Legislative initiative: proposers of the law and the order of draft laws
Laws may be proposed by:
- the Government,
- any deputy,
- the National Council,
- at least five thousand voters.
The proposers of the law forward a draft law to the President of the National
Assembly.
An individual draft law may be tabled by a number of parties, or more parties may declare themselves signatories to the draft law (co-sponsors). Co-sponsorship of the draft law is only possible until the draft law is being forwarded to the President of the National Assembly. After it has been forwarded, it is no longer possible to declare one's co-sponsorship of the draft law.
The right stipulating that a law may be proposed by at least five thousand voters is defined by Article 88 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia.
Several draft laws regulating the same social relation may be tabled. In such case, the National Assembly discusses the draft laws in the order in which they were tabled. The National Assembly first discusses the draft law that was sent first and then follows the order in which they were sent. The National Assembly may start with such action if it has not yet begun to discuss the draft law upon request of at least ten deputies, or if the working body responsible has not yet begun with the second reading of the draft law.
An exception to the principle of order in which the draft laws were forwarded applies if one of the draft laws was tabled by the Government but was not the first to be forwarded. In such case, the National Assembly discusses it second, irrespective of the order in which the draft laws were forwarded.
If the Government tabled a draft law by urgent procedure, the working body responsible may decide to discuss all tabled draft laws regulating the same social relation at the same session under the same agenda item pursuant to the Rules of Procedure on urgent procedure for the adoption of a law. In such case, the working body responsible may, on the basis of all draft laws, prepare a "composed draft law", consisting of individual solutions from all draft laws.
Draft law: obligatory elements of a law
The Rules of Procedure stipulate that a draft law must contain the following: the title, the introduction, the text of the articles, and a statement of reasons.
The introduction of a draft law must include:
- an evaluation of the state of affairs and reasons for adopting the law,
- the goals, principles, and main solutions of the draft law,
- an estimation of the financial implications of the draft law regarding the state budget and other public finance resources,
- a statement that the resources for the implementation of the law are provided in the state budget if the draft law envisages the use of budgetary resources in a period for which the state budget has already been adopted,
- a presentation of the regulation of such matter in other legal systems and of the harmonisation of the proposed regulation with the law of the European Union; such presentation must include a presentation of the regulation of such matter in the legal systems of at least three European Union Member States,
- other consequences the adoption of the law might have.
The text of individual articles of a draft law:
- must use feminine and masculine forms in those first articles or chapters of the draft law which define the primary subjects of the draft law, together with an explanation that thereinafter the masculine form would be used (this is not necessary where amendments to a law are proposed),
- must, in the case of proposed amendments to a law, or amendments to an existing law, also be accompanied by the text of those provisions of the law to which amendments are proposed.
- The statement of reasons must include the following:
- the explanation of the contents and purpose of individual articles of the draft law given by the proposer of the draft law,
- the consequences and interrelations of the solutions contained therein.
If a draft law does not contain the required information, the President of the National Assembly calls upon the proposer to supplement the draft law. If the proposer fails to supplement the draft law within 15 days from being called upon to do so by the President of the National Assembly, it is deemed that the draft law has not been tabled.
The proposer may withdraw the tabled draft law or replace the draft law with a new one – however only until the convening of the session of the National Assembly at which the general debate begins, or until the calling of the meeting of the working body responsible at which the second reading of the draft law begins.
If the proposer withdraws the draft law by the said time limit, the legislative procedure is terminated.
If the proposer replaces the draft law with a new one, the legislative procedure regarding the new draft law begins when the President of the National Assembly forwards such draft law to the deputies.
The National Assembly is the holder of legislative power in the Republic of Slovenia and is therefore the sole body in the country which can adopt laws.
Laws are adopted in the legislative procedure which consists of multiple stages - from discussing a draft law to tabling amendments (modifications and supplements), voting on the law, promulgating the law, or otherwise concluding the legislative procedure.
The National Assembly adopts laws which re-regulate individual areas of the society, while it may, by adopting an amendment to an existing law, amend or supplement a legal regulation of the already regulated social relations.
The legislative procedure is governed by the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly.