By: Petra Janša
The European Commission’s latest Rule of Law Report reveals nothing new. It merely confirms that the judiciary is making progress on paper, while in the areas that matter most, it continues to struggle.
This is particularly true of cases involving influence and public money, namely corruption and money laundering, where proceedings take the longest in the European Union and prosecution outcomes remain limited.
The Judicial Service Act, adopted on 21 November 2025, removed the appointment of Supreme Court judges from the National Assembly and transferred that responsibility to the Judicial Council. Reform of the court network will not take effect until 1 January 2027. Perceived judicial independence remains average: 59 percent of citizens and 55 percent of businesses rate it as fairly or very good. The number of resolved cases remained stable, while the court backlog increased by 3 percent.
It takes up to 21 months for the first hearing in civil cases and around 16 months in commercial cases. Even more telling, however, are the key proceedings. In 2024, the average duration of money-laundering cases was 739 days, the fifth-longest period in the EU, although still 127 days shorter than the previous year. By contrast, corruption cases lasted an average of 597 days, the third-longest period in the EU and 60 days longer than in 2023. The Corruption Perceptions Index remains at 58 out of 100. As many as 90 percent of people believe corruption is widespread in Slovenia, compared with an EU average of 71 percent. Only five high-level cases were dealt with, and just one verdict was handed down. Brussels did not invent these figures; it merely recorded them.
It is therefore no coincidence, the author argues, that the opposition resisted the law establishing SKOK. The parties Freedom Movement (Gibanje Svoboda), Social Democrats (SD), and The Left (Levica) attempted to halt the expedited procedure, but the law was nevertheless adopted on 24 September by 47 votes to 35.