At the end of the year, we succeeded in obtaining an important decision of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic in favour of our client, concerning the obligation of the Slovak Republic to respect its international commitments in the field of protection against discrimination.

The case concerned the implementation of a decision of a UN committee, which found a violation of our client’s rights under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

The Constitutional Court emphasized that this convention protects human rights at the most fundamental level – the level of human dignity and equality, which are also fundamental values protected by Article 12(1) of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic.

The Slovak Republic has voluntarily accepted the competence of the relevant UN committee to receive and consider individual complaints. According to the Constitutional Court, if the state has accepted this competence, it must fulfil its international obligations in good faith. This also includes the duty to respond to the committee’s recommendations, including providing an apology and adequate compensation.

The Court also rejected the argument that fulfilling such international obligations would be contrary to the Constitution. On the contrary, such conduct is consistent with the principle of pacta sunt servanda and with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which binds states to honour the treaties they have ratified.

This decision represents an important contribution to strengthening protection against discrimination in Slovakia and to enhancing the credibility of the Slovak Republic as a treaty partner at the international level.

For individuals, it confirms that if they achieve justice before UN bodies, their case cannot remain without a response at the national level.

At the Poradňa pre občianske a ľudské práva, we will continue to advocate for the consistent implementation of Slovakia’s international obligations and for the protection of the rights of people who have faced discriminatory treatment.

The decision is available in Slovak here.