Summary Regulation of fiscal responsibility is an integral part of the Constitution in several European states. Among these states there is also Slovakia, which passed a special constitutional law on fiscal responsibility in 2011 and established the Fiscal Responsibility Council as an independent constitutional institution. This constitutional law was followed by a new constitutional amendment in 2020, which enshrines the explicit obligation for the State to protect the long-term sustainability of its economy through transparency and efficiency in the spending of public funds. In this context, this article analyzes the normative scope of this constitutional framework and its effects in practice, as well as the theoretical possibilities of its applicability in proceedings before the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic.

Summary The referendum initiative of 2021 is the fourth attempt in Slovakia to call a referendum on early parliamentary elections in less than 30 years. The aim of this article is to answer the question of whether the shortening of the parliamentary term by referendum is in accordance with the Slovak Constitution. Since the shortening of parliamentary term by referendum is a constitutional issue which is a question of identity common to all European democracies, the authors analyse the existence of such direct democracy instrument in the Council of Europe member states and compare the relevant constitutional framework with the Slovak Constitution. The authors’ opinion is that the referendum on early elections contradicts not only several constitutional provisions, but also the overall philosophy of the Slovak Constitution and Western-type democracy.