Judge Michal Matulník discussed contributing to the quality of legislation at the ACA-Europe seminar

Michal Matulník, Judge of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic, participated in a seminar organised by the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Courts of the European Union (ACA-Europe) in cooperation with the Dutch and Belgium Council of State. The seminar was held in The Hague on the topic “Contributing to the quality of legislation”.

The primary focus of the seminar was to contribute to the debate on the quality of legislation with a view to further exploring this topic among the members of the Association, with a particular focus on legislative advice and feedback from the courts to the legislator. The first discussion session focused on independent advisory bodies. The discussion was focused on the functioning of these bodies and thus, for example, at what stage of the legislative process it is appropriate to issue an advisory opinion. Participants also discussed the different analyses (legal, political, technical, implementation) that are carried out when drafting advisory opinions, or the impact and effectiveness of the opinions in question. In particular, they examined how policy and implementation analyses are conducted, as well as the ways in which supreme administrative courts are consulted in the legislative process regarding the potential impact of legislation on judicial practice and/or workload.

A group photo of participants at the ACA-Europe seminar in The Hague. Photo © Raad van State/Hans Kouwenhoven.

The second session dealt with constitutional review (ex-ante) by advisory bodies and the supreme administrative courts. Participants discussed constitutional analysis (as part of legal analysis) by advisory bodies and administrative courts, in particular the sources and methods of interpretation in the interpretation of constitutional norms, as well as the interaction between legislative advisory bodies and administrative courts in the interpretation and application of constitutional norms.

In the third discussion session, the participants focused on the issue of dialogue between the judiciary and the legislator. In particular, it was about the factors that influence the manner and extent to which the supreme administrative courts can assist the legislator in improving the quality of legislation. Discussions included, inter alia, the degree of influence on the wording of legislation in relation to the principle of separation of powers, political sensitivity and the ways in which the supreme administrative courts provide feedback to the legislator.

Judge Matulník made a presentation at the seminar on the Dialogue of Powers and the participation of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic in the interdepartmental commentary procedure with an emphasis on restraint of the judges.

The ACA-Europe seminar was held on 17th and 18th March 2025 in The Hague, the Netherlands.