Stability Function of Bilateral Agreements Concluded Between the State and Churches and Religious Communities in Slovakia in the Field of Guaranteeing Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience

Abstract

By concluding treaties on respect for the principles in the Slovak legal system with the Holy See, as well as registered churches and religious communities in Slovakia, the purpose of Article 10(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (in force as EU law since 2009), according to which the protection of conscience is regulated by the Member States in their domestic legal systems (in addition, they include an international treaty or an equivalent legal norm, which is in the Slovak legal environment applies to national agreements) is described in the contribution. The new contractual concept of an agreement with the Holy See on conscientious objections is in accordance with the explanatory memorandum to this provision of the Charter and corresponds to the constitutional traditions and the development of law in the field of protection of freedom of conscience and religion in Slovakia. In its essence, in addition to compatibility with the law of the European Union, as well as the constitutional law of the Slovak Republic, it is a significant stabilizing element in the legal order of Slovakia.