Short chronology of facts related to the erased

"Slovenia News", April 2003 - April 2004

Erased Citizens Prove Their Right

"Slovenia News", Issue #15
April 15, 2003

After examining an initiative put forward by an association of Slovenian inhabitants that were erased from Slovenia's population register in 1992, the Constitutional Court decided that several articles of the 1999 act regulating the legal status of citizens of former Yugoslavia living in Slovenia are unconstitutional. According to the court, the act is unconstitutional because it does not recognise the erased citizens' permanent residence for the entire time since they were erased from the population register, nor does it give them the chance to obtain permanent residency. Also ruled unconstitutional is the article that determines that the people in question must prove that they actually lived in Slovenia after they were erased, without specifying the exact terms of the provision. The part of the act that set down three months as the deadline to file a request to obtain citizenship has also been annulled. Legislators have six months to bring the act in line with the Slovenian Constitution. The issue of "the erased" goes back to 1991 when the deadline for applications for Slovenian citizenship expired. Some 20,000 citizens from other republics of the former Yugoslavia were left without citizenship, mostly because they did not apply for it, and lost a number of rights.

Gov't Drafts First Bill to Fix Status of the Erased

"Slovenia News", Issue #31
September 09, 2003

The government adopted the first of two bills with which it intends to reinstate the status of residents erased from the population register in 1992. The document deals with technicalities, laying down the foundation for the matter to be corrected comprehensively and as per the demands of the Constitutional Court, Interior Minister Rado Bohinc told the press. The adopted document is to be sent into shortened parliamentary procedure. Meanwhile, the proposed wording of the second bill, which will deal more comprehensively with the issue, has been delivered to all the government parties for discussion, meaning that parliament could adopt it as early as October, Bohinc revealed. The adopted document deals only with those foreigners (some 3,800) that have lived permanently in Slovenia since February of 1992, when citizens were erased from the register. However, the document was downplayed by the legal representative of the erased, Matevž Krivic, who believes such an act is not needed, as the legal basis for setting the matter correctly can be found in the Constitution. According to him, the Interior Ministry is just dragging its feet.

Comprehensive Bill on the "Erased" Adopted by Gov't

"Slovenia News", Issue #36
October 14, 2003

As part of its efforts to reinstate the status of residents who were erased from the population register in 1992, the Slovenian government has adopted the second of two bills on the matter. The first document, passed in September, sets the legal basis for the issuance of permanent residency verification orders to those foreigners - around 3,800 - that have lived permanently in Slovenia since February of 1992. The second deals with people that have permanent residency in Slovenia, but have not lived in the country for the entire period, and those that had received temporary residence permits on the basis of a so called "concession" without previously asking for temporary residence. The latest document also includes "negative criteria" that would take away the right to gain Slovenian citizenship, such as a criminal record or proof of activities committed against Slovenia's national interests or international law. The new legislation comes after the Constitutional Court concluded in April that several articles of the 1999 act, regulating the legal status of citizens of the former Yugoslavia living in Slovenia, were unconstitutional.

MPs Pass Technicalities Bill on Erased

"Slovenia News", Issue #39
November 04, 2003

The "technicalities bill" on the erased, the first of two acts aimed at reinstating the status of former Yugoslav citizens who were unlawfully erased from the population register in 1992, was adopted by parliament in shortened procedure. While 45 MPs backed the bill, 19 were against it. The parliamentary debate showed that the coalition and opposition were completely divided over the issue of restoring the status of the erased. While all four coalition parties said they would vote in favour of the bill and thereby comply with the Constitutional Court ruling, three opposition parties stressed their utter rejection of the document, claiming it is unnecessary and will have negative financial consequences because of damages that the erased are expected to seek. The adopted document deals only with those foreigners - around 3,800 - who have lived permanently in Slovenia since February of 1992, when people were erased from the register. The opposition Slovenian Democrats (SDS) have already started collecting MPs' signatures to call a subsequent legislative referendum on the bill.

Act on the Erased Vetoed by National Council

"Slovenia News", Issue #40
November 11, 2003

In a 26:5 vote, the upper chamber of the parliament, the National Council, vetoed the technicalities act on the erased, which was passed in parliament last week. MPs will now have to vote again on the act. The National Council has decided to veto the act - which sets the legal framework for the issuance of residence permits for citizens that were erased from the population registry in 1992 - for fear that the legislation might pave the way for compensation claims that could run into billions of tolars. Interior Minister Rado Bohinc has repeatedly rebuffed claims that the act opens the door for compensation claims, saying that it merely implements a relevant Constitutional Court ruling, without granting the erased any new rights.

SDS Files Demand for Referendum on Erased

"Slovenia News", Issue #44
December 09, 2003

A demand for a referendum on the technicalities bill on the erased was filed with parliament after its proponents from the opposition Slovenian Democrats (SDS) managed to collect signatories of 30 MPs, the minimum number needed for filing the initiative. The move came a few hours after the National Council, the parliament's upper chamber, rejected the initiative to call a referendum on the bill. As Franc Pukšič of SDS said, the referendum demand was backed by 26 opposition lawmakers, as well as 4 MPs of the junior coalition People's Party (SLS). Despite the demand being filed, the National Assembly can block it by calling for a review by the Constitutional Court, which is unlikely to allow a referendum vote on this human rights issue.

