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Fico: We Can't Revert Javorina Now
Thursday 04 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 4 (TASR) - Taking the disputed military area of Javorina out of special status is impossible now due to constitutional and legal obstacles which "cannot be overcome in a high-handed way", said Prime Minister Robert Fico when questioned about the long-standing case in Parliament on Thursday.
Fico explained that the Cabinet is not allowed to scrap Javorina before the June 12 general election. "When it comes to territorial changes, the Government is limited by the rule of law. In line with the Act on Municipal Establishment, between the day the date of the general election is announced and the day the election takes place, no decision on territorial changes must be taken ... nor may we give names to or rename a municipality, a street or any public area," he explained, assuring that the said military area will be gone as soon as these legal restrictions no longer apply.
In response, opposition Christian Democrat (KDH) MP Pavol Abrhan said that such an approach represents a feeble excuse for the current state of affairs. He adds that the Government could have acted long ago.
"Let me have a look if we're able to pass a Government directive with a postponed date of coming into effect, and that would be after June 12. If it's at all possible, we'll do it," responded Fico.
Originally, a proposal on reverting Javorina to common lands (administered by the municipality) should have been submitted by the Defence Ministry before June 30, 2006, but - due to early election call at that time - it did not make it to the agenda of government sessions. Also entailed in the case are property restituents who have land use plans for the area.
It's the Act on Municipal Establishment (approved in 2006) which, at that time, represented the legal framework for sorting out the issue. The law's wording also included a provision aimed at reverting the village of Lubicke Kupele, which had ceased to exist when the military area Javorina was established. However, Prosecutor-General Dobroslav Trnka and a group of MPs challenged the provision of the law before the Constitutional Court. The court then suspended the legislation from coming into effect.
On September 9, 2009, the Constitutional Court ruled that all legal provisions related to reverting of Lubicke Kupele and its property status after Javorina is reverted are not in line with the Constitution. Six months after the ruling was made public - that is on March 9, 2010 - the disputed provisions of the law are set to lose validity.
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