Slovenia

Executive Summary

Slovenia is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional republic. Power is shared among a directly elected president (head of state), a prime minister (head of government), and a bicameral parliament composed of the National Assembly (lower house) and the National Council (upper house). In 2018 the country held elections for seats in the National Assembly; the most recent presidential election was held in 2017. Observers considered the elections free and fair.

The national police maintain internal security. The army is responsible for external security but also has some domestic security responsibilities. Police report to the Ministry of Interior, and the army reports to the Ministry of Defense. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. Members of the security forces committed few abuses.

Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: serious restrictions on free expression and media, including threats of violence against journalists by nongovernment actors, and the existence of criminal libel and slander laws.

The government took steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed abuses or engaged in corruption, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the government, and there were no cases of impunity involving security forces reported during the year.