Slovakia

[SK]  New language law Land presidents agree to changes in Broadcasting Agreement

IRIS 1996-4:1/14

Andrea Schneider

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

The National Council of the Slovak Republic passed a new State Language Act on 15 November 1995. This came into force on 1 January 1996, and supersedes the Slovak Official Language Act of 1990.

The preamble to Act No. 270/95 describes the Slovak language as the main element in the Slovak people's identity and an expression of the Slovak Republic's sovereignty, and the Act itself makes Slovak the state language on the territory of the Slovak Republic.

Section 5 of the Act deals with the use of the Slovak language in the media. Broadcasting in the Slovak Republic is still governed in a general sense by the Broadcasting Act, No. 468/91, passed in the former Czechoslovakia on 30 October 1991 and last amended on 14 July 1992.

Under Section 5 of the new act, programmes must in principle be broadcast in the official language. Exceptions include the authorised programmes of the national and ethnic minorities, and foreign programmes. These must always, however, be introduced in Slovak.

The Slovak Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for enforcing the act. Repeated violations carry a fine of up to 500,000 Sk.