PASÍVNA LEGITIMÁCIA PRI ZÁSAHOCH DO CTI, DÔSTOJNOSTI A DOBREJ POVESTI VÝROKMI OSÔB POUŽITÝCH PRI INFORMOVANÍ O VÝKONE VEREJNEJ MOCI (2. ČASŤ)

Honour, dignity or good name can be also damaged by statements of constitutional actors, spokespersons of the state authorities, or by the content of their press releases that are issued to the media in the process of informing about the exercise of public power. The media that spread such information are not responsible for their veracity and therefore it is necessary to reliably determine the entity liable for such damage. The Czech judicial practice offers solutions that are different from those offered by the Slovak judicial practice. It concludes that informing about the exercise of public power is part of the exercise of public power and that provision of information about the exercise of public power to the media should be regarded as an official procedure that is incorrect if provided information proves to be false. This leads to the conclusion that the state, rather than its authority, is liable for damage to the honour, dignity or good name. Liability should be assessed according to a special norm regulating liability of the state for damage caused in the exercise of public power. Liability of the used person will be assessed according to the provisions on the protection of personality in the Civil Code only in case of an excess (abuse?). These conclusions of the Czech judicial practice are convincing and can inspire also the Slovak judicial practice, provided that similar legal provisions are applied. Unambiguous solution of passive objective legitimacy in these cases is the prerequisite of an effective protection of the fundamental right to preservation of human dignity, personal honour and good name.