Nina Betetto, the Vice President of the Supreme Court, explained at a press conference that the problems with the wills were discovered at the Nova Gorica Circuit Court on the court’s own initiative. According to Betetto, the court immediately embarked on a thorough analysis of the situation and began to prepare clear guidelines on how the courts should deal with the wills. The analysis showed that 5329 wills have been improperly disregarded since 1945. In 449 of these cases, consequences are possible in terms of substantive law.

During its review, the working group discovered a number of systemic problems. Each court had its own method for keeping records of wills and much depended on the diligence of court clerks. According to Betetto, the clerks were often trained on the job, which is something the court now wants to change. Meanwhile, the court has already issued clear directions in how to deal with the wills. All of the courts must now follow these rules consistently – this may soon be checked. “If the rules are not going to be followed, the violators will be held disciplinarily responsible,” Betetto stressed.

When asked by MMC about possible lawsuits against the state for legal damages, and what the amounts may be, Betetto explained that it is still too early for such estimates, since much of the information about how many court cases were affected is still unavailable. The existence of an inheritance suit is the first step, based on which an heir can trigger a lawsuit seeking damages. The heir can only request damages if he or she wasn’t awarded the inheritance in an inheritance case. Because such cases certainly do exist, the Supreme Court is expecting lawsuits against the state. Betetto adds that the percentage of such cases likely won’t be large. If, however, this occurs in greater numbers, Slovenia already has legal precedents – including those relating to the “Erased” --, which will force the state to pass emergency legislation of some sort.

Andrej Čebokli

Translated by J. B.