The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia recognised inconsistencies in the conduct of the City Municipality of Maribor in communication with residents and assessed that many conflicts in the area could be prevented if the municipality placed greater emphasis on comprehensive and objectively verifiable dialogue in the future. He addressed his recommendation to the municipality in this regard, and the City Municipality of Maribor accepted it and undertook to act as recommended in the future.

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The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) considered a complaint by residents of two streets in the Municipality of Maribor (MOM), in which they informed him of the problems related to the planned new construction along one of the streets and the related change in traffic regulations. The residents criticised the MOM primarily for poor information about the planned construction, although their living conditions are said to have significantly deteriorated due to the change in traffic regulations. Their subsequent comments and suggestions were allegedly not taken into account, which is why they assessed that the changed traffic regulations would jeopardise their right to a healthy living environment.

After examining all the received documentation and the response of the MOM, the Ombudsman did not find any irregularities in relation to informing the public about the planned changes in the area during the adoption phase of the relevant spatial act. According to the Ombudsman's assessment, the MOM adequately defined the reasons why the complainants' proposal for another option acceptable to them was not accepted, but later, i.e. at the time when the complainants began to contact it, it lacked a more specific definition of the municipality's objections to the complainants' allegations regarding the alleged inadequacy of the chosen access route to the new building (both during the construction phase and subsequent use), and thus also the increase in freight and passenger traffic on an already too narrow road, which should not prevent vehicles from meeting. Given the fact that the Office for Municipal Affairs, Transport and Spatial Planning did not submit any expert basis for its decision or did not inform the initiators of them, the aforementioned issue may create an impression in the public that the decisions of the authority are arbitrary, which can always be avoided with clear communication.[1] The Ombudsman therefore recommended that the Municipality of Ljubljana consistently communicate with residents or groups of residents on issues that directly affect their vital interests and situation in the future, always trying to take a comprehensive and objectively verifiable position on any concerns of potentially affected residents. In the Ombudsman's opinion, following this recommendation could prevent potential future conflicts in the area in advance, and would also be in the spirit of the principle of good governance and could at the same time represent an example of good practice in the conduct of a municipality in relation to its residents. The Municipality of Ljubljana accepted the Ombudsman's recommendation and undertook to act as recommended in the future. 17.2-11/2022

[1] The Ombudsman cannot assess the substantive (in)appropriateness of the envisaged options, such as the suitability of the access route to the construction site, within the scope of his/her competence.