STA, 20 October 2020 - Jurist Andraž Teršek and lawyer Damijan Pavlin have filed a request for a constitutional review of the ban on movement among regions and the 9pm-6am curfew, claiming such measures are only possible if a state of emergency is declared.
"If a state of emergency is not declared and movement in an around the country is banned, this is unconstitutional," the pair argue.
Teršek, who recently ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Constitutional Court, told the STA that Article 32 of the Constitution secured everybody the right to move freely, choose their residence, leave the country and return at any time.
This right can be limited with an act, including with the aim of containing the spread of a communicable disease, if this is substantiated in a convincing fashion, if the measure is urgent and proportionate, but this still does not give the state the right to ban movement, Teršek and Pavlin argue.
This is only allowed in a state of emergency, with Article 16 saying a temporary lifting or limiting of human rights and basic freedoms is possible in a state of war and a state of emergency, albeit only to the extent required by the situation.
Thus, the communicable diseases act, which is used by the government as the basis for the ban, imparts on the state powers that are not permitted by the Constitution - it introduces a movement ban across the country without a state of emergency being declared, Teršek and Pavlin argue.
They believe that the legitimate goal of preventing and limiting the spread of the virus can be achieved with milder measures.
"The prohibition to drive from point A to point B and back is in itself not vital for preventing the spread of a communicable disease. It is not reasonable, appropriate or proportionate. The same applies for a walk, a bicycle ride, a walk in the woods, visiting a loved one or family member - all of whom are healthy. At the same time, everybody is living in 'the red zone' now," the pair moreover wrote.
"Vital reasons [for a ban] are still not being put forward - because they do not exist," Teršek and Pavlin say.
All our stories on Slovenia and coronavirus
