Finance and Monetary Policy Committee Approves Succession Bill

Ljubljana, 23 February

The parliamentary finance and monetary policy committee unanimously passed the government-sponsored amendments to the bill on succession and the high representative for succession as it met in Ljubljana on Thursday.

The amendments, which will be fast-tracked through parliament, come after the Constitutional Court declared the current act on the transformation of the succession fund unconstitutional and asked the legislator to amend it appropriately until the end of 2005.
However, since the legislator has failed to rectify the established irregularities, all procedures (which were frozen under the succession fund act) could start anew.
According to the government, this could cause severe damage to the defunct LB and the Nova ljubljanska banka (NLB), in view of the proceedings in Slovenia as well as the process launched at the European Court of Human Rights by Croatian account holders.
The committee therefore adopted an amendment to Article 23 of the bill which calls for such procedures to remain frozen, until the issue of receiving guarantees by the former Social Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) or the former joint country's Central Bank for such accounts is resolved.
Once the bill is signed into law, court procedures will be suspended again until there is a comprehensive solution to this issue at the Basel Bank for International Settlements (BIS), government representatives told the committee.
The committee also amended Article 9 of the bill, by saying that the fund must report about its activities to the National Assembly.
Under the bill, the succession fund will be a public fund in charge of dealing with succession issues. The legislation also regulates the status of the high representative for succession - Miha Pogacnik was appointed to the post last April and will now have full powers.
The aim of the bill is to to regulate the implementation of the framework agreement on succession, signed by five successors to the SFRJ in June 2001. Slovenia ratified the agreement in July 2002.
Govt Okays Signing of CoE Convention against Trafficking
Ljubljana, 23 February (STA) - The government approved on Thursday the signing of the Council of Europe convention on action against trafficking in human beings, a document which complements the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.
The new convention determines that victims should be given temporary residence permits if they will be in danger when returned to their country, or if they have to help with a prosecution.
It also guarantees trafficked people a breathing period of at least 30 days during which they can receive support such as housing.
The government moreover decided to sign an agreement with the government of Italy on film co-production, which is to facilitate procedures and give joint projects a better chance to qualify for EU funding.

Finance and Monetary Policy Committee Approves Succession Bill

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