On 26 January 2023, GRECO welcomed in a report the Slovenian Constitutional Court’s decisions that parliamentary inquiries into particular judicial proceedings and decisions by judges and prosecutors were unconstitutional, as they risked violating judicial independence. The case concerned a parliamentary inquiry that had been set up to investigate possible politically motivated decisions by officials, prosecutors, and judges involved criminal proceedings as well as possible violations of fundamental rights under the ECHR. The State Prosecutor General of Slovenia subsequently filed a request for constitutional review on the unlawfulness of such legislative intervention in the judiciary (→ eucrim 1/2020, 32).

On 18 February 2020, GRECO had published an ad hoc report on Slovenia under Rule 34 of its Rules of Procedure, which can be triggered in exceptional cases if reliable information is available on institutional reforms, legislative initiatives, or procedural changes that may lead to serious violations of CoE anti-corruption standards. GRECO closely followed the assessment of the situation in order to draw conclusions from the case as regards the adequacy of anti-corruption and integrity framework. Following the decisions of the Slovenian Constitutional Court in 2021 declaring the inquiries unconstitutional, these were annulled.

In its current report, GRECO noted that the Slovenian Constitutional Court has called on the Slovenian Parliament to establish additional safeguards and remedies to prevent such infringements in the future. The adoption of GRECO’s report closes the ad hoc procedure in respect of Slovenia.