Slovenia_bul

Slovenia
Constitutional Court
Reference Period: 1 January - 30 April 1994

Statistical data

Number of decisions

The Constitutional Court held 13 sessions during this period, in which it dealt with 102 cases in the field of the protection of constitutionality and legality (cases denoted U- in the Constitutional Court register). There were 108 unresolved cases from the previous year at the start of the period (1 January 1994). The Constitutional Court accepted 83 new cases in the period of this report, confirming the trend of a steady increase in the number of new cases over the last four years.

In the same period, the Constitutional Court resolved:

• 38 cases, of which there were

- 13 Decisions and
- 25 Resolutions.

All Decisions (13) have been published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, while the Resolutions of the Constitutional Court are not as rule published in an official bulletin, but only handed over to the participants in the proceedings. However, all decisions and resolutions are published in an official collection.

The content of the cases resolved in this period was the following:

• organisation of the National Assembly (1);
• parliamentary enquiry (1);
• local self-government (1);
• electoral system (2);
• military courts (1)
• regional planning, or the regime of building land (6);
• public utility services (2);
• taxes, fees and duties (6);
• privatisation of former social property (2);
• state control of prices (1)
• transformation of the status of the enterprises (2);
• housing administration (5);
• marriage and family relations (1);
• citizenship (1);

status of foreigners (1);
pension insurance (2);
education (2);
registration of sports club members (1);

In the reference period the new Law on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia was adopted (Official Gasette RS, №15/1994). Mew rules of procedure are currently in the process of adoption by the Constitutional Court.

Important decisions

Identification: a) Slovenia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia/c)/d) 21 January 1994 /e)U-l-13/94 / f) / g) Official gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 6/94.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Constitutional Justice - Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of the distribution of powers between central government and its subdivisions.
Constitutional Justice - The subject of review - Laws and other rules having the force of law.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a public body - Organs of decentralised authorities.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Annulment.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Finding of constitutionality or unconstitutionality.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Pronouncement and publication - Publication - Publication in the official journal/gazette.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Pronouncement and publication - Publication - Publication in an official collection.

Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Effects - Effect erga omnes.

Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Effects - Influence of judgments on the functioning of State organs and on everyday conduct.
Constitutional Justice - Common principles or techniques of interpretation - The social dimension of the rule of law.
Constitutional Justice - Common principles or techniques of interpretation - Principles of legality.
Constitutional Justice - Common principles or techniques of interpretation - Principle of equality.
Institutions - Executive bodies - Territorial administrative decentralisation - Municipalities.
Fundamental Rights – Civil and political rights – Right to participate in political activity.

Keywords of the alphabetical index:

Assessment of the affected constitutionally protected values in the process of assessing constitutionallity / Conflict of constitutional values / Equality before the law / European Charter on local self-government/ Extension of the term of office of the bodies of the existing municipalities / Implementation of local self-government / Principle of legal protection / Principle of a state governed by the rule of law / Separate opinion of a judge at the Constitutional Court / Transformation of the existing municipalities into new local self-governing communities / Deadlines, referendum, dynamics / Warning decision of the Constitutional Court / New techniques in decision-making.

Summary:

The transitional provision of the Law on Local Self-Government (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 72/93), introducing a dual (parallel) system (old and new) of local self-government and defining the deadlines for referendums and elections, which cannot be implemented, is not in accordance with Articles 2, 9,14 and 139 of the Constitution.

II.

Identification: a) Slovenia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia/c)/d) 3 February 1994 /e)U-l-9/92 / f) / g) Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No.9/94.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Keywords of the alphabetical index:

Property’s economic, social and ecological function / Management of multi-apartment buildings – caretaker – registration / Restricting of property rights in the public interest.

Summary:

The provision of Article 30 of the Housing Law (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 18/91-1) preventing the owners of apartments in multi-apartment buildings from appointing as caretaker a natural person who is not an entrepreneur, is not in accordance with the Constitution, since other provisions already guarantee the preservation of the economic and social function of apartments.

III.

Identification: a) Slovenia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia/c)/d) 17 March 1994 /e) U-l-145/93 / f) / g) Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No.18/94.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice-Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of the distribution of powers between State authorities.
Constitutional Justice - The subject of review - Laws and other rules having the force of law.
Constitutional Justice - The subject of review - Rules issued by the executive.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a public body - Organs of decentralised authorities.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Finding of constitutionality or unconstitutionality.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Pronouncement and publication - Publication - Publication in the official journal/gazette.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Pronouncement and publication - Publication - Publication in an official collection.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Effects - Effect erga omnes.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings – Decisions – Effects – Temporal effect – Retrospective effect.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings – Common principles or techniques of interpretation – Principle of reasonableness.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings – Common principles or techniques of interpretation – Historical interpretation.
Institutions – Executive bodies – Powers.
Institutions - Economic duties of the State.
Fundamental Rights - Economic, social and cultural rights - Commercial and industrial freedom.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Local self-government / Local affairs / Price control competence.

