Civil Law, Commercial Law

  • The government enacted an amendment of the Act on bankruptcy and restructuring effective on January 1, 2012 (with the exception of three sections, which are effective on January 1, 2013). The amendment mainly changes the definition of over-indebting, specifies the responsibility of executives for late filing of the bankruptcy petition, simplifies the claim filing, specifies the negating of claims of other creditors, and reduces the costs of bankruptcy proceedings.
  • A new Act on postal services, effective on October 14, 2011 (with the exception of two sections, which are effective on January 1, 2012), represents the full transposition of the Third Postal Directive No. 2008/6/EC. The act creates a positive impact on the business environment because it repeals the exclusive right to the universal postal service and creates a fully liberalized postal market. Postal enterprises will be authorized to provide postal services after meeting the registration requirements. The amount of the registration fee is reduced.
  • Parliament enacted the Act on trade with defense industry products effective as of January 1, 2012 and partly as of June 30, 2012. The Act provides for the conditions for trading with defense industry products including foreign trade, the conditions of agency services in the field of trading with defense products, the granting of trade licenses, trade agency licenses and foreign trade licenses, the transfer of defense industry products, etc.
  • Parliament enacted the Act on special levy for selected financial institutions effective as of January 1, 2012. This Act provides for the obligation of a bank and a branch of a foreign bank to pay a levy, the amount and method of payment of the levy and the administration of the levy. The annual levy rate is 0.4 % of the base defined in the Act. The aim of the new levy is to help to create mechanisms of participation of financial institutions in the cost of future financial crises in the bank sector, stimulate financial institutions and protect the stability of the Slovak financial sector.

Labour Law, Social Security Law

  • Parliament enacted an amendment of the Act No. 125/2006 Coll. on Labour Inspection effective partly as of January 1, 2012 and partly as of July 1, 2012. The amendment intends to improve the performance of labour inspection and its preventive function. The amendment will allow conducting labour inspection outside the district of the Labour Inspectorate in extraordinary and reasonable cases and introduces compulsory imposition of fines for serious misconduct and in cases of persisting defects. During inspections, Labour inspectors will be obliged to identify themselves by presenting labor inspector cards and, as of July 1, 2012, also by wearing a uniform during inspections on site.
  • Regulation No. 343/2011 Coll. providing for the amount of the minimum wages for 2012, effective on January 1, 2012. The minimum wage for 2012 is EUR 327.20 per month for an employee remunerated by a monthly salary and EUR 1.88 per hour of work performance.

Miscellaneous

  • Parliament enacted the Act on certain measures in the field of environmental burden effective on January 1, 2012, which intends to ensure the elimination of old environmental burdens consisting mainly of industrial enterprises, capacious agricultural enterprises, uncontrolled hazardous waste landfills, etc.. The Act regulates the procedure of burden identification, the method of determining the obligor and the originator of the burden and the penalties for a breach of the Act. For example, the Act allows the originator and the obligor to transfer the property, on which the burden is located, only after its geological exploration, etc..