Government adopts new version of Guidelines for Innovative Public Procurement

At the end of 2022, the Government adopted the Guidelines for Innovative Public Procurement to enable the development and use of innovative solutions in public authorities. With the latest amendment to the Guidelines for Innovative Public Procurement, the Government is changing the criteria and procedures for such procurement.

The Guidelines for Innovative Public Procurement are designed to increase the efficiency of public procurement, and in particular to take an innovative approach to public procurement procedures, supporting innovative solutions from small and medium-sized enterprises and innovative start-up projects.

Source:  Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport

Government issues opinion on the initiative of Vzajemna, d.v.z., Ljubljana

The Government issued an opinion on the petition of Vzajemna, d.v.z., Ljubljana to initiate a procedure to review the constitutionality of the Decree on the setting of the maximum price of the supplementary health insurance premium, the Decree amending the Decree laying down the list of goods and services subject to price control measures, and the Price Control Act.

Pursuant to paragraphs one and four of Article 26 of the Constitutional Court Act, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia sent the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia a petition by the company Vzajemna, d.v.z., Ljubljana (the petitioner), to initiate a procedure to review the constitutionality and legality of the Decree on the setting of the maximum price of the supplementary health insurance premium (the Premium Price Decree), the Decree amending the Decree laying down the list of goods and services subject to price control measures, and the Price Control Act (the ZKC), and requested the Government to state its opinion on the allegations contained in the petition.

•  The petitioner brought the above-mentioned petition on the following grounds:
• incompatibility of the Premium Price Decree with Articles 35 and 74 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter: the Constitution), Articles 2, 120, 153, 14 and 33 in conjunction with Articles 67, 51, 22, 23 and 25 of the Constitution, and Article 8 of the ZKC;
• incompatibility of the Decree laying down the list of goods and services subject to price control measures (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], No 43/23) with Articles 2 and 120 of the Constitution and paragraph four of Article 8 of the ZKC;
• incompatibility of the ZKC with Articles 22, 23 and 25 of the Constitution.

The Government rejects the petitioner’s allegations in their entirety and explains in its opinion that the price control measure is in line with the ZKC and is not arbitrary. A strict proportionality test is also specifically set out in the ZKC, the basic starting point of which is the value judgement derived from the Constitution that market participants freely set prices on the basis of supply and demand and other competition factors. Therefore, state bodies may only apply price control measures stipulated by law to prices, and only for reasons stipulated by law. Insofar as is not stipulated otherwise either expressly or in the sense of the provisions, the ZKC shall not affect the rights and obligations of market participants and the responsibilities of state bodies under other acts governing the regulation of the market, especially acts on commercial public services, competition, consumer protection, dumping, state aid, taxes and collation of statistics on prices. This ensures the protection of the individual against interference by executive bodies without a legal basis or without a legally defined reason with one of the basic human rights in the economic sphere of their conduct.

It was also estimated that a premium increase of more than 30% risked cancellation of insurance by a certain segment of the population, especially those with lower incomes, as such a high premium would constitute an excessive financial burden for this segment of the population. As a result, such persons can face high financial costs when accessing health services, leading to even greater financial hardship for the socially weaker, often older and therefore sicker population. For this reason, in some cases, this population segment would refuse to use health services despite justified needs, which would lead to an even more rapid deterioration of their health condition. In addition, the Government clarifies that the measure is valid only for a limited period of time, i.e. until 31 December 2023.

In the case of the measures at issue, the Government applied only those price control measures which were necessary, appropriate and proportionate in relation to the reason for the measure and which were the least restrictive of competition and closest to normal market conditions and led to the elimination of the reasons for the measures in the shortest time possible. The intervention with the level of the supplementary health insurance premium was proportionate to the value of the objectives set and struck a reasonable balance between the value of the objectives set and the weight of the interventions.

In the Government’s view, the constitutionally protected core of the right under paragraphs one and two of Article 51 of the Constitution is the closely interrelated elements of access to health services, which define the positive obligations of the legislator in the field of health protection. The legislator must ensure the availability of health goods, services and facilities and accessibility to health goods, services and facilities, which includes an adequate level of access to health services, goods and facilities in terms of time, information, economics and geography; health services must be provided in accordance with professional medical or health standards, be ethically acceptable, and take into account cultural characteristics and specificities, while at the same time being safe, appropriate and of adequate quality for the patient. The contested measure was adopted in order to ensure access to health services and thus to fulfil the positive obligations of the State insofar as they relate to the provision of healthcare to the entire population.

The Government proposes that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, with regard to the request of Vzajemna, d.v.z., Ljubljana, decide that the petition is unfounded. The Government also proposes that the Court reject the petitioner’s request to suspend the enforcement of the Premium Price Decree and the Decree listing goods and services to which price control measures apply. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia therefore considers that the above-mentioned provisions are constitutional and lawful, as the measure pursues the public interest and passes a strict proportionality test.

Source: Ministry of Health