Slovenia could soon lift fines for anti-constitutional COVID-era rules

Proceedings involving breaking pandemic era rules that were later declared unconstitutional in Slovenia could soon be halted and affect fines totalling several millions of euros, according to a bill endorsed by the government on Thursday.

Since the end of the state of emergency for COVID-19, the Constitutional Court has voided key legal provisions on infectious diseases and the law on public assembly – legislation which served as the legal basis for the previous government’s heavy-handed approach to fining COVID-related violations.

The fines were one of the reasons why anti-government protests were held throughout much of the pandemic and the new government, in office for a year, had made it a campaign pledge to halt all infraction proceedings and refund any fines.

Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan described the bill as an essential step in rebuilding trust in the rule of law, “which was significantly undermined by the use of excessive and unconstitutional repression … during the pandemic.”

Between March 2020 and May 2022, more than 62,000 legal proceedings were launched under legislation that was subsequently ruled unconstitutional and the fines issued totalled €5.7 million.

About 30% or just over €1.7 million in fines had been paid, the rest are still pending, though enforcement was paused soon after the new government took office.

Under the bill, all ongoing proceedings will be formally halted, and all those who have paid fines will get their money back, while data on the offences will be automatically deleted from public records.

Speaking of the previous right-wing government, the minister said it faced great uncertainty at the start of the pandemic and had to act quickly to adopt temporary measures that encroached on the freedom of movement and the right to assembly.

“However – and this is crucial – such measures must be consistent with the fundamental tenets of the constitutional order and the rule of law… A crisis cannot and must not be an excuse to undermine them”, she added.

(Sebastijan R. Maček | sta.si)