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Court

The Constitutional Court is an independent and autonomous state authority which carries out constitutional review – it is the highest body of the judiciary for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Slovenia and a guardian of constitutionality and legality. The principal powers of the Constitutional Court include reviewing the constitutionality of laws, reviewing the constitutionality and legality of other regulations, and deciding on constitutional complaints stemming from the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms by individual acts of state authorities, local community authorities, and bearers of public authority.

Judges

Participants in proceedings may motion for the disqualification of a Constitutional Court judge deciding on a certain case by applying, mutatis mutandis, the reasons for disqualification in court proceedings. A motion for disqualification may be submitted until the beginning of the public hearing, if such hearing is scheduled, or respectively until the beginning of the closed session of the Constitutional Court at which the case is to be decided. The motion must include a statement of reasons.

Lodge application

Individuals or legal entities may lodge a petition to initiate the procedure for the review of the constitutionality of laws or the constitutionality or legality of regulations or general acts issued for the exercise of public authority if they demonstrate legal interest for such. Individuals or legal entities may lodge a constitutional complaint against a judicial decision if they deem that their human rights or fundamental freedoms have been violated by individual acts of state authorities, local community authorities, or bearers of public authority. Individuals or legal entities may lodge a petition to resolve a jurisdictional dispute between courts and other state authorities if they are a party in the proceedings in which the jurisdictional dispute arose. Individuals or legal entities may lodge a petition to review the unconstitutionality of the acts and activities of political parties.

A petition to initiate the procedure for the review of the constitutionality of regulations is a legal remedy by which a petitioner in proceedings before the Constitutional Court challenges the consistency of laws with the Constitution or an inconsistency of regulations or general acts issued for the exercise of public authority with the Constitution or laws.

Anyone who demonstrates legal interest may lodge a petition to initiate the procedure for the review of the constitutionality or legality of regulations.

Legal interest is deemed to be demonstrated if challenged provisions directly interfere with the petitioner’s rights, legal interests, or legal position, and if a Constitutional Court decision in favor of the petitioner will improve their legal position.

For more on petitions, see Applications.

A constitutional complaint is a legal remedy by which a constitutional complainant in proceedings before the Constitutional Court claims a violation of human rights or fundamental freedoms. A constitutional complaint cannot be lodged due to the erroneous application of substantive or procedural law or due to an erroneously established state of the facts in proceedings before courts. A constitutional complaint may, as a general rule, be lodged against a judicial decision only after all (ordinary and extraordinary) legal remedies in the Republic of Slovenia have been exhausted. Before all extraordinary legal remedies have been exhausted (however, not before all appeals, which have the nature of an ordinary legal remedy, have been exhausted), the Constitutional Court may exceptionally decide on a constitutional complaint if two conditions are met: 1) the alleged violation is manifestly obvious, and 2) irreparable consequences for the complainant would result from the implementation of the individual act. For more on constitutional complaints, see Applications
Participants in proceedings before the Constitutional Court are the person who filed the application, e.g. a petitioner, a constitutional complainant, and the opposing party, i.e. the authority who adopted and issued a challenged act. For example: if a law is challenged by a petition, the opposing party is the National Assembly; if a judicial decision is challenged, the opposing party in the constitutional complaint proceedings is the opposing party in the proceedings in which the challenged individual act was issued.
petition to initiate the procedure for the review of the constitutionality or legality of regulations or general acts issued for the exercise of public authority is not bound by the prescribed time limit, except in instances in which regulations or general acts issued for the exercise of public authority have direct effects and interfere with the rights, legal interests, or legal position of the petitioner. In such instances a petition may be lodged within one year after such act enters into force or within one year after the day the petitioner learns of the occurrence of harmful consequences. A constitutional complaint must be lodged within 60 days of the day the individual act against which a constitutional complaint is admissible is served. For example: if you were served a Supreme Court decision on 15 May, the time limit to lodge a constitutional complaint starts to run on 16 May and expires on the 60th day following; if the 60th day is a Saturday, Sunday, statutory holiday, or non-working day in accordance with the Holidays and Non-Working Days in the Republic of Slovenia Act, the time limit expires the next following working day.
An application may be submitted in person at the Office of the Registrar of the Constitutional Court during office hours. An application may be sent by mail to the following address: Ustavno sodišče Republike Slovenije, Beethovnova ulica 10, p. p. 1713, 1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia. Please note: if an application is bound by the time limit and it is sent by registered mail, the date the application is sent is deemed to be the date of delivery to the Constitutional Court! If an application is not sent by registered mail, it is deemed that it has been filed when it is delivered to the Constitutional Court. An application may be sent by fax to the number: +386 (1) 2510 451. An application that is submitted in electronic form may be sent to info@us-rs.si. However, the Constitutional Court considers such application only if certain conditions are fulfilled. The conditions for filing applications in electronic form are explained in Section 12.
Applications may be submitted in electronic form if they contain a secure electronic signature based on a qualified certificate. Applications which do not contain a secure electronic signature based on a qualified certificate are not considered applications that the Constitutional Court receives in the framework of office operations, and thus it is not obliged to respond to them.
If an application has been filed with the Constitutional Court, within a few days of its receipt the Office of the Registrar of the Constitutional Court informs the applicant of the register into which the application has been entered and the registration number it has been assigned, the judge rapporteur who was assigned the case, and the manner of providing information on the status of proceedings. If an application cannot be registered among cases from within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, the Secretary General of the Constitutional Court explains to the applicant why his application could not be registered and under what conditions proceedings before the Constitutional Court can be initiated.

