The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) found the conduct of the Municipality of Bohinj to be in violation of the right to good administration. The Municipality failed to reply to the complainant's letter from February of the previous year without providing a justifiable reason until the Ombudsman intervened. The Ombudsman referred the Municipality to the main issue, i.e. snow ploughs causing snow to accumulate on the steps and in the yard of the complainant's house, and has further recommended providing possible additional assistance to the complainant for the inconvenience caused by ploughing snow (e.g. in the form of clearing the steps or in some other appropriate way). The complainant is an elderly resident with health constraints, which may lead even a seemingly minor inconvenience to cause him disproportionately greater distress compared to the other residents of the same street, for whom the additional clearing of snow may be less challenging. The Municipality did not accept the Ombudsman's suggestion to provide additional assistance; however, the Ombudsman’s efforts to improve the approach of local administrative bodies towards their residents will continue and attention will be publicly drawn to these issues.

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The Ombudsman has addressed a municipal resident's complaint concerning the alleged flawed performance of winter road maintenance services, which is reportedly causing damage to the resident's property. The resident holds the Municipality's concessionaire accountable for snow ploughs causing snow to accumulate on his property and the steps next to his house, which is situated directly adjacent to the road. The resident claims that in previous years, ploughing caused damage to the corner of his garage, his renovated woodshed, and has led to multiple direct disputes between himself and the concessionaire. The resident has also discussed the issue with the mayor, but no improvements have been made. The Ombudsman was also made aware that the resident and his wife, both elderly residents with health constraints, have not received any response from their last letter to the Municipality, from 8 February 2024.
The Ombudsman turned to the Municipality for answers. In its reply, the Municipality provided reasonable explanations for the fundamental issue of ploughed snow accumulation. Due to the narrow roads, the concessionaire uses a front-mounted wedge plough with variable modes of operation, which removes snow relatively evenly from the road on both sides of the plough. The Municipality is said to have discussed this matter with the concessionaire several times. The Municipality denied accountability for the damage on the resident's property but advised him to report any damage caused by snow ploughing to the authorities or an insurance company. Regarding the resident's most recent letter, the Municipality confirmed that it had not responded, as it believed it was not obliged to do so.

While the Ombudsman accepted the Municipality's substantive explanation, in accordance with the right to good administration, he recommended that the Municipality reply to the complainant's letter, as he could find no justifiable reason not to. The Municipality followed the Ombudsman's recommendation and responded to the complainant, although it declined to offer him additional assistance due to the risk of unequal or preferential treatment of the complainant in comparison with other municipal residents.

The Municipality's reasoning failed to convince the Ombudsman. He has assessed that the recommended measures of providing assistance to clear snow from the steps of an elderly resident's house is a rather unassuming act, the performance of which could demonstrate the Municipality's consciousness of the importance of values such as solidarity, humanity, and fairness. Despite his efforts, the Ombudsman was unable to convince the Municipality to resolve the issues in a constructive manner. Even so, the Ombudsman will continue to advocate for an improved relationship between local authorities and their residents in similar cases, and will publicly draw attention to such matters. The Ombudsman considers this complaint justified. 18.1-2/2024