The Supreme Administrative Court of the Slovak Republic annulled the decision of the Export-Import Bank of the Slovak Republic regarding the non-disclosure of information on state aid during the COVID-19 pandemic

On June 19^th, 2025, the Supreme Administrative Court, by judgment No. 8Svk/13/2025, overturned the dismissive judgment of the Administrative Court in Bratislava, annulled the decision of the Export-Import Bank of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as “Eximbanka”) concerning the non-disclosure of information related to state aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, and returned the case for further proceedings. The Supreme Administrative Court held that information on state aid provided by the Ministry of Finance through Eximbanka in the form of loan guarantees or interest payments on loans in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic does not fall under banking secrecy.

Transparency International Slovakia (hereinafter referred to as “TIS”), pursuant to Act No. 211/2000 Coll. on Free Access to Information, requested that Eximbanka disclose information on the total amount of financial aid provided in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. TIS further requested that the amount be broken down according to the individual forms of financial aid provided. Eximbanka disclosed the total amount of financial aid granted but refused to provide the remaining information, justifying its decision by claiming that such information is protected by banking secrecy. TIS filed an administrative lawsuit against the decision to withhold the information, which the Administrative Court dismissed.

The Supreme Administrative Court reviewed the judgment of the Administrative Court and disagreed with its legal opinions, as well as with the arguments presented by Eximbanka. The key legal question was whether the information requested by TIS could be classified as falling under the protection of banking secrecy.

The Supreme Administrative Court acknowledged that Eximbanka is subject to the protection of banking secrecy. However, it emphasized the need for a substantive assessment of whether, in the specific case, the requested information falls within the scope of banking secrecy. The court examined the nature of the requested information (financial aid provided in the form of loan guarantees or interest payments on loans) in the context of the forms of financial assistance granted under § 25(1) and (2) of Act No. 67/2020 Coll. on Certain Extraordinary Measures in the Financial Area in Connection with the Spread of the Dangerous Contagious Human Disease COVID-19 (hereinafter referred to as “Lex Corona”), and concluded that such information cannot be considered subject to banking secrecy. It does not concern information about a private-law (banking) relationship between the bank and its clients. Rather, it pertains to a public-law relationship between the Ministry of Finance and the clients of Eximbanka, in which Eximbanka acts merely as an intermediary of financial aid provided by the Ministry. Therefore, it is a public-law relationship between the Ministry of Finance and applicants for financial aid, which was/is provided as state aid and concerns the management of public funds, the transparency of which is undoubtedly in the public interest.

The financial aid mediated by Eximbanka is classified as de minimis state aid, and information about it is required to be actively published in a publicly accessible central register (§ 13(4) of Act No. 358/2015 Coll.). Pursuant to § 13(1) of Act No. 358/2015 Coll., the register also includes, among other things, basic identification data of the recipient of the de minimis aid, the form in which the aid was provided, and the amount of aid granted, rounded to the nearest euro cent.

The Supreme Administrative Court concluded that the judgment of the administrative court was based on an incorrect legal assessment of the case, and identified the same defect in Eximbanka’s decision. Therefore, it overturned the dismissive judgment of the Administrative Court, annulled Eximbanka’s negative decision, and returned the case for further proceedings. Eximbanka is bound by the legal opinion of the Supreme Administrative Court.

This decision was adopted unanimously by the panel of the Supreme Administrative Court and is not subject to a remedy.

The decision was rendered by Panel No. 8 of the Supreme Administrative Court, composed of: President of the Panel Mgr. Kristína Babiaková, the Judge JUDr. Anita Filová, and the Judge JUDr. Rastislav Dlugoš, PhD.