The government proposed that the bill be debated in a fast-track legislative procedure, arguing that the status quo leads to human rights violations.

The amendment included scrapping the Special Prosecutor's Office dealing with high-level corruption and lowering penalties for financial crimes.

They have noted that various individuals with perceived affiliations to the government, alongside accused members of the coalition parties, including the bill's rapporteur, MP Tibor Gašpar of Smer, could be directly affected by the proposed lowering of penalties.

The coalition government introduced the amendment, citing the need to shift towards a rehabilitative approach to justice, update the criminal code, and align with European Union standards.

The final proposal also included a reduction of the statute of limitations in rape cases from 20 to 10 years, which again caused widespread criticism from the parliamentary opposition, President Zuzana Čaputová and non-governmental organizations.

The bill would require NGOs which annually receive more than €5,000 from outside of Slovakia to register as "foreign agents", raising fears of the label being used for organisations disliked by the current government.

[13] Pavol Szalai, the head of the EU and Balkans desk of Reporters Without Borders, stated that Fico was subjecting Slovakia's democracy to a "crash test".

[14] Reporters Without Borders (RSF) stated: “RSF condemns the ruling parties’ verbal attacks, their attempts to restrict access to information and their questioning of the independence of the public broadcaster RTVS.”[12] The government has proposed a drastic cut in the financing of the RTVS, as well as a plan to split it into separate radio and television companies, attracting criticism from Reporters Without Borders and other organisations.