Decision-making process

(1) Petitions lodged to initiate a procedure for the review of the constitutionality or legality of regulations or general acts issued for the exercise of public authority are first examined by the Constitutional Court judge determined by the work schedule, who collects the information necessary for the Constitutional Court to decide whether to initiate the procedure. (2) The Constitutional Court rejects a petition if the procedural requirements for the consideration of the petition are not met (with regard to the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, the legal interest of the petitioner, the petition having been filed in time, authorisation to be a representative in proceedings before the Constitutional Court, the prescribed essential elements of the petition, and documents which substantiate the legal interest). (3) The Constitutional Court stays the procedure for the review of a petition if the petitioner fails to submit the information needed by the time limit determined for such. (4) The Constitutional Court dismisses a petition if it is manifestly unfounded or if it cannot be expected that an important legal question will be resolved by a decision thereon. (5) If the Constitutional Court accepts a petition, the procedure for the review of constitutionality or legality is initiated. (6) If the challenged regulation or general act issued for the exercise of public authority ceased to be in force, or ceased to be in force in the challenged part, or was amended, the Constitutional Court decides on its constitutionality or legality only if the consequences of its unconstitutionality or unlawfulness were not remedied.
(1) Lodged constitutional complaints are first examined by the Constitutional Court judge determined by the work schedule. (2) A panel of three Constitutional Court judges determined by the work schedule decides on the rejection, non-acceptance, or acceptance of a constitutional complaint for consideration. If the panel is not unanimous, Constitutional Court judges who are not members of the panel also decide on such. (3) The Constitutional Court rejects a constitutional complaint:
  • if it does not refer to an individual act by which the rights, obligations, or legal entitlements of the complainant were decided on;
  • if the complainant does not have legal interest for a decision on the constitutional complaint; if the constitutional complaint is not admissible,
  • if it was not lodged in time, or if all legal remedies have not been exhausted;
  • if it was lodged by a person not entitled to do so;
  • if the constitutional complaint is incomplete because it does not contain all the required information or documents and the complainant does not supplement it in accordance with a call to do so by the Constitutional Court, or if it is so incomplete that the Constitutional Court cannot examine it.
It is deemed that there has been no violation of human rights or fundamental freedoms which had serious consequences for the complainant with regard to individual acts:
  • issued in small-claims disputes in accordance with the act which regulates civil procedure, or in other disputes if the value in dispute by the complainant does not exceed the amount which is determined by the definition of small claims disputes in the act which regulates civil procedure;
  • if only a decision on the costs of proceedings is challenged by the constitutional complaint;
  • issued in trespass to property disputes;
  • issued in minor offence cases.
(4) If the panel does not decide otherwise, the statement of reasons of the order on the rejection or non-acceptance of the constitutional complaint includes only the reason for the decision and the composition of the Constitutional Court. (5) If a constitutional complaint is accepted for consideration the Constitutional Court decides in full composition. If the Constitutional Court has already decided on the same constitutional matter and granted the complaint, the decision by which it grants the constitutional complaint is issued by a panel.
It is not obligatory that participants in proceedings before the Constitutional Court are represented by a lawyer, however, such representation is advisable in order to ensure the quality of your representation. If you do not have sufficient funds to pay for a lawyer, you can file a request with the competent court that free of charge legal representation be granted to you for lodging a petition or constitutional complaint.
A petitioner or constitutional complainant may withdraw their application. In such cases the Constitutional Court stays the proceedings.
The Constitutional Court judge who is assigned a case provides information on the status of proceedings in the case to participants in proceedings before the Constitutional Court upon their written request. The Secretary General provides information on the status of proceedings in the case to other persons.
A public hearing is called if the President of the Constitutional Court so decides or upon the proposal of three Constitutional Court judges. The Constitutional Court invites to the public hearing the participants in proceedings and other persons whose presence at the public hearing is deemed necessary. The Constitutional Court always adopts decisions at closed sessions.

Decisions and orders

Participants in proceedings before the Constitutional Court may inspect the case file while the proceedings are pending before the Constitutional Court. Participants in proceedings before the Constitutional Court may inspect the case file during office hours at the Office of the Registrar of the Constitutional Court under the supervision of a court employee. The right to inspect a case file also encompasses the right to copy certain parts of the case file; participants in proceedings may also be sent a copy by mail. The Constitutional Court determined a minimal schedule of fees for issuing such copies, which is available at https://www.us-rs.si/vloge/stroskovnik/.
(1) Decisions of the Constitutional Court adopted in proceedings for the review of the constitutionality or legality of regulations are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia and in the official publication in which the respective regulation was published (2) Decisions and opinions of the Constitutional Court adopted in other cases from within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, unless the Constitutional Court decides otherwise for decisions adopted in constitutional complaint cases and jurisdictional dispute cases. (3) Orders or decisions of the Constitutional Court adopted at plenary sessions are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia if the Constitutional Court so decides, whereas orders of the Constitutional Court adopted at panel sessions are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia if the panel which adopted the order so decides. (4) Decisions and opinions of the Constitutional Court are published in the Collected Decisions and Orders of the Constitutional Court if the Constitutional Court does not decide otherwise. (5) Orders of the Constitutional Court are published in the Collected Decisions and Orders of the Constitutional Court if it is decided that they are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. If it is decided that they are not published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, they are published in the Collected Decisions and Orders of the Constitutional Court only if the Constitutional Court so decides or, in constitutional complaint cases, if a panel so decides. (6) All decisions of the Constitutional Court, i.e. decisions and orders which contain a statement of reasons, adopted in cases from within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, have been regularly published on the website of the Constitutional Court since 1991. To access the search form, click here. All decisions and orders which contain a statement of reasons adopted in cases from within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court are also published in the IUS-INFO databases. (7) Anyone may use the library of the Constitutional Court during office hours to inspect the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, the Collected Decisions and Orders of the Constitutional Court, and the computer database of the Constitutional Court, which contain the decisions and orders adopted by the Constitutional Court.
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