The History of the Death Penalty in the Territory of Modern Slovakia

Abstract

This article reviews basic essential elements connected with the death penalty performance – means of execution, courts, numbers, and exceptions in the territory of modern Slovakia since the beginning of the 20th century, which forms the main sections of this article. Each section is further divided into subsections, comprising three important time periods—Austria-Hungary, First Czechoslovak Republic, and Czechoslovakia after 1945, and the communist coup—because each of these periods brought substantial changes to the development of this institution of criminal law. The conclusion analyses the arguments in favour of and against the abolition of capital punishment and the country’s internal opinions and policies issued until the final abolition in 1990. Moreover, it contains an evaluation of its use, whether it was overused, or whether it was in compliance with the essentials of the modern democratic state respecting the rule of law and basic human rights.