This Country Profile provides a basic overview of the legal history and institutional structures of the Slovak Republic (Slovenska republika), based on research produced by GlobaLex at NYU Law School and the Library of Congress. Under Slovakia's Constitution, Islamic law (sharīʿa or fiqh) has no legal status.
Country Background
Slovakia is a landlocked country located in Central Europe. It is bounded by the Czech Republic, Austria, Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine. The capital of Slovakia is Bratislava. The official language is Slovak. The country’s population in 2016 was approximately 5.4 million. Slovakia is a predominantly Christian country, with about 62% of the population Roman Catholic.
Constitution & Legal Structure
Slovakia is referred to as a parliamentary republic. The system of government is based on principles of separation and checks and balances and has three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The Slovak legal system is a “continental” legal system with some remnants from the communist legal culture and currently heavily influenced by the implementation of European Union law. Until 1950, the law applicable on the territory of current Slovakia (during the Czechoslovak Republic and during World War II) was based on the Hungarian common law, as partially codified in the nineteenth century. After the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918, substantial national legislation interfered with this tradition and introduced influences stemming from the Austrian tradition, which was the basis of the law applicable in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia. In 1950, the communist government through a rushed legal reform of most basic areas abolished this difference and established uniform laws for the entire territory of Czechoslovakia. This uniformity was conserved in the next legal reform in early 1960s and through the establishment of the federation in 1968. Therefore, substantial similarities remain between the Czech and the Slovak legal system (much of basic legislation is still largely identical, including in such details as wording of some provisions) and practitioners as well as scholars from Slovakia often refer to Czech sources. The current Constitution of Slovakia was adopted by the Slovak National Council in 1992 and has been amended several times. The Constitution includes a catalogue of basic rights and fundamental freedoms, basic provisions on the state, and an institutional framework for state institutions.
Constitutional Status of Islamic Law
Islamic law has no constitutional status in Slovakia.
Jurisdiction(s) of Islamic Law
Islamic law has no official jurisdiction of operation in Slovakia.
Dominant School of Islamic Law
Slovakia has no official school of Islamic law.
Sources of Law for Legal Research
Official Publications
Unofficial Databases
References:
For an extended list of legal resources for this country, see the Library of Congress’s Research Guide, and for a narrative review, see the GlobaLex Foreign Law Research Guide (most updated version, where available). The Constitution is available in the LOC Guide in its original language and at Constitute in English translation. For full versions of past constitutions, amendments, and related legislation, see HeinOnline World Constitutions Illustrated or Oxford Constitutions of the World [subscription required for each].