The New Act Amending the Criminal Legislation in Slovakia and the Possible Impact of the New Crime of Abuse of Law on the Independence of the Judiciary

Abstract

This article examines the essentials and the purpose of the newly introduced crime of abuse of law, based on the recently adopted Act on the enforcement of decisions on seizure of property and administration of seized property and on amendments to certain acts. The authors in this article provide a detailed analysis of the definition, as well as a comparison of the definition of the new- ly introduced crime of abuse of law with the legal regulation enshrined in the German Criminal Code, on which the new Slovak legislation is based. With regard to the systematic classification of the newly introduced crime, the authors also examine the need to introduce a new crime, mainly in terms of the existing crimes stipulated in Act No. 300/2005 Coll. Criminal Code. At the same time, the authors also address existing tools and mechanisms, such as disciplinary punishment, aimed at punishing misconduct in office and ensuring the professional integrity of the members of the judiciary. With a special regard to the constitutional provisions stipulating the immunities of the members of the judiciary, the authors also explore the conformity of the newly adopted definition of the crime of abuse of law with the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and its overall impact on the importance of independence of the judiciary.