The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) determined violations of the principles of good administration in the actions of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning (MNVP). Namely, the Ministry replied to the complainant's letters dated 03/05/2023, 19/06/2023, and 17/07/2023 with a joint answer dated 26/01/2024, whereby no reasons for the lack of a timely answer could be determined from the available documentation. Based on the similarity of the determination of the lengthy response time of the MNVP in the context of the consideration procedure of another complaint, the Ombudsman recommended the MNVP address issues related to responsiveness to letters within the context of the implementation of the Action plan aimed at eliminating the backlog, if it is not already included.

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The Ombudsman considered a complaint from an individual on the prevalent allegation of unresponsiveness by the MNVP to his letters concerning the then-pending decision on inheritance. Under it, the complainant and other heirs were entitled to monetary assets primarily designated for his deceased brother to solve his housing problem. The funds were transferred to the Municipality of Hrastnik (Municipality), which, due to the death of the beneficiary and the subsequent inability to notarise the contract, could not transfer the funds to the complainant on time. They notified the complainant of the issue, who then turned to the MNVP with questions three times between May and July of last year but did not receive any answers.

The Ombudsman made an inquest with the MNVP, which essentially confirmed the situation that had already been described. It further stated that the Municipality and the MNVP, in May 2023, had already examined the existing legal avenues following a meeting. The funds were then transferred at the end of December 2023 into the account of the heirs' lawyer. The MNVP replied to the complainant with a joint answer on 26/01/2024.

The Ombudsman welcomed the fact that the issue with which the complainant first turned to the Municipality and the MNVP, and lastly, the Ombudsman, was successfully resolved. However, it must be nevertheless considered that the response time by the MNVP to his inquiries regarding the subject matter was inadequate, for which no reasons could be determined from the available documentation. Thus, the Ombudsman considers the complaint as justified and has determined violations of the principles of good administration. We hope similar instances of delays in response will not occur in the future with the implementation of the Action plan. 14.2.4/2023