Dear member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs,
Slovakia is about to sign a Treaty on the Exercise of Objection of Conscience with the Holy See. The draft of this treaty has been presented by the Ministry of Justice and will be submitted for approval to the Slovak Government and then ratification at the Slovak National Council. If approved, the treaty will gain the status of an “international human rights treaty” and will take precedence over current Slovak law. The Treaty, the first in the history of concordats concluded between the Holy See and another country, has the purpose of protecting the “free and unlimited” exercise of the “conscientious objection” based on Catholic teachings of faith in any area regulated by law.