In a press release of 12 November 2020, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia stated that the judgment of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia X Ips 4/2020 did not restrict access to judgments and did not limit the transparency of the courts and their duty to inform the public about important decisions.
The Information Commissioner (IP) welcomes the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia’s orientation in principle towards transparency, but IP practice shows that in the first five months after the verdict was issued, we received more than 20 complaints. This clearly shows that the ruling has a significant impact on the (in) transparency of the functioning of the courts.
Complaints from individuals, journalists and lawyers show that the courts completely deny plaintiffs access to public information – including court rulings – and refer to the ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia. Since the courts have taken the position that the Law on Access to Public Information (ZDIJZ) does not apply to information from court files, much of the information that has been fully accessible since the entry into force of the ZDIJZ in 2003 is no longer available to the public. . Therefore, the public no longer receives any information relating to preliminary, criminal or judicial proceedings if they cannot demonstrate a legal interest in doing so under special legislation. In addition, the public no longer receives information about final cases, i.e. final judgements handed down by the courts on behalf of the people.
The IP has therefore ruled on several appeals against courts in recent months – all decisions are available on the website. In case 090-153 / 2020/2 , the lawyer requested all final judgments rendered anonymous in criminal proceedings relating to a specific crime and, in case 090-256 / 2020 , the lawyer requested a final judgment in a compensation dispute between two legal persons. In both cases, the court refused access, referring to the judgment of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia wrote in its press release that it supports free access to the case law for the public and journalists. Therefore, in the case of the IP, we hope that this will also be followed by the courts, when in specific cases they decide as the parties responsible for providing information and therefore interpret the judgment in this way. In a democratic society, public scrutiny through the media and civil society is necessary for the legal functioning of all public authorities, including the judiciary.