The Slovak and EU flags

October 29, 2025

In September 2025, the Parliament of Slovakia adopted a constitutional amendment presented as a protection of “traditional values” and national identity.[1] It was passed with the minimum required majority — exactly 90 votes out of 150 deputies.

Main Changes

The amendment introduced several key modifications to the Constitution:

• Principle of Legality (Art. 2(2)) was expanded: state authorities must act not only according to law but also within the Constitution, in accordance with its principles and values.

• Protection of National Identity and Sovereignty (Art. 7): new provisions were added declaring that Slovakia retains its sovereignty “particularly in matters of national identity and fundamental cultural and ethical issues.” It is expressly stated that the Constitution cannot be interpreted as consent to transfer these powers to external bodies.

• Hierarchy Clause (Art. 7(5)): international human rights treaties take precedence over ordinary laws, but not over the Constitution itself.

• New Article 52a: the Constitution now recognizes only two biologically determined sexes — male and female.

• Adoption Rules (Art. 41(5)): adoption is allowed only by married spouses (a man and a woman) or in specific exceptional cases; single adoption is possible only exceptionally and if in the best interests of the child.

• Education: parents have the right to decide whether their child participates in activities outside the official state curriculum; educational content must comply with constitutional values.

• Social Rights: guarantees equality of pay for equal work between men and women (Art. 36).

Context and Consequences

The amendment is part of a broader trend in Central and Eastern Europe where countries have been embedding topics such as family, national identity, and traditional values into their constitutions. Many of these ideas already existed in Slovak legislation and constitutional case law but are now formally enshrined in the Constitution.

The main criticisms are that terms such as “national identity” and “ethical issues” are vague and may create contradictions with Slovakia’s international obligations. The new clause stating that international treaties do not apply if they conflict with the Constitution raises the risk that the country may refuse to implement decisions of international courts or conventions.

At the same time, what may seem unclear to “social engineers” is perfectly clear to Slovaks: national identity means belonging to the language, culture, religion, traditions, history, and values of the Slovak nation. Ethical issues are those related to the application of precisely these historical, traditional, and Christian values typical of Europe — and of Slovakia itself.

This much-criticized new clause, in practice, resolves a controversial issue that has also arisen before the Bulgarian courts and legislature regarding the well-known legal question of gender and the Constitution. The Bulgarian supreme courts still seem to lack clarity as to whether international treaties ratified by the National Assembly — which under Article 5 of the Bulgarian Constitution take precedence over domestic legislation — also apply when they conflict with the Constitution itself.

In Bulgaria’s context of jurisprudential uncertainty, one possible interpretation is that the Constitution would effectively derogate its own authority if ratified international treaties were considered superior not only to national laws but also to the Constitution. Thus, the alleged “risk” of not applying decisions of international courts and conventions is actually a form of protection of Slovak sovereignty, if one accepts that the supremacy of the Slovak Constitution over international norms is an expression of that sovereignty.

The amendment followed the formal legislative procedure: drafted in January 2025, passed through three parliamentary readings (April, June, and September), and finally adopted on September 25, 2025, with 90 votes in favor. The Venice Commission was invited to give an urgent opinion but could only suggest linguistic corrections at that late stage.

Significance of This Development

The amendment represents a constitutional turn: Slovakia now emphasizes that state governance should be based not only on legal norms but also on a set of values — national, cultural, and traditional.

This may increase tensions between Slovakia and its international obligations (EU law and international human rights treaties), since the Constitution now stands above them. Yet, according to the article, this tension was not created by Slovakia itself but is rather a reaction to pressure from Brussels, which, in the name of EU law, seeks to override not only national legislation but also local culture, faith, and values. The tension, it argues, was not generated by Bratislava, but by Brussels. Slovakia is merely defending its right to independence from excessive control and directives imposed by the EU’s central institutions.

Domestically, the amendment constitutionally affirms a binary, heteronormative family model, which will influence adoption, education, and civil rights. According to the text, while this influence is seen as alarming by some, it is actually described as a defense of children’s and parents’ rights not to be exposed to grotesque, perverse, anti-family, and anti-child propaganda in recent years — a propaganda that, under the guise of “sexual education,” allegedly aimed to rob even the youngest of their innocence by promoting pornography, debauchery, and sexual deviance.

From the perspective of comparative constitutional law, Slovakia becomes an example of how a state can use constitutional amendment to respond to liberal social changes by emphasizing “tradition” and “identity.”

In essence, Slovakia adopted these constitutional amendments to defend its sovereignty as well as classical human rights against the influx of degenerative initiatives coming from the European Union.

Notes:
[1] Garova, L. Slovakia’s 2025 Constitutional Amendment – Traditional Values and National Identity in the Constitution. Central European Association for Comparative Law. https://www.ceaclaw.org/post/slovakia-2025-constitutional-amendment