Introduction
In relation to other state authorities, the Constitutional Court is an autonomous and independent state authority.
The Constitutional Court regulates its organisation and work by its Rules of Procedure and other general acts.
The organisation of the Constitutional Court is regulated by the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 86/07, 54/10 and 56/11) and the Rules on the Internal Organisation and Administrative Operations of the Constitutional Court (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 93/03 and 56/11).
I. The Internal Organisation of the Constitutional Court
1. The Constitutional Court has a President* who is elected by secret ballot by the judges of the Constitutional Court from among their own number for a term of three years. When absent from office, the President of the Constitutional Court is substituted for by the Vice President of the Constitutional Court, who is elected in the same manner as determined above.
The Constitutional Court is represented by the President of the Constitutional Court. In matters outside judicial proceedings, the Constitutional Court is also represented by the Secretary General of the Constitutional Court within the limits of the Secretary General’s competence, or within the limits authorized by the President of the Constitutional Court.
2. The Constitutional Court decides on matters within its jurisdiction at sessions, at which the President and Constitutional Court judges as well as the Secretary General are present. When particular items of the agenda are discussed, the advisor of the Constitutional Court to whom the case has been assigned is also present at the session. Sessions of the Constitutional Court are presided over by the President of the Constitutional Court. The sessions of the Constitutional Court are as a general rule determined by the work schedule for a spring term lasting between 10 January and 15 July, and an autumn term lasting between 10 September and 20 December.
Cases within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court are as a general rule assigned to Constitutional Court judges according to the alphabetical order of their last names. Constitutional complaint cases are assigned to Constitutional Court judges, with consideration of which panel they have been assigned to, as a general rule according to the alphabetical order of the last names of the members of the panel.
The Secretary General of the Constitutional Court assigns cases to advisors who are appointed by the Constitutional Court from among legal experts.
3. The Constitutional Court decides on questions that are connected with its organisation and work at administrative sessions.
4. The Constitutional Court has three three-member panels for the examination of constitutional complaints:
- a panel for the examination of constitutional complaints in the field of
criminal law (criminal panel); - a panel for the examination of constitutional complaints in the field of
civil law (civil panel); - a panel for the examination of constitutional complaints in the field of
administrative law (administrative panel).
The division of work among the panels is regulated by the Constitutional Court according to the work schedule. In accordance with the applicable work schedule, the panel for the examination of constitutional complaints in the field of criminal law reviews constitutional complaints against individual acts issued in criminal procedures, in commercial dispute procedures, and minor offence procedures, as well as constitutional complaints against individual acts issued in the judicial review of administrative acts and administrative procedures in accordance with the provisions of the Enforcement of Penal Sanctions Act. The panel for the examination of constitutional complaints in the field of civil law reviews constitutional complaints against individual acts issued in civil and execution procedures as well as in commercial dispute procedures, except in trespass to property dispute procedures. The panel for the examination of constitutional complaints in the field of administrative law reviews constitutional complaints against individual acts issued in procedures for which jurisdiction is determined by the Judicial Review of Administrative Acts Act, constitutional complaints against individual acts issued in labour and social dispute procedures, as well as constitutional complaints against individual acts issued in non-litigious civil procedures and probate procedures, as well as against individual acts issued in trespass to property dispute procedures. The president and the members of the panel are determined by the Constitutional Court according to the work schedule.
5. The Constitutional Court has the following working bodies:
a) The Redaction Commission, which prepares the final texts of decisions and orders of the Constitutional Court, which the Constitutional Court adopts at sessions;
b) The Studies Commission, which discusses various questions relating to the proceedings before the Constitutional Court and prepares the proposals of principled positions concerning such;
c) The Economic and Organisational Issues Commission, which prepares the proposals of decisions for administrative sessions of the Constitutional Court, particularly in the fields of internal organisation, inventory, remunerations and reimbursements, and the financial plan and its implementation; in addition it decides on various questions in these fields when the general acts of the Constitutional Court so determine or on the basis of authorization assigned at an administrative session;
d) The Personnel Commission, which decides issues regarding employment, promotion, and appointment in accordance with the rules determined by the relevant general act of the Constitutional Court;
e) The Appeals Commission, whose panels decide, in accordance with the relevant general act of the Constitutional Court, on appeals against decisions on the rights and obligations of employees of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court, who have the status of civil servants, and on the appeals of employment candidates against decisions in open competition procedures for the appointment of new officials;
f) The Editorial Board of the Collected Decisions and Orders of the Constitutional Court, which edits the Collected Decisions and Orders of the Constitutional Court, in which all decisions and orders deciding on matters within the Constitutional Court jurisdiction are published, except the orders of panels, which are only published if the panels so decide.
II. The Secretariat of the Constitutional Court
1. In order to carry out its legal advisory work, judicial administration tasks, and financial tasks and in order to provide administrative technical assistance, the Constitutional Court has a Secretariat composed of the following organisational units:
- Legal Advisory Department;
- Analysis and International Cooperation Department;
- Documentation and Information Technology Department;
- Office of the Registrar; and
- General and Financial Affairs Department.
2. The Secretary General of the Constitutional Court coordinates the work of all services of the Secretariat. The Secretary General directly manages and organises work in the Legal Advisory Department, the Analysis and International Cooperation Department, the Documentation and Information Technology Department, and the Office of the Registrar. In relation to employees in these units, the Secretary General has the position of head of a state authority. When absent from office, the Secretary General is substituted for by the Deputy Secretary General.
3. In the Legal Advisory Department, advisors of the Constitutional Court prepare reports as well as draft judgments and orders in cases within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court. The advisors of the Constitutional Court hold a university degree in law and have passed the state legal examination, or hold a Master’s Degree in Law. The work of the advisors can be performed also by the judges assigned to work at the Constitutional Court. The Deputy Secretary General and Assistant Secretary Generals manage the work of the advisors of the Constitutional Court in individual fields of law, and at the same time carry out the work of advisors in more demanding cases. In addition, professional tasks in the field of court administration which fall within the competence of the Secretary General are also carried out by the Legal Advisory Department.
4. The Analysis and International Cooperation Department gathers data and other information of a legal nature needed for the work of the Legal Advisory Department, prepares comparative legal materials and analyses necessary for cases being considered by the Constitutional Court, prepares the legal basis for the constitutional court records, provides translations of the Constitutional Court decisions into English, and performs tasks in the field of international cooperation. The Department is managed by the Head of the Department.
5. The Documentation and Information Technology Department ensures IT support for the work of the Constitutional Court, provides for the computer-supported operation of the Constitutional Court, maintains constitutional court records, and performs library services required by the Constitutional Court. The Department is managed by the Head of the Department.
6. The Office of the Registrar performs tasks connected with the acceptance and forwarding of applications, decisions, orders, and other documents of the Constitutional Court, tasks connected with the management of files of the Constitutional Court, provides for the distribution of materials for the sessions of the Constitutional Court and panels, and provides for the publication of decisions and orders in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia and other official publications. The Office of the Registrar is managed by the Head of the Office of the Registrar.
7. The General and Financial Affairs Department performs financial and accounting tasks, general legal and personnel management tasks, protocol, administrative and technical tasks as well as other related tasks. The Department is managed by the Director of the Department, who also has the right to issue orders for the implementation of the financial plan of the Constitutional Court. In relation to the employees of the General and Financial Affairs Department, the Director of the Department has the position of head of a state authority. When absent from office, the Director of the Department is substituted for by the Assistant Director of the Department.
* Any reference in this document to a person of the male sex shall be deemed to also constitute a reference to a person of the female sex, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.