ABSTRACT
The study of the period from Slovakia’s independence in 1993 until 2015 demonstrated that the SCC has nominally issued rulings constraining the legislator more than some of its regional counterparts. Yet, a critical perspective on significant rulings shows a reluctance to challenge political majorities or the opposition with wide public support on key issues, particularly during the term of President Macejková. The present chapter, while recapitulating the previous findings, captures the final years of the Court under Macejková’s presidency as well as the period of sustained vacancies on the Court due to struggles with the appointment of constitutional judges, culminating in the completion of the bench under new President Fiačan in 2019. It shows the Court’s capacity to stand up for the protection of some fundamental rights but to continue to struggle to respond to legislative advances encroaching on institutional independence and preventing the concentration of powers. This can be explained in part by the Court’s limited ability to engage with key political concepts in a thoroughly interpretive manner. The analysis also indicates the limits posed by focusing on legislative-judicial relationships: instead, a broader range of actors interact with the Court, a palette that has continued to diversify given the Court’s range of competences and new challenges posed to constitutional adjudication, including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
