The Constitutional Court of Slovenia (in Slovene: Ustavno sodišče Republike Slovenije, US RS) is a special court established by the Slovenian Constitution. Since its inception, the Court has been located in the city of Ljubljana. It is the highest court in the country for reviewing the constitutionality and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, otherwise the highest court in the country is the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia. The constitutional court is not part of any branch of government (not even the judiciary) and is an independent state body.[1]
The main responsibilities of the Constitutional Court include:
The seat of the Court is in Ljubljana in a Plečnik's Palace, designed by a famous Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik.[3]
Most powers of the Constitutional Court are explicitly determined by the Constitution. In accordance with the Constitution (§160), the Constitutional Court decides on:
The Constitutional Court has several strictly defined procedures in which cases may be brought before it. Procedures are regulated by the Constitutional Court Act.
Constitutional Court decides by a majority vote of all its judges unless otherwise provided for individual cases by the Constitution or law.[2] Decisions of the Court are binding for all.[1]
The procedure for the review of the constitutionality and legality of regulations and general acts issued for the exercise of public authority is initiated by:
Written request can be submitted by any court, the National Assembly, one third of MPs, the National Council, the Government, the Ombudsman, the Information Commissioner, the Bank of Slovenia, the State Prosecutor General, representative bodies of local communities, a representative association of local communities, and national representative trade unions.[1]
In this procedure the Court may:
Constitutional complaint is possible in case of to a violation of human rights or fundamental freedoms against individual acts of state or local authorities.[1]
A complaint may be lodged by:
Complaint is not allowed until after all legal remedies have been exhausted.[1]
In this procedure the Court may:
The court consists of 9 judges, who are elected by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia for a non-renewable 9-year term on the proposal of the President of the Republic.[2] Before replacing a judge after the end of their term, a new judge must first be elected. If this does not happen by the end of the judge's term, that judge's term will be extended until a new judge is elected (e.g. judge Dunja Jadek Pensa served for more than 10 years before political consensus was reached to elect judge Rok Svetlič in 2021).
Judges are elected from among legal experts, who are Slovenian citizens and at least 40 years of age,[2] but they do not have to meet the conditions that apply to the election of judges of regular courts. Among other things, the judges of the Constitutional Court do not need a state legal exam, which allows, for example, university professors to be elected as judges of the court.[1]
After election, a new judge must take the following oath before the National Assembly: "I swear that I shall judge according to the Constitution, the law, and my conscience and that I shall strive with all my power for constitutionality, legality, and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms."[1]
Judges elect a president and vice-president of the Court among themselves for a term of three years by a secret ballot.[2]
