The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) is preparing a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of the Act on Urgent Measures to Ensure Public Safety (the so-called Šutar Act) from the perspective of constitutionality, legality, and compliance with international human rights standards.

Based on the initiatives received and the information obtained, the Ombudsman has particularly serious concerns regarding Article 8. Based on the analysis already carried out, he considers that the aforementioned article disproportionately interferes with the means of basic subsistence, jeopardises the dignity of individuals and their social security, interferes with the rights of children, does not take into account individual circumstances, has retroactive effects and inadequately regulates procedural rights.

The Human Rights Ombudsman, Dr. Simona Drenik Bavdek, at a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZ) on February 10, 2026, at the headquarters of the institution she heads, she already verified whether the measures announced by the ministry could eliminate the potential unconstitutionality, as the ministry announced that the information system of social work centers would be upgraded so that regular cash social assistance would be paid in two installments. In the Ombudsman's opinion, this technical adjustment does not resolve the fundamental constitutional issues, but rather raises even more new ones.

"Since these are issues that raise serious dilemmas regarding the permissibility of interference with the human rights of the most socially vulnerable and given the large number of people already affected and potentially affected, the Ombudsman's office will in the coming days submit a request to the Constitutional Court to assess the constitutionality of Article 8 of the law and propose its temporary suspension, as it is also relevant to the question of whether the current regulation causes harmful consequences that are difficult to remedy," emphasizes Ombudsman Dr. Simona Drenik Bavdek, adding that in this case, a substantive assessment by the Constitutional Court is urgently needed.