Citizens of the Slovak Republic enjoy a constitutional right to establish and join societies, associations, unions, movements, clubs and other civic associations, as well as trade unions. This right is enshrined not only in the Constitution of the Slovak Republic (Article 29(1)) but also in the Act governing the formation and legal status of civic associations (Act No. 83/1990 Coll. on the Association of Citizens, as amended). Under this Act, civic associations are legal entities, and state authorities may interfere with their activities and status only within the limits of the law.
Civic associations are registered with the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, which also keeps precise records and a register of all existing associations in the Slovak Republic.
The application to register a civic association is submitted by a preparatory committee of at least three citizens, at least one of whom must be over 18. The application must state the names, surnames, birth registration numbers, addresses and signatures of the committee members, and must also specify which member over 18 is the authorised representative entitled to act on their behalf. The application must be accompanied by two copies of the association’s articles and payment of the administrative fee, which currently stands at EUR 66. The fee may be paid with revenue stamps (in which case sending them by insured post is recommended), by a type U postal order, or by bank transfer to the account of the administrative authority. If you pay by postal order, the original counterfoil must be enclosed with the application; if you pay by transfer, the original bank advice confirming payment must be enclosed. The account number and all other information about paying the fee can be found on the website of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic (www.minv.sk, civic associations section), which also provides templates of the necessary documents and forms.
Under the Act on the Association of Citizens, the articles must contain the following mandatory particulars:
- the name of the association
- the registered office of the association
- the objectives of its activities
- the bodies of the association, how they are constituted, and which bodies and officers are authorised to act on its behalf
- provisions on organisational units, if any are established and if they are to act in their own name
- the principles of the association’s financial management.
The articles should also set out the conditions of membership, the rights and obligations arising from members’ status in the association, how membership ends, and, where relevant, the procedure for proposing and removing members. A common and necessary part of the articles should also cover the dissolution of the association and any settlement of its assets after it is deleted from the register of civic associations.
The articles should be drawn up so that, on the last page of text, there is space below the members’ signatures (approximately 4–6 cm from the bottom edge) for the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic to record the registration.
Proceedings for the registration of a civic association begin on the day the Ministry receives an application free of any defects. If the application does not meet the statutory requirements, or if the information in it is incomplete or inaccurate, the Ministry will notify the preparatory committee without delay, and no later than 5 days after receipt, that registration proceedings will not begin until the defects have been remedied. The Ministry must notify the committee’s authorised representative promptly of the date on which the registration proceedings began.
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If the Ministry finds no grounds for refusing registration, it will register the association within 10 days of the start of proceedings and, within the same period, send the committee’s authorised representative one copy of the articles marked with the exact date of registration, which is the date of dispatch. A trade union or employers’ organisation becomes a legal entity on the day after the relevant ministry receives the application for its registration. Within 7 days of registration, the Ministry notifies the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic of the association’s formation, together with its name and registered office.