Top Slovak court halts big part of government's criminal law overhaul

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators attend a protest against the government's proposal to cancel a branch of prosecution which the opposition says will let serious economic crimes remain unpunished and protect government figures, in Bratislava, Slovakia, February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa/File Photo

(Reuters) -Slovakia's Constitutional Court has halted a significant part of the populist government's criminal law overhaul that aimed to significantly reduce punishment for crimes such as corruption and fraud.

The court, however, said on Thursday it had rejected other complaints by Slovakia's liberal president and opposition, meaning that a plan to scrap the special prosecutors' office (USP) which has dealt with serious crime including high-level graft will go ahead.