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104th regular session of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia

At today's session, the Government adopted a draft Act on the classification of judicial and prosecutorial functions in salary grades on the basis of the Constitutional Court's decision and took note of the report on the utilisation of European Cohesion Policy funds in the 2014–2020 programming period, which had been fully absorbed.
Minister Matej Arčon

Minister Matej Arčon | Author Foto: Žan Kolman/KPV

The draft Act on the classification of judicial and prosecutorial functions in salary grades on the basis of the Constitutional Court's decision provides for a new classification of judicial and prosecutorial functions in salary grades as a first step towards implementing the Constitutional Court's decision. This is implemented insofar as it concerns the establishment of appropriate ratios in the evaluation of the functions of the three branches of power or the relative comparability of the classification of the holders of the three branches of government in salary grades. The draft Act foresees entry into force on 31 December 2024. With regard to the increase in the rank of the functions of the judiciary in relation to the rank of the functions of the legislative branch in the existing salary scale, the draft Act provides for an increase in the rank of the functions of the judiciary by a maximum of three salary grades, and the proposed solution gives effect to the requirement of constitutional equivalence, or relative comparability, of the judiciary in relation to the legislative and the executive branches of power. The second step towards implementing the Constitutional Court's decision will be regulated by the new Public Sector Salary System Act, which represents a systemic overhaul of the public sector salary system. Since the State Prosecution Service Act provides that the salary of a public prosecutor shall be determined on the same basis, with the same bonuses and in the same manner as the salary of a judge of the corresponding title or position, the arguments set out in the Constitutional Court's decision shall be taken into account mutatis mutandis in regulating the legal position of public prosecutors. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia remains committed to the legal regulation of the establishment of a legal mechanism for the regular adjustment of the value of judges' salaries and to the regulation of the appropriate material status of judges, and therefore to the definitive elimination of the unconstitutionality of judges' salaries. The Government proposes that the draft Act be considered by ordinary procedure.

The Government also took note of the utilisation of European Cohesion Policy funds in the 2014–2020 programming period. At the end of 2023, Slovenia closed the 2014–2020 programming period as one of the EU's more successful countries. It used all available European cohesion funding for people, the economy and more balanced regional development. As of 30 April 2024, payments from the state budget represent 106% of spending rights, totalling EUR 3.54 billion (EU part).