Summary:

The Price Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 1/91-1) and the regulations of the Government of Slovenia based thereof, whose constitutionality and legality was contested by the applicant, do not contravene the constitutional provisions on local self-government. The constitutionally determined system of local self-government has not yet been implemented. In the period of transition from the previous communal system to a system of local self-government based on the separation of government commitments and local affairs, the allegation that the transfer of total price control competence onto government bodies in the event of serious market and price-movement distortions or with the object of forestalling monopolistic price formation contravenes the constitution, is unsubstantiated. It is not justified to classify the injunction of such measures among local responsibilities which solely concern the population of a given municipality, as provided for by the first paragraph of Article 140 of the Constitution.

Furthermore, the regulations of the Government of Slovenia which the applicant contested do not contradict the Price Act, since they comply with the conditions for the imposition of price control measures provided by that Act, considering the economic and social circumstances in which they were adopted.

IV.

Identification: Slovenia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia / c) / d) 17 March 1994 / e) U-l-217/93 / f) / g).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Constitutional Justice – The subject of review – Laws and other rules having the force of law.
Constitutional Justice – Constitutional proceedings – Types of claim – Claim by a private body or individual – Natural person.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Finding of constitutionality or unconstitutionality.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Pronouncement and publication - Publication - Publication in an official collection.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Effects - Effect erga omnes.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Right to a nationality.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Linguistic freedom.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Second pronouncement by the Constitutional Court in the same matter.

Summary:

The provision of the second clause of the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, Nos. 1/91-1, 30/91-1, 38/92 and 61/92), which excludes dual citizenship, does not contravene the Constitution. The non-fulfilment of legal conditions stipulated by that provision does not entail a loss of citizenship.

Identification: a) Slovenia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia / c) / d) 17 March 1994 / e) U-l-10/94 / f)/g).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Citizenship / Incompetence of the Constitutional Court / Status of citizens from other republics of the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia.

Summary:

The allegation that the Law on Foreigners (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 1 /91 -I) does not conform with the Constitution is unfounded, since the status of foreigners is also enjoyed by the citizens of other republics of the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia who have settled in Slovenia. They were granted the right to obtain Slovenian citizenship if they so chose within six months from the entry into force of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia and if they had their permanent residence in Slovenia. The acquisition of citizenship, and consequently of citizenship rights, therefore depended on the persons concerned themselves.

VI.

Identification: a) Slovenia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia / c) / d) 31 March 1994 / e) U-l-153/93 / f) / g) Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 21/94.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice - Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Constitutional Justice - The subject of review - Laws and other rules having the force of law.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a private body or individual - Non-profit-making corporate body
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Annulment.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Pronouncement and publication - Publication- Publication in the official journal/gazette.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings - Decisions - Pronouncement and publication – Publication – Publication in an official collection.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings – Decisions – Effects – Effect erga omnes
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings – Decisions – Effects – Temporal effect – Limit on retrospective effect
Constitutional Justice – Common principles or techniques of interpretation – Principle of equality.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Equality.
Fundamental Rights - Civil and political rights - Rights of access to courts.
Fundamental Rights - Economic, social and cultural rights - Right to social security.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Constitutional right to social security / Equal protection of rights /Principle of equality before the law / Civilian war invalidity / Restricting evidence.

Summary:

Legislation on the status and rights of civilian war invalids which restricts the administering of proofs by one group of claimants and enables other claimants to furnish evidence by whatever means, is in conflict with article 22 of the Constitution.

VII.

Identification: Slovenia / b) Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia / c) / d) 7 April 1994 / e) U-l-212/93 / f) / g) Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No.22/94.

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:

Constitutional Justice-Types of litigation - Litigation in respect of the distribution of powers between State authorities.
Constitutional Justice - The subject of review - Laws and other rules having the force of law.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Types of claim - Claim by a public body - Organs of decentralised authorities.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings -Decisions - Types - Finding of constitutionality or unconstitutionality.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings - Decisions - Pronouncement and publication - Publication- Publication in the official journal/gazette.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings - Decisions - Pronouncement and publication – Publication – Publication in an official collection.
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings – Decisions – Effects – Effect erga omnes
Constitutional Justice - Constitutional proceedings – Decisions – Effects – Influence of judgments on the functioning of State organs and on everyday conduct.
Constitutional Justice - Common principles or techniques of interpretation – Principe of reasonableness
Constitutional Justice - Common principles or techniques - Historical interpretation.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Housing / Interpretative character of the decision of the Constitutional Court / Definition / Principle of equality before the law / Rule of law / Principle of rationality and legal security.

Summary:

The first paragraph of article 113 of the Housing Law (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 18/91 -I) is not in conflict with the Constitution, insofar as the concept of municipality also embraces a particular socio-political community - the city. On the day that the Law took effect, the city became owner of social housing and accommodation blocks obtained with the solidarity and mutual funds of the housing economy.