The Slovenian parliament approved on Monday night with overwhelming majority a new law on measures to strengthen public security, named the 'Šutar Act’ after the person who was stabbed to death last month in a brawl with a group of Romani men outside a bar in Nevo Mesto, a small town in south-eastern Slovenia.
The incident was followed by a surge in incitement and hate speech against the Roma community, making the whole community the scapegoat for a crime committed by some individuals, and stirred fear among them. Roma in Slovenia is a small and vulnerable minority of less than 10,000 people or half a percent of the total population in the country.
“If the government conflates fighting crime with policing the Roma, it is not protecting public safety - it is punishing an entire group for the actions of a few individuals,” commented Mensur Haliti, Vice President of the Brussels-based Roma Foundation for Europe
“Crime and violence must be addressed, but proportionality is what separates the rule of law from collective blame. The Slovenian government’s response is now a test not only of Slovenia’s constitutional maturity but of Europe’s resolve to uphold its own legal and moral standards,” he added.
The European Roma Grassroots Organisation Network (ERGO) expressed deep alarm over the collective blaming of Roma communities in Slovenia following the tragic incident in Novo Mesto. “We are concerned that an act committed by an individual is being used to fuel antigypsyist narratives and unjustly stigmatise the entire Roma community.”
The incident has led to the arrest of a 21-year-old Romani man as the main suspect. The Slovenian government acted quickly and adopted a new law only two weeks after the incident to ensure public security in southern Slovenia which has been troubled by criminality and discrimination of Roma.
"The Šutar Act provides certain answers on how we can increase safety in society, how to take a stand against crime – not against any particular ethnic group, but against crime itself – and how to protect victims, especially from violence. It also addresses how to protect underage victims and the children of underage mothers throughout the Slovenia," explained Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob.
Asked to comment on the legislation, a spokesperson for the Slovenian representation to the EU told The Brussels Times that it applies to all citizens and not only to Roma.
The law which was adopted by the government permitted the military to assist the police in domestic operations and the use of illegally obtained evidence in serious cases. It also extended pre-trial detention to up to three years and enabled conditional reduction of social assistance.
The final law, after amendments by the parliament, appears to include some of the controversial paragraphs. It is not clear if the abolition of legal safeguards and due process remained in the final version of the law which has not yet been translated into English.
According to an article in the Slovenian on-line news website Strogo Zaupno, the law adds new powers to the police to act in ‘security risk areas’, to be determined by the police administration on the basis of indicators such as the crime rate and after a written order.
If a whole Roma settlement would be declared as a “security risk area”, which Roma fear, the law would allow the police to enter anyone’s home, other premises or means of transport without a warrant from a court and, if necessary, conduct a search to seize firearms. If necessary, police officers could also enter by force.
Slovenia has a Constitutional Court that reviews whether laws comply with the Constitution, international law, and EU law, but this review usually happens after a law is adopted rather than before. The Court can also request guidance from the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Constructive dialogue
Asked about the Commission’s assessment of the new law, a Commission spokesperson replied on Tuesday that it is following developments in Slovenia very closely.
“We encourage Slovenia to ensure that the implementation of the law does not affect disproportionately any community and does avoid creating any vulnerabilities for those already at risk. While it is important to address public security and public order concerns, any measures must fully respect EU law and fundamental rights."
“We have a constructive dialogue with the Roma community on EU level. Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib met the community last week. We support also such a dialogue between national authorities and Roma representatives to address any possible social exclusions.”
The spokesperson referred to the EU Roma Stategic Framework for Equality, Inclusion and Participation which is translated into national frameworks. “We are committed to engage with the Slovenian authorities to uphold these principles. We are of course against any form of discrimination, incl. antigypsism.”
In fact, Slovenia is making progress in implementing its national Roma framework. The exception is the southern part of the country, where antigypsism is exploited for political reasons ahead of next elections, according to the Roma Foundation for Europe.
The new law does not explicitly target the Roma community but is repressive and might undermine legal safeguards and citizens’ rights. Now when the law has been adopted, will the Commission assess if it complies with EU law and standards?
“The law must first be signed by the Slovenian president,” the spokesperson told The Brussels Times. Then it needs to be officially published. Obviously, Member States need also to notify us about new laws and then we’ll analyze them. This is current practice.”
Is the Commission proactively requesting information about controversial legislation that might not be compliant with EU law and values?
“Member States have the primary responsibility for transposing, applying and implementing EU law correctly. We obviously depend on Member States to share with us relevant national legislative developments with a bearing on implementation of EU law and analyse new legislation on this basis.”
That said, the Commission has also a number of tools to monitor implementation in a proactive manner, for example when launching infringement procedures on its own initiative or following complaints and petitions from individuals or organisations and civil society. This however applies to the implementation and transposition of EU laws and directives.
