“The OECD’s Rule of Law Data Group has finally “woken up” with warnings that Slovenia should fix the judiciary sector,” warned Tone Kajzer, former Slovenian ambassador to the USA.
Following a mission to Ljubljana on the 18th of February 2025, the OECD Working Group on Bribery expressed concerns about insufficient protection of investigators and prosecutors from political influence in Slovenia. Despite Slovenia being a signatory to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, some shortcomings were highlighted, according to the OECD (the report is available at the following link: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/news/press-releases/2025/02/slovenia-must-promptly-strengthen-independence-of-investigations-and-implement-longstanding-recommendations-says-oecd-working-group-on-bribery-following-high-level-mission-in-ljubljana.html)
Legal persons have never been prosecuted for bribery
Legislation on foreign bribery and criminal liability of legal persons does not fully comply with the Convention’s requirements, and Slovenia has not successfully closed any foreign bribery cases, nor have legal persons been prosecuted for bribery. At the same time, the strict timeframes for the application of special investigative measures have been highlighted as making successful investigations difficult.
The OECD delegation, which was led by the Vice-Chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery, Kiki Calis, presented these concerns to senior Slovenian officials, including the Minister of Justice, Andreja Katič, the Deputy Ministers of the Interior and Finance, and the Prosecutor General.
The OECD recommendations will lead to changes in the Criminal Code
Minister Katič has since stressed that the independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is guaranteed by the Constitution, but that changes will be made to the Criminal Code and the Law on Criminal Liability of Legal Persons in the light of the OECD recommendations.
A debate on time limits and the appropriateness of safeguards will also be held before the end of 2025. The report of the mission will be discussed at the OECD Plenary in March 2025.
Domen Mezeg
