuries of experience from the struggle for national existence and
our own statehood, in the sense of the spiritual heritage of Cyril and
Methodius and the historical legacy of the Great Moravian Empire,
proceeding from the natural right of nations to self-determination, together
with members of national minorities and ethnic groups living on the territory
of the Slovak Republic, in the interest of lasting peaceful cooperation
with other democratic states,
seeking the application of the democratic form of government and the guarantees
of a free life and the development of spiritual culture and economic prosperity,
that is, we, citizens of the Slovak Republic, adopt through our representatives
the following Constitution:
Chapter I Basic Provisions
Article 1
The Slovak Republic is a sovereign, democratic, and law-governed state.
It is not linked to any ideology or religious belief.
[…]
Article 6
(1) Slovak is the state language on the territory of the Slovak Republic.
(2) The use of other languages in dealings with the authorities will be
regulated by law.
[…]
Article 12 [Equality]
(1) People are free and equal in dignity and their rights. Basic rights
and liberties are inviolable, inalienable, secured by law, and unchallengeable.
(2) Basic rights and liberties on the territory of the Slovak Republic
are guaranteed to everyone regardless of sex, race, color of skin, language,
creed and religion, political or other beliefs, national or social origin,
affiliation to a nation or ethnic group, property, descent, or another
status. No one must be harmed, preferred, or discriminated against on
these grounds.
(3) Everyone has the right to freely decide on his nationality. Any influence
on this decision and any form of pressure aimed at assimilation are forbidden.
[…]
Article 24 [Freedom of Religion]
(1) The freedoms of thought, conscience, religion, and faith are guaranteed.
This right also comprises the possibility to change one's religious belief
or faith. Everyone has the right to be without religious belief. Everyone
has the right to publicly express his opinion.
(2) Everyone has the right to freely express his religion or faith on
his own or together with others, privately or publicly, by means of divine
and religious services, by observing religious rites, or by participating
in the teaching of religion.
(3) Churches and religious communities administer their own
affairs. In particular, they constitute their own bodies, inaugurate their
clergymen, organize the teaching of religion, and establish religious
orders and other church institutions independently of state bodies.
(4) Conditions for exercising rights according to Sections (1)-(3) can
be limited only by law, if such a measure is unavoidable in a democratic
society to protect public order, health, morality, or the rights and liberties
of others.
[…]
Article 26 [Freedom of Expression]
(1) The freedom of speech and the right to information are guaranteed.
[…]
(5) State bodies and territorial self-administration bodies are under
an obligation to provide information on their activities in an appropriate
manner and in the state language. The conditions and manner of execution
will be specified by law.
[…]
Article 30 [Electoral Rights]
(1) Citizens have the right to participate in the administration of public
affairs either directly or through the free election of their representatives.
[…]
(4) Citizens have access to elected and other public posts under equal
conditions.
[…]
Article 34
(1) The comprehensive development of citizens representing national minorities
or ethnic groups in the Slovak Republic is guaranteed, particularly the
right to develop their own culture, together with other members of the
minority or ethnic group, the right to disseminate and receive information
in their mother tongue, the right to associate in national minority associations,
and the right to set up and maintain educational and cultural institutions.
Details will be set out in a law.
(2) In addition to the right to master the state language, citizens belonging
to national minorities or ethnic groups also have, under conditions defined
by law, a guaranteed
a) right to education in their own language,
b) right to use their language in dealings with the authorities,
c) right to participate in the solution of affairs concerning national
minorities and ethnic groups.
(3) The enactment of the rights of citizens belonging to national minorities
and ethnic groups that are guaranteed in this Constitution must not be
conducive to jeopardizing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
the Slovak Republic or to discrimination against its other inhabitants.
[...]
Font: International Constitutional Law
http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/law/lo__indx.html
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