The Constitution of Slovakia, officially Constitution of the Slovak Republic is the current constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

 of Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

. It was passed by the Slovak National Council

Slovak National Council

The Slovak National Council is the name of different types of supreme bodies in the history of Slovakia. They existed within the Kingdom of Hungary, Czechoslovakia or the Slovak Republic or were bodies of Slovak exiles:...

 on 1 September 1992 and signed on 3 September 1992 in the Knights Hall of the Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on a quite isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava...

. It went to effect on 1 October 1992 (some parts 1 January 1993).

The passing of constitution is now remembered as Constitution Day

Constitution Day

Constitution Day is a holiday to honor the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitutional monarchy:...

 on 1 September.

Overview

The text of the Constitution is divided into the preamble and 9 parts (most parts are divided into chapters), which in turn are divided into 156 articles and they may but don't need to be divided further into paragraphs and/or letters.

• The Preamble
• First part
  • General provisions (a. 1 to 7a)
  • State symbols (a. 8 and 9)
  • Capital of the Slovak Republic (a. 10)
• Second part - Fundamental rights and freedoms
  • General provisions (a. 11 to 13)
  • Fundamental human rights and freedoms (a. 14 to 25)
  • Political rights (a. 26 to 32)
  • Rights of national minorities and ethnic groups (a. 33 and 34)
  • Economic, social and cultural rights (a. 35 to 43)
  • Right to protect the environment and cultural heritage (a. 44 and 45)
  • Right to judicial and other legal protection (a. 46 to 50)
  • Part one and part two joint provisions (a. 51 to 54)
• Third part
  • Economy in the Slovak Republic (a. 55 to 59)
  • Supreme Audit of the Slovak Republic (a. 60 to 63)
• Fourth part - Legal self-governing bodies (no chapters, a. 64 to 71)
• Fifth part - Legislative power
  • National Council of the Slovak Republic (a. 72 to 92)
  • Referendum (a. 93 to 100)
• Sixth part - Executive power
  • President of the Slovak Republic (a. 101 to 107)
  • Government of the Slovak Republic (a. 108 to 123)
• Seventh part - Judicial power (2 chapters)
  • Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (a. 124 to 140)
  • Judiciary of the Slovak Republic (a. 141 to 148)
• Eighth part - Office of the public prosecutors in the Slovak Republic
  • Public prosecutors of the Slovak Republic (a. 149 to 151)
  • Ombudsman (a. 151a)
• Ninth part - Transitory and final provisions (no chapters, a. 152 to 156)

Amendments

Three fifths of the votes in the parliament

National Council of the Slovak Republic

The National Council of the Slovak Republic , abbreviated to NR SR, is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral, and consists of 150 MPs, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation every four years....

 are necessary to supplement and/or amend the Constitution. It has been amended 5 times so far, once in 1998, 1999, 2001 and twice in 2004.

1. Amendment from 14 July 1998: This is rather a minor amendment: The President could be elected on a suggestion of at least 8 MPs (the President was voted by the parliament at that time) and some of the President's powers were transferred to the Speaker of Parliament.
2. Amendment from 14 January 1999: President was no longer voted by the Parliament, and begun to be elected by popular vote for five years. It also changes President's powers and his relations between him and other institutions.
3. Amendment from 23 February 2001: It is the greatest amendment so far, relating to the Slovakia's attempt to enter the European Union
   European Union
   The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
   
    (e.g. Slovakia will recognize international treaties). It also changes the electoral law, introduces ombudsman
   Ombudsman
   An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
   
    to the Slovak law system, transfers right to name judges for unlimited time from parliament to the President and other major or minor changes in functions of nearly all institutions.
4. Amendment from 4 March 2004: Minor change to the constitution, from article 78, paragraph 2, where the last sentence was omitted.
5. Amendment from 14 May 2004: So far the last change, in relation to the preparation to the European Parliament election
   European Parliament election, 2004 (Slovakia)
   The European Parliament election of 2004 in Slovakia was the election of MEP representing Slovakia constituency for the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election. The vote took place on June 13. The turnout was lowest of any country in the European...
   
   , and added sentence about inconsistency of being an MP in the Parliament and in the European Parliament
   European Parliament
   The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
   
   . It also extended rights of the Constitutional Court of Slovakia
   Constitutional Court of Slovakia
   The Constitutional Court of Slovakia is a special court established by the Constitution of Slovakia. Its seat is in Košice.-Tasks:...
   
   for ruling whether the election to the EP is constitutional.

External links

• The text of the Constitution on the Slovak government website (Slovak, includes all amendments)
• The text of the Constitution on the Slovak government website (English, includes only the first two amendments)
• The unofficial translation of the Constitution (English, most up to date)