STA, 3 April 2019 - The Administrative Court has declared unlawful the decision of the Ilirska Bistrica city council to hold a referendum on a centre for the acceptance and registration of migrants in the south-western town. The locals say they will nevertheless continue with activities against the government's plans to set up such a centre there.
The ruling of the court was announced for the STA on Wednesday by Ilirska Bistrica Mayor Emil Rojc, who added that the objective of the municipality and most of the residents remained that the centre was not established there.
The city council voted to hold a consultative referendum on the centre, planned to be set up at the Jelšane border crossing with Croatia, at the beginning of March in what was a second vote on the issue.
After the vote to hold a referendum on 14 April, Rojc said he would ask the court to rule on its legality after legal opinions suggested that under the Slovenian law, a municipality cannot hold a referendum on migration policy.
The mayor explained at the time that the municipality had obtained three opinions, from two law firms and the government's local government service, which all say a municipality cannot hold such a referendum.
Rojc told the STA today that the municipality had received the ruling of the Administrative Court last week, in which it said that the decision to hold the referendum was unlawful, which meant that it could not be held.
The mayor said that the locals had other options available but would not go into details, adding that the goal that the centre is not set up in the municipality had been reached for the time being.
"The fact is that the state wanted to start the construction and that it has not done it so far," he added.
The planned centre near the village of Ješane, which has some 250 residents, is to feature ten containers and two tents with the total capacity of between 600 and 1,000 beds.
Rojc, a member of the coalition Social Democrats (SD) said that the activities against the centre by a local civil initiative continued, adding that while the municipality had nothing to do with them, he personally supported them.
Signatures are being signed for a petition against the centre, and a protest is planned to be held on 27 April, he added.
