The Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) as a national human rights institution (NHRI) once again participated this year in the preparation of the joint report of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) on the state of the rule of law in the European Union, which contains reports from national human rights institutions from 27 European Union Member States. The report draws attention to serious and long-standing challenges regarding the independence of institutions, freedom of the media, the position of civil society, and the implementation of judgments of the European Courts.

In its national contribution, the Ombudsman highlights several systemic problems that affect the effective protection of human rights and respect for the rule of law. The report, among other things, highlights the challenges regarding the planned changes and amendments to the Human Rights Ombudsman Act. This should strengthen institutional independence, expand powers (e.g. to the areas of disability, trafficking in human beings, the Childrens' Ombudsman, public services), and enable compliance with the United Nations Paris Principles on the Status of National Human Rights Institutions and the recommendations of the Accreditation Committee of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). The Ombudsman is scheduled to undergo a review of its accreditation status in April next year.

In its current report, the Ombudsman highlights the lack of effective response by state authorities to the Ombudsman's recommendations, especially in the case of structural changes such as deinstitutionalisation, healthcare, or the rights of persons with disabilities. The Ombudsman also noted in the report that in practice it is often not involved in the initial stages of legislation preparation, even when it directly affects the Ombudsman's competence (e.g. the proposal for a new Media Act). The Ombudsman also reiterates the recommendation that institutions and groups directly affected by the proposals be involved in all stages of legislation preparation and that each legislative proposal also includes a human rights impact assessment.

Regarding the violation of the right to a fair trial and an impartial tribunal, the Ombudsman highlights the importance of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of X and Others v. Slovenia (2024), where the court found systemic irregularities in the allocation of court cases and thus a violation of the right to a legally established court, the principle of the natural judge and the right to private and family life due to irregularities in the allocation of court cases. In addition, the Ombudsman calls on the authorities in the report to fully and consistently implement the judgment. In the report, the Ombudsman also specifically highlights the lengthy court proceedings at the Administrative Court of the Republic of Slovenia. The Ombudsman calls on the authorities to adopt organisational, personnel, and legislative measures to eliminate the backlog in the court and reiterates the recommendation to the courts to conduct the proceedings without undue delays and within the statutory deadlines. The Ombudsman also expresses the expectation for the timely and effective transposition of the EU Directive on the Prevention of Abuse of Judicial Proceedings (SLAPP).

In their report, ENNHRI and the Human Rights Ombudsman recommend, among other things, that the Slovenian authorities:

·        adopt a legal framework to protect human rights defenders and adopt appropriate legislation to combat SLAPP lawsuits.

·        ensure an effective institutional response to the Ombudsman's findings and recommendations, particularly in the areas of health, social services and justice.

·        strengthen respect for media freedom and the legal framework for preventing hate speech in a manner that respects international and European human rights standards.

·        ensure greater involvement of non-governmental organisations, the academic community, and independent institutions in the preparation of action reports and plans for the implementation of judgments of the European courts and ensuring their accessibility.

·        ensure that the Ombudsman be allocated appropriate staff reinforcements and financial resources in the event of an expansion of the Ombudsman's powers.

The ENNHRI report highlights a number of common trends and challenges in EU Member States, including Slovenia. Only 20 Member States have a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) with so-called A-status under the Paris Principles. The report also states that as many as a quarter of national human rights institutions have been the target of threats, discrediting, or attacks in the last year, indicating a decline in respect for independent institutions in Europe. The space for civil society and human rights defenders to operate in the EU also continues to shrink, while protection mechanisms for them in most countries are non-existent or ineffective. The report also finds that media freedom is under pressure in many EU countries, due to threats to journalists, SLAPP lawsuits, political interference in public media, and the spread of disinformation. In an increasing number of EU countries, national institutions perceive slow and incomplete implementation of judgments of European courts, in particular those of the ECHR, which undermines the principles of the rule of law.

The ENNHRI report on the state of the rule of law in the EU and its Member States for 2025 is available in English here, and the Ombudsman's national report on the state of the rule of law in Slovenia is available here.