On 14 November 2018, the Slovak Constitutional Court ruled that Act No. 140/2014 Coll. on Acquisition of Ownership Title to Agricultural Land is, for the most part, unconstitutional. Under the act, the owner can transfer its land only to an individual or entity that has been engaged, for at least three years, in agricultural production in the municipality in which the land is located, to a co-owner or to certain family relatives. Otherwise, a formal offer has to be made to certain qualified entities also engaged in agricultural production; then, only if those have not shown any interest, can the land be transferred to an individual or legal entity domiciled in Slovakia for at least ten years.
The explanatory report to the act cited several EU states with similar limitations on land transfer. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether the legislator will try to address the Constitutional Court’s objections and adopt similar legislation in future, this time compatible with the Constitution. It remains also to be seen whether the State will find any remedy for the decades-long situation of improper registration of ownership titles to large areas of agricultural land that, in most cases, completely prevents its acquisition by private entities.