Journal of the Charles University Law Faculty
Ondřej Preuss
Author’s affiliation:
Právnická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy
Slovak “Melčák”, a nuclear weapon as a gift to a new constitutional court
Jurisprudence 6/2019 Section: Articles Page: 1–12
Keywords: Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic, material core of the constitution, eternity clause, unconstitutional constitutional act
Abstract: The article comments the recent decision of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic, in which it concludes that (i) the Slovak Constitution contains an implicit material core; whereas the principles of a democratic state governed by the rule of law form the basis of this “core”; (ii) not even constitutional laws can contradict the implicit material core of the Constitution according to the court; (iii) the Constitutional Court is thus entitled to examine the possible contradiction of constitutional law standards to the implicit material core of the Constitution and, should it find a contradiction, the court is entitled to abolish such constitutional law. The decision is surprising and can destabilize the Slovak constitutional system.
