According to the Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia, the principle of good governance from Article 3 of the Human Rights Ombudsman Act is violated when the appeals body needs almost ten months to make a decision on an individual's appeal, even if this period includes the four months that an expert body needed to do its work, which was included in the decision-making process by the appeals body. The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities accepted the position and gave assurances that it actively takes measures to reduce the length of the decision-making process. The Ombudsman has received such assurances several times in recent years, but unfortunately, for the time being, the positive effects of such active action are not possible to perceive.

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In March 2023, a complainant contacted the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) stating that, as part of exercising the right to personal assistance, she filed a complaint against the decision of the competent centre for social work on 13 May 2022, but had not yet received the decision of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZ).

The Ombudsman immediately made an inquiry at the MDDSZ. In the answer they explained that after receiving the complaint, they reviewed the file documentation and on 2/8/2022 handed it over to the Social Protection Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (IRSSV), within the framework of which the commission operates, which is an expert body for giving opinions on the amount of hours and type of personal assistance service. The MDDSZ received the opinion of the IRSSV on 22/12/2022, based on which the decision was made about the complaint on 10/3/2023.

The MDDSZ also explained that they are aware of the lengthy decision-making process, but that resolving complaints in the area of entitlement to personal assistance is a specific procedure, which requires that after examining the complaint, the MDDSZ submits the documentation to the IRSSV for a new decision on the number of hours and content of personal assistance. Based on the new opinion, the MDDSZ then decides on the right with a decision.

At the request of the Ombudsman regarding the measures necessary to eliminate lengthy decision-making, the MDDSZ gave assurances that it has already actively taken measures to reduce the lengthiness of the decision-making process.

Despite this, the Ombudsman considers the initiative to be well-founded, as it is inadmissible to be deciding on a legal remedy for ten months, which means even longer decision-making on the right itself. The Ombudsman will continue to point out the need for urgent measures in this area, as warnings about the lengthy decision-making process with the use of legal remedies are an unacceptable constant, which again and again causes interference with the rights of individuals. 9.6-5/2023