Justice Minister Ales Zalar addressed representatives of Slovenian judiciary and attorneys on Tuesday, as Slovenia started its six-month chairmanship of the Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers. In his speech, he pointed out that a reform of the European Court of Human Rights is one of the priorities of the chairmanship.

According to Zalar, Slovenia will strive to reach a full ratification of Protocol 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which has not yet been ratified by all states. He believes there is a serious chance that also the EU might sign the convention.

During the CoE chairmanship, the Justice Ministry will organise three conferences - on trial within a reasonable time in September, on penal trial rights in October and a consultation of European judges and prosecutors in November.

Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek-Travnik, who also held a speech at the ceremony, stressed that the activities of the European human rights commissioner, the European Court of Human Rights and national ombudsmen are heavily intertwined, although she believes the role of national ombudsmen does not receive enough stress.

Furthermore, she said the recent political attacks against the Constitutional Court in Slovenia over its ruling not to allow a referendum on the amendments to the attorneys act are in fact undermining the foundations of the rule of law.

Zalar symbolically presented Supreme Court president Franc Testen, State Prosecutor-General Barbara Brezigar, State Attorney General Lucijan Bembic and Slovenian Bar Association president Miha Kozinc with the Short Guide to the European Convention on Human Rights written by Donna Gomien.