There were 1660 new cases addressed to Slovenia's ombudsman Ivo Bizjak in the first semester of 1999, a 4.5 percent decrease compared to the same period last year, ombudsman Bizjak told a press conference on Monday. He, however, added that there had been no substantial improvement of legal security in Slovenia, in particular owing to lengthy legal proceedings.

The decrease in the number of new cases could be a result of the fact that certain problems concerning larger groups of people have been solved, e.g. matters from the field of the law on war victims and the law on indemnification, as well as the fact that the problem of military homes is now being solved more successfully, Bizjak believes.

Lengthy procedures remain one of the most pressing problems, especially in the courts of law, ombudsman Bizjak said. A number of important laws have not been adopted yet in certain sensible areas, including the laws on occupational relations, on free legal help and on mental health, Bizjak also pointed out.