BRATISLAVA, December 9, (WEBNOVINY) — On Thursday, Parliament approved an amendment to the State Language Act from the workroom of the Culture Ministry, headed by Daniel Krajcer (SaS). The draft was shaped to reduce sanctions levied for violations of the law and to moderate some other provisions of the law adopted during the term of the previous government.
Lawmakers did not approve a proposal of Ondrej Dostal from MOST-HID deputy faction to completely remove sanctions for violations of the law from the amendment. They also did not approve a proposal to allow TV broadcasting of children’s programs suitable for the age group of up to 12 years in Czech. The lawmakers, however, agreed with the proposal that fines can be levied only in cases which regard publishing information regarding the public administration, or pose a danger to health, life, security or property of citizens of the Slovak Republic.
The Culture Ministry will not have the duty to issue fines, while the amount of fines has been reduced. The lowest sanction according to the new rules is EUR 50 and maximum EUR 2,500. The revision cancels the provision, according to which texts on monuments and memorial plaques would need the nod of the ministry, which was supposed to guard the accordance with the law in this way. “We do not insist on the order of the texts,” explained the minister. The duty to keep bilingual documents in schools and educational institutions lecturing in languages of national minorities will be canceled as well. The norm eliminates fines for texts compiled in the language of national minorities printed for cultural purposes, catalogues of galleries, museums, libraries, programs of theaters, concerts and other cultural events. If the president signs the bill into law, it will take effect on January 1, 2011.
SITA