Slovak Republic's Fight Against Corruption--Excerpts from a Government Report

• Eliminating opportunities for corruption. The principal remedy in this area is access to information. The Free Access to Information Act, in effect since January 1, 2001, is one of the main pillars of the program. In principle, this act allows access to any information other than classified data. It also mandates increasing the transparency of public administration as a whole; minimizing subjective elements in decisionmaking; removing unnecessary administrative barriers; enhancing the transparency of public procurement; and eliminating corruption in state enterprises, mainly by reducing the government’s influence.

• Increasing the risks of engaging in corrupt practices. In addition to prevention, corrupt practices must carry a greater risk. Thus public officials must be required to submit declarations of their assets. Moreover, investigation methods need to be considerably strengthened, including the deployment of special agents to combat corruption. The risk associated with corruption can be increased through harsher punishment.

• Enhancing public sensitivity to corruption. The first barrier to corruption, which must be as strong as possible, is high personal and moral standards. To this end, the public must incessantly be informed of the harm corruption causes. Detected corruption cases should be brought to the attention of the public, together with a computation of the estimated damage. Education should be aimed at lowering the public’s tolerance of corruption. Enhancing public sensitivity should start at school in the context of ethics classes. Nongovernmental organizations and the media should be enlisted to cooperate in enhancing public awareness.

• Criminalization of corruption. Corruption was criminalized under the Criminal Code on April 11, 2001, and the government approved the imposition of harsher sentences for corruption. The upper limit of a jail sentence for bribery was increased from one to two years and for the abuse of office from two to three years.

• Case distribution. A computer-based system for randomly distributing cases to judges was introduced at the Banská Bystrica District Court in cooperation with the Swiss Ministry of Justice. This system speeds up court procedures and guarantees the observation of the constitutional right to a lawful judge by preventing the arbitrary assignment of cases. This model will be implemented at all district courts throughout the Slovak Republic.

• Company register. Regular operation of the company register started on January 1, 2001, and has helped create a more transparent business environment. Accelerated procedures, such as those for processing applications for entering a company in the company register, are also expected to help curb corruption.

• Ombudsman. A law that is currently under preparation will regulate the status of the human rights ombudsman, whose aim is to help people exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms.

• Act on free access to information. The right to be informed helps prevent situations likely to give rise to corruption from developing, increases the risk of detection, and allows the public to scrutinize the exercise of public power and the use of public funds. As mentioned earlier, access to information is open to everybody. Applicants are not required to give reasons for or to justify why they are requesting access to information.

• Register of licenses, concessions, and permits. The aim of this register is to list licenses and permits issued by central government agencies to increase transparency and identify potential problem areas.

• Law on lobbying. A working group has been set up to prepare this law.

• Cadastral authorities. Work is under way to improve the cadastral authorities, which according to diagnostic surveys are affected by corruption.

Excerpted from the government’s report on the Fight Against Corruption in Slovakia, published in October 2001, www.government.gov.sk