Press release - Bank of Slovenia files appeal

08/25/2016 / Press release

The Bank of Slovenia filed an appeal against the decision by the Administrative Court by virtue of which it declared itself not competent to rule on an order by Ljubljana District Court. On the basis of the aforementioned order the Bank of Slovenia handed over minutes of the governor’s internal meetings for the period of 1 January 1997 to 24 April 2015 to the commission of inquiry for identifying abuses in the Slovenian banking system and determining the causes and parties responsible for the second recovery of the banking system in independent Slovenia.

Within the appeals deadline the Bank of Slovenia assessed that the decision by the Administrative Court still fails to resolve the legal issues raised. In addition, in the Bank of Slovenia’s opinion certain of the Administrative Court’s positions also raise issues with regard to the constitutionality of the arrangements in question, and there have been significant absolute breaches of procedure in the administrative dispute.The decision to file a lawsuit and an appeal to clarify the unresolved legal issues was taken by the governor, after consultations with legal experts, acting in line with his own powers, as the power to take such decisions does not rest with the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia.

Notwithstanding that the Bank of Slovenia still supports all the efforts of the competent authorities in connection with the identification of abuses in the Slovenian banking system, it has assessed that it is necessary to finally resolve this issue. Standard practice, particularly legal clarity and legal security in these proceedings, is not relevant merely in the case in question, but also in all other proceedings that are being conducted or will be conducted in the future by the National Assembly’s commissions of inquiry.

It should be reiterated that the Bank of Slovenia has been cooperating with the commission of inquiry since the very outset, and will continue to do so. To date the Bank of Slovenia has handed over all of the requested materials, more than 30,000 pages of documentation containing information on Bank of Slovenia findings and measures in banking supervision. It is in the Bank of Slovenia’s interest that the competent authorities do their jobs.

The Bank of Slovenia issued a press release on 8 August 2016 concerning the lawsuit filed against the order by Ljubljana District Court in connection with the handing over of the minutes of the governor’s internal meetings, which for the sake of clarity and the avoidance of erroneous interpretations is summarised here:

1. Last year the Bank of Slovenia handed over more than 23,000 pages of documentation containing information on Bank of Slovenia findings and measures in banking supervision to the commission of inquiry for identifying abuses in the Slovenian banking system and determining the causes and parties responsible for the second recovery of the banking system in independent Slovenia, the documentation having been requested by the commission of inquiry. The documentation handed over was described in detail in two press releases (press release 1, press release 2).

2. The Bank of Slovenia has also handed over minutes of the governor’s internal meetings (the OKG) to the commission of inquiry, which means that they are now in the possession of the commission of inquiry (the commission of inquiry requested the minutes of meetings of the OKG for the period of 1 January 1997 to 24 April 2015).

3. The Bank of Slovenia is of the opinion that, in connection with the issue of the ruling ordering the Bank of Slovenia to hand over the minutes of the OKG, the District Court failed to allow the Bank of Slovenia to be fully briefed on the request by the commission of inquiry, and to explain to the court the significance of the request from the perspective of the safeguarding of confidential information before its ruling on the request. Only by taking account of all facts and circumstances could the court rule as to whether the request by the commission of inquiry is lawful and justified. In the proceedings to rule on the request by the commission of inquiry, the court thus failed to uphold for the Bank of Slovenia its constitutionally protected right to equal treatment under Article 22 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, its right to judicial protection under Article 23 and its right to legal remedies under Article 25.

4. It is a fact that meetings of the OKG are advisory meetings convened by the governor (this practice was not instituted by the current governor, but was in place before his term). Meetings of the OKG are devoted to expert debate, and to the detailed examination of individual matters and issues within the Bank of Slovenia’s remit, including its actions within the framework of the ECB and the ESCB. The OKG is therefore merely an advisory body of the Bank of Slovenia, and does not take decisions on the basis of the Bank of Slovenia Act; under the Bank of Slovenia Act decisions are taken exclusively by the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia or the governor, depending on the powers defined by law. All the requested minutes of the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia have already been handed over to the commission of inquiry in line with its request.

As already stated, within the appeals deadline the Bank of Slovenia assessed that the decision by the Administrative Court still fails to resolve the legal issues raised, and it therefore filed an appeal against the decision. In addition, in the Bank of Slovenia’s opinion certain of the Administrative Court’s positions also raise issues with regard to the constitutionality of the arrangements in question, and there have been significant absolute breaches of procedure in the administrative dispute.