Department of Constitutional Law and Administrative Law – Research

As is the case with pedagogical activities, the scientific and research activities of the Department are also pursued in two different avenues. However, considering the fact that the disciplines of Constitutional Law and Administrative Law are closely related, the joint work of the members of the Department on interdisciplinary research projects has systematically proven to be mutually beneficial in many aspects.

The most significant research projects of the Department of Constitutional Law and Administrative Law at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice within the VEGA, VVGS and APVV grant schemes were as follows:

• APVV-20-0076 ”Waste and Construction – modelling the effectiveness of alternative options for cooperation between administrative authorities”, 07/2021-06/2024, co-worker for UPJŠ in Košice R. Jakab
• VEGA no. 3/05 ”Legal aspects and features of liability of public officials in the territory of the Slovak Republic after accession to the Common European legal network”, 01/2005- 12/2007, principal investigator J. Sotolář
• VEGA no. 1/4613/07 ”Constitutional system of the Slovak Republic – present development, actual situation, perspectives”, 01/2007-12/2009, principal investigator L. Orosz
• VEGA no. 1/0486/11 ”Liability and protection of public officials in the legal system of the Slovak Republic” 01/2011-12/2013, principal investigator Ľ. Somorová
• VEGA no. 1/0965/13 ”Electoral legislation of the Slovak Republic – present development, actual situation, perspectives”, 01/2013-12/2015, principal investigator L. Orosz
• VEGA no. 1/0203/18 ”Transnational administrative acts of the Member States of the European Union”, 01/2018-12/2020, principal investigator R. Jakab
• VEGA no. 1/0399/20 ”Constitutional law-making of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (legal-political analysis – assessment – perspectives)”, 01/2020-12/2022, principal investigator L. Orosz
• VEGA no. 1/0187/22 ”Extraterritorial effects of foreign administrative acts in the European Union”, 01/2022– 12/2024, principal investigator R. Jakab
• VVGS-2019-1390 ”Law Podcasts (IPEL)”, 01/2020-01/2021, principal investigator R. Jakab.

Several prestigious awards conferred upon the members of the Department of Constitutional Law and Administrative Law of UPJŠ in Košice are as follows:

• Assoc. Prof. JUDr. Jozef Sotolář, PhD. – Honorary Plaquette of ZMOS (The Association of Towns and Communities of Slovakia) for long-term contribution to the development of self-governance in Slovakia in 2010; ”Memorial medal of the Association of the Town and Communities of Slovakia” on the 25^th anniversary of local territorial self-governance in 2015
• Assoc. Prof. JUDr. Ladislav Orosz, CSc. – the Award ”Judgment of the Year 2015” conferred by the weekly magazine for economics and business Trend in 2015; the Award ” Judgment of the Year 2016” conferred by the weekly magazine for economics and business Trend (Finding of the Constitutional court of the SR no. II. ÚS 184/2015 of 11.11. 2015) in 2016; the Award ”Judgment of the Year 2017” of the weekly magazine for economics and business Trend (Finding of the Constitutional Court of the SR no. II. ÚS 25/2017 of 12.10. 2017) in 2017; the Award ”Lawyer of the Year 2018” in the category of ”Civil and Human Rights and Constitutional Rights”, bestowed by the Czech Bar Association in January 2019.

Within their research and scientific activities, the Department regularly organizes scientific conferences and workshops related to current issues investigated in various research projects.

In addition to the above, the Department has been actively involved in the organization of one of the most prestigious academic events not only of local but also of national importance, the so-called ”Constitutional Days” held annually at the anniversary of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. This annual scientific conference is convened in cooperation with the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic and was first summoned in September 2012. In the course of its history, the following sessions were organized:

• Constitutional Days – “20^th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic”, 2012
• Constitutional Days – ”The current problems of the suffrage and the electoral justice in the Slovak Republic”, 2013
• Constitutional Days – ”Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms by constitutional courts and international judicial bodies”, 2014
• Constitutional Days – ”Freedom of speech and its limits”, 2015
• Constitutional Days – ”Implementation of decisions of international judicial bodies by national courts and other public authorities”, 2016
• Constitutional Days – ”25^th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic”, 2017
• Constitutional Days – ”The third term of office of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic”, 2018
• Constitutional Days – ”Constitutional and legal regulation of proceedings before the judicial body for the protection of constitutionality in the V4 countries”, 2019
• Constitutional Days – ”Reflections on changes in the constitutional regulation of the judiciary and their implications for the decision-making activity of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic”, 2020
• Constitutional Days – ”Fundamental rights and freedoms and their protection in state of emergency and other special legal regimes”, 2021
• Constitutional Days – ”The Constitution of the Slovak Republic as a normative basis of a democratic an legal state (30^th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic)”, 2022.