Rule of Law Program
(recent activity)

Law and Freedom in the Central European Context
November 25, 2004
Dr. Jan Carnogursky

After co-founding the Christian Democratic Movement, Jan Carnogursky spent over a decade at the highest levels of Slovak politics. He served as Prime Minister of Slovakia (1991-1992), deputy and opposition leader in the Slovak parliament (1992-1998), and Minister of Justice (1998-2002). This experience as public servant as well as his distinguished academic record (Charles University, Prague; doctorate from Comenius University, Bratislava) made Dr. Carnogursky superbly qualified to explain the role of law in protecting individual freedoms. If the essence of law is forgotten, a consistent legal framework can be manipulated to become a weapon of oppression, with resulting degradation of citizen and public servant alike.

The Prime Minister's heroic record of protest under the communist regime, more than his present prominence, gave his arguments an irresistible force. While a young lawyer, Dr. Carnogursky provided legal advice to the opposition Charta 77 movement and to other activists. His opposition work, especially organizing the "Candle Manifestation" in 1988, led to his imprisonment, which ended only with amnesty following the Velvet Revolution.