Constitutional Court Orders Stay on Referendum Decree

"Slovenia News", Issue #2
January 13, 2004

Interior Minister Rado Bohinc announced that the ministry would in a matter of weeks start issuing decrees that will reinstate the permanent residency rights of the erased. His announcement angered the opposition, which announced it would seek an interpellation motion against him. A day later, the Constitutional Court cooled the heated debates on whether the decree calling the referendum on the technicalities bill on the erased was constitutional: the judges ordered a temporary stay on the implementation of the decree, pledging they would rule in two weeks whether the decree is constitutional or not and make it clear whether people will indeed go to the polls on 15 February. Based on the decision, the National Election Commission put the hand brake on preparations for the referendum. President Janez Drnovšek also stepped in, insisting that the legal jumble must be resolved, and urging the parties to do everything possible to prevent a pointless referendum. Criticised earlier for not voicing his opinion, he became the target of more criticism after this statement, with the opposition alleging that he is exerting pressure on the Constitutional Court.

Debates Heat Up as Erased Await Remedy

"Slovenia News", Issue 4
January 27, 2004

Aleksander Mladenović/STA

There is no end in sight to the month-long story about providing an adequate legislative framework for people who came to Slovenia from the former Yugoslav republics when it was still part of Yugoslavia, settled here but failed to get Slovenian citizenship when the country declared independence.

It is impossible to say whether the government and parliament will manage to resolve what has come to be called the issue of the "erased" in line with a Constitutional Court ruling before the general elections in autumn. Efforts to restore the rights of people, who in 1992 were illegally stripped of permanent residency, has closed the ranks of the nationalist right, caused a rift in the ruling coalition and brought the government to the edge of a crisis.

Critical Opposition
The nationalist bloc - the opposition Slovenian Democrats (SDS), New Slovenia (NSi) and National Party (SNS) - claim that the Constitutional Court decision should not be respected, since the "erasure" never took place. They say that all newcomers, non-Slovenians from other Yugoslav republics, had the opportunity to acquire citizenship. The opposition has also been warning that some of the "erased" are officers of the former Yugoslav People's Army, who took part in the 1991 attack on Slovenia but now demand compensations, which has added fuel to the already overheated debates.

Public opinion is similarly disapproving towards the "erased", which has brought the government coalition into a very unpleasant position, further aggravated by the fact that 2004 is an election year. If the issue is not resolved in line with the decision of the supreme guardians of the Constitution, the coalition will be criticised for not respecting the Constitution and the rule of law; in case the Constitutional Court ruling is implemented and an appropriate law is successfully passed, it will be the target of a barrage of criticism fired by the opposition, which has been riding on the back of increasing xenophobia.

Crucial Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court will play a key role in addressing the issue. Since the parties failed to agree on a constitutional law that would render a referendum on the technicalities act on the erased immaterial, the Court now has to decide whether the referendum - scheduled for February 15 - should be staged at all. The nine-judge panel has yet to rule whether the referendum on the technicalities act on the erased - as called by the opposition and the coalition People's Party (SLS) - is in line with the Constitution.

The technicalities act is the legal basis for retroactively reinstating permanent residency to people who have a permanent address in Slovenia, but were nevertheless erased from the permanent residency registry in 1992. The Constitutional Court believes the act is unnecessary since the Interior Ministry should have started issuing appropriate decisions solely on the basis of the Court's ruling on the issue in April 2003. Similarly, the referendum on the technicalities act would be immaterial, since a referendum decision cannot overturn a Constitutional Court ruling. The Court was therefore asked by three coalition parties to examine whether it is in accordance with the Constitution to stage a referendum that would only give citizens the (false) impression that they are deciding about something. The Liberal Democrats (LDS) United List (ZLSD) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) furthermore stressed that the referendum campaign would provide a platform for outbursts of xenophobia and nationalism.

Eager to have the issue resolved in accordance with the Constitutional Court ruling before the general elections start, the coalition trio has also said it would demand an extraordinary session of Parliament at the beginning of February, where the second piece of legislation aimed at addressing the issue, the systemic bill on the erased, would be debated. These parties have also reproached the opposition for actively politicising the matter on purpose, to make it a top election issue.

Crisis Deepens Over the Issue of the Erased

"Slovenia News", Issue 6
February 10, 2004

Parliament's attempts to solve the issue of the erased once again failed to bear any fruit as the coalition on 2 February refused to set a new date for the referendum on the technicalities act on the erased as dictated by the Constitutional Court. The parties defended the decision by arguing that they only wanted to have the referendum on the same day as the referendum on the systemic bill on the erased, which is also looming. That did not halt a storm of criticism from the opposition parties, legal experts and the president, who all condemned the move as a violation of the Constitution. The parliament speaker and the heads of the parliamentary deputy groups decided that the referendum date - most likely 4 April - would be set at an extraordinary session. Meanwhile, the opposition Slovenian Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) filed an initiative to hold a referendum on the systemic bill, temporarily blocking any further parliamentary procedure on the document. In another major move in the story, Interior Minister Rado Bohinc started issuing notices of decrees to the erased confirming their residence status for the period in which they had been deleted from the population register. The SDS and the NSi announced they would file a motion to oust the minister.

Referendum Question on the "Erased" Found Unconstitutional

"Slovenia News", Issue #9
March 2, 2004

The Constitutional Court has ruled that most parts of a question to be put to referendum concerning the systemic bill on the "erased", is in violation of the Constitution. Only two points of the question, drafted by the opposition Slovenian Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi), were approved. While the fate of the systemic bill on the erased, blocked in the parliamentary reading by the referendum initiative, is now uncertain, another piece of legislation regulating the issue of the erased, the technicalities act, is set to be put to public vote on 4 April. Janez Janša of the Slovenian Democrats (SDS), one of the referendum initiators, regretted the Constitutional Court's decision, saying that the party would now examine other ways in which to prevent the systemic bill from being passed. Meanwhile, Miran Potrč of the coalition United List (ZLSD) said that the decision is a legal, moral and political lesson to all those who wanted to deprive the erased of their rights. The coalition Liberal Democrats (LDS) welcomed the decision too, saying it defends the constitutional right to referendum against populist abuses.

© Government Communication Office