4.4 The State party also submits that the author has failed to exhaust
domestic remedies. First of all, the Constitutional Court rejected the petition
filed by the Legal Defence Bureau for Ethnic Minorities on the grounds that,
as a legal entity, the Bureau could not challenge a violation of fundamental
rights belonging to natural persons. The court, however, also noted that its
decision was without prejudice to the right of natural persons to claim the
violation of their fundamental rights as a result of decisions made by State or
local administrative organs. On the basis of the court's decision the District
Prosecutor of Humenné informed the author that her case would be
discontinued. The author did not appeal the decision of the District
Prosecutor, although it was possible to appeal in accordance with Act
314/1996 on the Prosecution Authority.
4.5 As for the decision of the Constitutional Court dated 16 June 1998 to
reject the author's petition of 5 May 1998, the State party submits that
nothing prevented the author from filing a new petition with the
Constitutional Court submitting evidence of violation of her constitutional
rights or a causal link between the violation of her rights and the decision of
the municipal council.
4.6 Secondly, the State party submits that the author could have availed
herself of the remedy provided for under section 13 of the Civil Code,
according to which everyone is entitled to seek the protection of the State
against violations of his/her integrity and to be given appropriate
satisfaction; in the case of insufficient satisfaction, mainly because the dignity
or respect that the person enjoyed in society was significantly harmed, the
victim is entitled to compensation, to be determined by a court as
appropriate.
4.7 The State party further submits that the resolutions of the Nagov and
Rokytovce municipal councils were never implemented. During the time they
remained in force no act of violence against persons belonging to the Roma
minority took place and the Roma moved within the boundaries of the two
municipalities without restrictions. The Roma registered as permanent
residents in those municipalities when the resolutions were adopted
continue to enjoy that status.
4.8 As for the author's claim that several provisions of the Convention,
including article 2, paragraph 1 (a), have been violated, the State party
indicates that, according to section 1, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Act of the
Slovak National Council No. 369/1990 Coll. on the Municipal System, a
municipality is an independent self-governing territorial unit of the Slovak
Republic and any interventions as to its powers and/or impositions of
responsibilities are possible only by law. The two resolutions adopted by the
municipal councils of Nagov and Rokytovce did not concern the performance
of State administrative tasks transferred to the municipal level in the field of