Embassy Events
Legislation Approved to Control Sale of Municipal Property: Via Iuris and Embassy Cooperate
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| From left: Political Counselor SusanBall, Zuzana Fialová of Via Iuris and lawyer Zuzana Čaputová. Embassy photo. |
Representatives of the Slovak non-government organization Via Iuris on May 6 announced to journalists the passage of new legislation to increase transparency, supported in part with a grant from the Embassy. The press conference at the Syndicate of Journalists in Bratislava included Ms. Zuzana Fialová, Executive Director of Via Iuris; Ms. Zuzana Čaputová, the key lawyer of the process; Ms. Vanda Rybanská, Member of Parliament from Dunajská Lužná and champion of the legislation; and Ms. Susan Ball, Political Counselor of the U.S. Embassy. The legislation is aimed at making more visible to the public decision-making by municipal governments, in particular, the sale of municipal property and establishment of public enforcement mechanisms. The legislative proposal was approved by the Parliament on April 30 and is now awaiting signature by the President of the Slovak Republic. The Embassy in November 2007 had co-funded a conference, “Access to Justice – Public Control of Public Power,” organized by Via Iuris - Center for Public Advocacy. At the conference, gaps in legislation which allowed non-transparent decision making were identified. Subsequently, Via Iuris began to work on new legislative proposals to end these practices, supported with a grant from the Embassy.
