Slovensko a retribúcia v rokoch 1945 – 1948
Slovakia and retribution in 1945–1948

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to analyse the execution of retribution in post-war Slovakia. It begins by explaining the relationship between the retribution in Czechoslovakia and international legal documents such as the Declaration of St. James’ Palace from 13 January 1942 and the Moscow Declaration on Atrocities from 30 October 1943. According to these agreements, which were also signed by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, the Czechoslovak Republic had a legal obligation to judge war criminals who committed their crimes within its territory. After the end of the war the Slovak National Council enacted decree No. 33/1945 Coll., which then regulated retribution in Slovakia, even though initially there were attempts to legislate a common retribution statute for the whole of Czechoslovakia. In Slovakia, three levels of the retribution people’s courts were created on the parish, district and national levels. These were characterized by the employment of lay judges. In another part of the study, the author deals with the practise of the Slovak retribution courts in 1945–1948. Their problems and shortcomings are also mentioned, which the Slovak National Council partially solved by two amendment decrees. Finally, the outcomes of the retribution courts in Slovakia are presented with the more detailed elaboration on the National Court in Bratislava, which was the main Slovak people’s court.

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