Courts, privacy and data protection in Slovakia:a hesitant guardian?

This chapter analyses the system of constitutional and statutory protection of a right to privacy and personal data in the Slovak republic. It starts by providing an overview of the domestic legal framework, its features and place in the international and regional context. Secondly, it explores the case law of the Slovak courts, in particular that of the Constitutional Court, in the area of criminal investigations, state surveillance, governmental transparency obligations and journalistic activities. Lastly, it concludes by studying the influence of the European sources of fundamental rights in the field of privacy and data protection on national jurisprudence and by providing an outlook of future domestic developments. Keywords: privacy, data protection, Slovakia, EU Charter, constitutional safeguards, state surveillance, transparency, criminal investigations, journalism.