or observers in the Council. The Jewish community was invited, and sends observers, but chose not to participate.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
Government policy and practice contributed to the generally free practice of religion. Although government support is provided in a non-discriminatory way to registered churches that seek it, the requirement that a registered organization have 20,000 members disadvantages some smaller faiths. The Government monitors, although it does not interfere with, religious "cults" and "sects." Some property restitution cases remain unresolved.
The Institute of State-Church Relations monitors and researches religious cults and sects; however, it is difficult to identify these groups because they largely register as nongovernmental organizations rather than as religious groups. The Institute conducts seminars, issues publications, and provides information to the media regarding its findings.
During the period covered by this report, the Ministry of Interior actively monitored the Church of Scientology and its members. Some Scientologists complained of harassment by the Slovak Information Service (SIS). Several stories appeared in the media, which were critical of companies that have ties to Scientology, including reports that the SIS director was concerned that a company with close ties to the Church of Scientology had won a contract to provide the Government with a new computer system. At the beginning of 2002, that award was cancelled and a new one had not been announced by the end of the period covered by this report.
Law 282/93 on Restitution of Communal Property enabled all churches and religious societies to apply for the return of their property that was confiscated by the Communist government. The deadline for these claims was December 31, 1994. The property was returned in its condition at the time, and the Government did not provide any compensation for the damage done to it during the previous regime. The property was returned by the Government, by municipalities, by state legal entities, and under certain conditions by private persons. In some cases, the property was returned legally by the Government but was not vacated by the former tenant--often a school or hospital with nowhere else to go.
There also have been problems with the return of property that had been undeveloped at the time of seizure but upon which there since has been construction. Churches, synagogues, and cemeteries have been returned, albeit mostly in poor condition. The churches and religious groups often lack the funds to restore these properties to a usable condition. The main obstacles to the resolution of outstanding restitution claims are the Government's lack of financial resources, due to its austerity program, and bureaucratic resistance on the part of those entities required to vacate restitutable properties.
While the Orthodox Church reported that six of the seven properties on which it had filed claims already had been returned, the Catholic Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities reported lower rates of success. The Catholic Church reported that more than half of the property that it had claimed had been returned to it already. In another 12 percent of cases the property had been returned legally to the Church but typically was occupied by other tenants and would require court action to be returned to church hands. The Church had not received any compensation for the remaining 40 percent of claims since these properties were undeveloped at the time of nationalization but since have been developed. The Church also is not eligible to reacquire lands that originally were registered to church foundations that no longer exist or no longer operate in the country, like the Benedictines.
The Federation of Jewish Communities (FJC) has reported some successful cases of restitution and has only a few pending cases that require resolution. These include cases in which property had been restituted to the FJC but not in usable condition, cases in which the property still is occupied by previous tenan