Implementation of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Slovenia Through the Res Interpretata Principle

The author discusses the research issue, i.e., if the implementation of ECtHR judgments in Slovenia should not be limited only to concrete (inter partes) en- forcement of final ECtHR judgments in which the state was convicted and that takes place under the supervision of the Committee of Ministers. Shouldn’t we be discussing a broader binding legal approach intended to ensure respect for human rights of individuals in other similar cases in proceedings before the Slovenian authorities? The author concludes that the obligation to take into account the ECtHR’s interpretation of human rights from the entire body of case-law is legally binding for all state bodies in Slovenia. This obligation of res interpretata originates firstly from the ECHR and case-law of the ECtHR and secondly from the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and the constituti- onal case-law of the Constitutional Court.

Key words: res interpretata, implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, judicial branch of the government, Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, exceptio illegalis, constitutional principle of the maximum protection of human rights, ECHR.