VIA IURIS - We make Slovakia the country where people are not powerless, when facing the power

Massive public protests across Slovakia (Zeitgeist 10.)

January has been rich in dramatic developments within Slovak politics. The thread leading to massive public protests began before Christmas when Prime Minister Robert Fico unexpectedly visited Moscow. This was followed by a controversial trip to Moscow by Slovak MPs,...

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Nightfrost in Bratislava and the cold comes from Kremlin – Slovak government intensifies the transition to authoritarianism (Zeitgeist 9.)

In Slovakia’s political landscape developments, critical issues pose significant threats to fundamental rights and democratic processes. A controversial proposal concerning limited information has passed through parliament, raising alarms among civil society...

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One could not imagine how much harm Fico IV can do (Zeitgeist 8.)

October 2024 was very fertile month for deterioration of democracy in Slovakia. We could observe a wide range of political and social issues in Slovakia, including proposed limitations on freedom of information access, restrictions on civil society organizations...

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Fico IV cover their failures with attacks on the opposition (Zeitgeist 7.)

Fico IV cabinet is pushing forward a financial consolidation plan based on raising taxes through a fast-track legislative process, avoiding public or parliamentary participation. This has caused controversy, especially among populist party supporters who were promised...

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Another day, another amendment of the Penal Code (Zeitgeist 6.)

Not so long ago, July and August in Slovakia were known as the "cucumber season". The reason for this title was simple. The most exciting thing happening in public space was a harvest of cucumbers. Since the Fico IV administration has been in power, we had to skip the...

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Verbal attacks on judges continue (Zeitgeist 5.)

Another month, another series of legislative and political actions in Slovakia raising concerns over democratic principles and judicial independence. The parliament's condemnation of an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico started a series of proposals...

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Our themes

Citizen

VIA IURIS promotes effective public participation in decision and policy making. The citizens have to be able to participate effectively in various permission procedures that affect their lives. They ought to have access to information and access to justice in matters of public interest, such as the environmental protection and accountability of state institutions and municipalities. We support and provide assistance not only to “White Crows” but also to people who are threatened while advocating the public interest.

Civil society

Authentic civil society, as one of the cornerstones of freedom and democracy is jeopardized by non-systemic legislative proposals, populist statements of politicians and disinformation campaign led by conspiracy media. Our role is to defeat myths about NGOs, critically analyse civil society and protect the legislative environment so that Slovak citizens also in the future have right to freely express, associate and actively participate and control the administration of public affairs.

Rule of law

VIA IURIS promotes systemic measures to strengthen the independence of courts, public prosecution and police and to eliminate political influence on them. These institutions are the fundamental elements of the rule of law and crucial in securing equality before the law and enforcing the justice. These institutions ought to guarantee the exercise of public power by elected officials in compliance with the public interest, not the private interests of oligarchs. They have to guarantee that everyone is held accountable for overstepping of the law, even politicians.

What’s new

Another day, another amendment of the Penal Code (Zeitgeist 6.)

4. September 2024

Not so long ago, July and August in Slovakia were known as the "cucumber season". The reason for this title was simple. The most exciting thing happening in public space was a harvest of cucumbers. Since the Fico IV administration has been in power, we had to skip the...

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Our organization is financially supported by

A complete list of our institutional supporters for each year can be found in our annual reports.