Adopted provisional measures with respect to judicial, administrative and other public-law affairs to contain the spread of coronavirus

Following the issuance of the order on special measures, issued by the president of the Supreme Court, temporarily regulating operation of Slovenian courts during the COVID-19 epidemic, on 20 March 2020, the Slovenian Parliament adopted the intervention Act on Provisional Measures with Respect to Judicial, Administrative and Other Public-Law Affairs for the Control of the Spread of the Contagious Disease SARS-CoV-2 (COVID 19).

The provisional measures, implemented by the Act and relating to court and administrative proceedings are as follows:

1. in court matters:

• Suspension of procedural deadlines (e.g. deadline filing a preparatory deed or an appeal), except in urgent cases, whereby the President of the Supreme court has the authority to declare certain urgent matters as non-urgent, if required.

Urgent cases among others include investigations and trials in criminal cases in which the accused is in custody and against foreigners who do not reside in Slovenia, enforcement matters relating to care of children and child support, protests with respect to bills of exchange, proceedings on compulsory settlement and bankruptcy, etc.

We advise caution and consultation on whether the relevant deadline is being suspended as sectoral legislation might stipulate certain matters as urgent.

• Suspension of material deadlines for exercising rights in court proceedings (e.g. time limit for filing a challenging action) are suspended;
• Suspension of deadlines for filing constitutional complaints;
• Possibility of exclusion of public from any main hearing.

2. in administrative and other public-law matters:

• Suspension of deadlines for performing procedural actions of the parties (e.g. filing an appeal against the administrative decision);
• Suspension of deadlines for fulfilling the parties’ substantive obligations (e.g. obligations imposed on parties by an administrative decision);
• Suspension of deadlines for performing any procedural acts, including issuing decisions, by the administrative authorities and other bodies, conducting and deciding in administrative proceedings;
• Deadlines are not suspended in urgent individual administrative matters in case of danger to life and health of the people, law and order, public safety, etc. We advise caution and consultation on whether the relevant deadline is being suspended as sectoral legislation might stipulate certain matters as urgent;
• Deadlines are also suspended in minor offence proceedings, save for the proceedings related to matters in the previous indent, however, minor offence authority has an obligation to notify the offender that deadline is not suspended;
• Deadlines for the exercising of substantive rights, which will expire during the time of implementation of provisional measures under this Act, are extended and will expire on the 8th day from the date of termination of these measures. Thus, due to the provisional measures, the parties shall not lose the opportunity to exercise their rights;
• Filings or written and oral submissions, as well as making oral statements directly with the authorities is no longer possible, except for applications for the exercise of rights which are decided upon in a summary facts-finding procedure (e.g. certain inspection procedures);
• Oral hearings, with the exception of urgent matters, will not be conducted;
• Personal service of the decisions and other documents, related to the administrative procedures, in most cases will not be performed.

3. in the enforcement of penaI sanctions and other public-law matters:

• The Act affects also on enforcement of penal sanctions and grants the prison principals broader powers in relation to relocation of convicts, suspension of the prison sentence (if there are no security concerns) and even earlier release;
• The president of the Chamber of Notaries is, on the basis of the Act, empowered to adopt temporary measures relating to operation of notary offices, in particular to the manner and limitation of their opening hours for the clients. Temporary closing of all notary offices is possible on the basis of a measure adopted by the Minister of Justice.

In addition to the measures provided for in this Act, the Government has been empowered to take other urgent measures in these sectors to prevent the spread of viral infections and the smooth operation of state bodies, self-governing local communities and bearers of public authorities.

The provisional measures implemented by the Act shall remain in force until the Government’s decision on their termination however by 1 July 2020 at the latest.