The annual report for 2005 that Human Rights Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek presented to Parliament Speaker France Cukjati on Wednesday finds that the problems are the same every year: backlogs at court, disregard for Constitutional Court rulings and mounting social problems.

Hanzek told the press that his office last year processed less than 3,000 complaints. They were similar in content and structure to the ones received in the past years, but there was an increase in the number of complaints regarding poverty and social problems.
The main problems in the disregard for Constitutional Court ruling are the erased (citizens removed from the permanent residence register in the early 90s) and the failure to adopt a mental health act as requested by the court.

"Disregard for Constitutional Court rulings is still a burning issue, as the number of non-implemented regulations doubled last year...It seems that Slovenian politicians are immune even to opinions of international institutions," Hanzek told the press after he delivered the report.

Moreover, the Ombudsman recorded problems in ethics in the public domain. "In order to raise circulation, some media do not avoid unethical writing in disclosing the privacy of individuals, including children," he said.

Hanzek also said that many people still live in dire conditions, but it seems that society does not care about them enough.

On the positive side, he said that attitudes to the Ombudsman have changed for the better, while relations with the executive branch have not deteriorated.

"Cooperation (with the executive) is alright, with the exception of the health and labour ministries, but relations between the Ombudsman and the authorities are more visible. Some just take criticism very personally," he said.

It is expected that parliament will debate the report in October.