Slovenian judges protested for two weeks between 10 and 24 January, processing only urgent cases and cancelling hearings according to their own discretion. The Association of Judges has cited the government’s failure to implement a June 2023 Constitutional Court ruling, which found that judges’ salaries were too low and in violation of the principle of judicial independence and the separation of powers. The ruling considered that judges’ salaries are not regulated in a comparable way to salaries in other branches of government, and underlined the need to protect judges from pressure that could influence decision-making. The Constitutional Court’s decision gave the legislature six months to ensure compliance with the Constitution, which lapsed on 3 January 2024. The government has bundled the matter of judges’ salaries with a wider revision of public sector salaries, which has been delayed by the impacts of the response to severe flooding in 2023 on the state budget.

Sources: Euractiv, N1 (1), N1 (2), N1 (3), Slovenian Judges Association (1), Slovenian Judges Association (2), STA, 24ur

The Culture Ministry introduced a draft media bill, which would introduce new state support, regulate the use of AI, and limit media concentration. The draft bill would regulate the use of generative AI in the media by ensuring news outlets label all content created using AI, and inform audiences about their use of generative AI. The bill would further clamp down on deepfakes, which can be used in exceptional circumstances to improve media literacy for educational purposes. Penalties for violations could reach EUR 20,000. In addition, the bill foresees the creation of a National Media Council, an independent body of experts whose role would be to protect the public interest in the media and debate media legislation, to be proposed by the government and appointed by the National Assembly. The bill will be open to public consultation until 31 January 2024.

Sources: Euractiv, Slovenia Times, STA, European News Room, Ministry of Culture

Parliament voted to initiate proceedings for constitutional amendments which would transfer the responsibility for final say on judicial appointments from the Parliament to the President. The Judicial Council would continue to select and propose candidate judges. The proposal, tabled in September 2022, was approved with 61 votes in favour and 25 votes against and is intended to safeguard judicial independence. Judges would be subject to a three-year probation period, as opposed to the present system of automatic lifetime appointments. The changes would not apply to Constitutional Court judges. As a next step, the parliamentary constitutional commission is tasked with finalising the draft bill before it is put to a vote in Parliament. The EU’s recent Rule of Law report encouraged Slovenia to ensure that the reform contains adequate safeguards for judicial independence. Experts have said that the President’s discretionary power for judicial appointments must be constrained, proposing an obligation to justify any decision to reject a candidate.

Sources: STA, Euractiv, Inside Slovenia, Government of Slovenia, European Commission

The Constitutional Court approved the passing of amendments to the law on public broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV SLO) after reviewing contested parts of the law. In May, the Court lifted a temporary suspension which had blocked the implementation of amendments to restructure the management of RTV SLO. That amendment transferred management to a council appointed by civil society representatives and RTV SLO employees, whereas the previous supervisory board members were appointed by the National Assembly. Media freedom groups lauded the ruling as enabling the public broadcaster to “rebuild its editorial independence and carry out its public service mission free from political interference,” while noting remaining challenges including a staffing crisis, funding problems, and public distrust.

Sources: Article19, RTV SLO, Voice of America