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Reply to Written question | Doc. 11451 | 09 November 2007
Preventing corruption in Slovenia
1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully
studied Written Question No. 525 by Mr Bartumeau Cassany and has
consulted the Slovenian authorities concerning the matter raised
therein. Regarding the issues raised by the honourable parliamentarian
more generally, the Committee of Ministers would like to recall
that Guiding Principle 7 of Resolution (97) 24 on the Twenty Guiding
Principles for the Fight against Corruption refers to the need to
promote the specialisation of persons or bodies in charge of fighting
corruption and to provide them with appropriate means and training
to perform their tasks.
2. The Committee of Ministers further notes that the creation
of specialised and independent bodies entrusted, inter alia, with
the co-ordination of anti-corruption policies is a requirement that
is not only recognised in the Council of Europe, but also in a wider
international context. In this connection, the United Nations Convention
against Corruption (UNCAC), adopted on 9 December 2003, requires
in its Article 6 the creation of a preventive anti-corruption body
or bodies, which is to be responsible for 1. implementing preventive
anti-corruption policies and, where appropriate, overseeing and
co-ordinating the implementation of those policies and 2. increasing
and disseminating knowledge about the prevention of corruption.
Furthermore, it requires that the specialised bodies are granted
the necessary independence, resources and specialised staff to carry out
their functions effectively and free from any undue influence.
3. The Committee of Ministers recalls that the creation of a
special body for the overall co-ordination of the anticorruption
policy in Slovenia was recommended by the Group of States against
Corruption (GRECO) during its first evaluation round (Greco Eval
I Rep (2000) 3E). GRECO further considered in its compliance procedure that
Slovenia had met the recommendation through the establishment of
the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (Greco RC-I (2003)
1E).
4. In December 2005, GRECO was informed of the intention of the
Slovenian authorities to abolish the Commission for the Prevention
of Corruption and expressed its concern in the first addendum to
the Compliance Report on Slovenia (Greco RC-I (2003) 1E Addendum),
that such a move could have a negative impact on the overall co-ordination
of anti-corruption policy in Slovenia. The authorities were therefore requested
to provide further information, by 1 March 2006, on the planned
dismantling of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption,
and notably on the reasons for the move and whether the important
tasks of the commission would be continued or discontinued. In March
2006, GRECO adopted the second addendum to the Compliance Report
(Greco RC-I (2003) 1E Addendum II Revised 2) and thus terminated
the first round compliance procedure in respect of Slovenia. GRECO
noted the envisaged reform through the adoption of the Incompatibility
Act, which entrusts a parliamentary commission with the review of
public officials’ financial declarations. GRECO nevertheless indicated
that it would have appreciated being kept informed about the concrete
steps taken to ensure co-ordination of anti-corruption policy in
Slovenia in the future, that is, after the Commission for the Prevention
of Corruption had been effectively dismantled.
5. The Permanent Representation of Slovenia to the Council of
Europe has supplied additional information to the Committee of Ministers,
illustrating that Decision UI-57/06-28 of the Constitutional Court
of the Republic of Slovenia of 29 March 2007, referred to also by
the member of the Parliamentary Assembly, specifies that certain
parts of the Incompatibility Act (Ur. l. RS, No. 20/06) are not
in conformity with the constitution. The Constitutional Court has
suspended the implementation of the Incompatibility Act and ruled
that the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act apply until
the final decision is made. The decision requires the National Assembly
to remedy the established unconstitutionality within six months.
Until the established unconstitutionality has been remedied, the
provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, except for certain articles
(provisions relating to the formulation of integrity plans), will
apply. The decision of the Constitutional Court emphasises that
the legislator is responsible for remedying the established unconstitutionality
as soon as possible and ensuring the implementation of the Incompatibility
Act. In this context, the government has been drawing up amendments
to the Incompatibility Act in accordance with guidelines contained
in the decision of the Constitutional Court.
6. The Permanent Representation of Slovenia has also informed
the Committee of Ministers that it has been planning to ratify the
UNCAC. Representatives of the Republic of Slovenia have been in
contact with representatives of those countries which have already
ratified the convention on the fight against corruption.
7. Finally, the Committee of Ministers would like to recall that
Slovenia continues to report directly on this matter to GRECO, which
is the monitoring body of the Council of Europe anti-corruption
standards.