“The law does not give the Minister such a discretion right. This means that she knowingly violated not only the law but also the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia,” said MP of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), Branko Grims, commenting on the decision of the new Minister of the Interior, Tanja Bobnar. He then added that in just a few days, the government has already violated the principles of the Constitution at least twice.
At Tuesday’s press conference, MP Branko Grims, MSc, talked about the decision of the new Minister of the Interior, Tatjana Bobnar, that the Ministry of the Interior will withdraw its consent for the lawsuits against certain individuals, related to claims for reimbursement of police security costs at unregistered rallies in the last two years.
As Mr Grims said, the new government has only been operating for a few days, but it has already succeeded in doing something that no one expected. Namely, in the first few days, it already trampled on the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, and in at least two cases, this is more than obvious. The first such case happened at the first session of the government, at which they demanded that lists of all employments and re-employments that happened during the term of the previous government, led by Janez Janša, be made. “Although the Information Commissioner later tried to absolve them, they ignored the fact that the processing and collection of any data for the purpose of carrying out political purges among employees is clearly unconstitutional, as the Constitution gives everyone equal rights, regardless of their political beliefs. The right to work, the right to access work under equal conditions, to freely choose your work, is a constitutional right,” said the deputy.
Bobnar knowingly violated the law and the Constitution
He then went on to say that the new Minister of the Interior, Tatjana Bobnar, took it even further with her decision to stop the prosecution or the recovery of costs for the illegal protests in Ljubljana. According to Article 35 of the Public Assembly Act, the costs incurred by the police must be paid by the person who organises the public gathering. The law also says that the organiser is the person who appears in public as the convener or makes statements as an organiser. “And yet, Ms Bobnar has done something that is in complete and obvious contradiction with Article 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, according to which Slovenia is a state governed by the Rule of Law, and Article 14 of the Constitution, which states that we are all equal before the law. She simply cancelled the recovery of the costs, which are huge. In this way, she arbitrarily, illegally and unconstitutionally passed on the financial burden of as much as 882,650.82 euros to the taxpayers, for the costs incurred by the police in protecting and maintaining law and order at the unregistered and illegal rallies in Ljubljana,” Grims added.
Grims also mentioned that three decisions had been issued to Mr Jenull, the “unofficial” organiser of the protests, for a total of about 40,000 euros. “So, this was just a small part, and yet, Minister Bobnar cancelled it as well. The law does not give the Minister such a discretion right. This means that she knowingly violated not only the law, but also the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia.”
The Minister should respect the rule of law, not violate it
He then added: “Moreover, it turns out that the decision that this recovery was necessary and legal was taken by the previous Government of the Republic of Slovenia. Ms Bobnar made the decision in the role of Minister, and it is interesting that she was immediately followed by other bodies and organisations that should have checked and considered such a decision, but instead, they simply ‘obeyed’ her. By this logic, the Minister’s word is worth more than a government’s decision. Even if the new government later annuls the decision of the previous government, Minister Bobnar’s actions were illegal and unconstitutional. This means that Slovenia is no longer a state governed by the rule of law, it is no longer a state in which the rule of law is strictly respected, and it is no longer a state in which everyone is equal before the law. This leads to anarchy and totalitarianism. This has always been the case throughout history. It is amazing, however, that this happened in just the first few days of the new government.”
The deputy then pointed out that in light of this action by Minister Bobnar, the Minister of Justice’s claims that the rule of law in Slovenia will be strictly respected from now on, is a mockery of voters. “Words are one thing, but actions are another,” he pointed out.
“We are calling on the Minister to reconsider her decision and to respect the legal order, the laws of the Republic of Slovenia, and above all, the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, according to which we are all equal before the law. I believe that none of the people who voted for Robert Golob wants to live in a country where laws do not apply to everyone,” Grims concluded.
Sara Kovač
