The contribution is an obituary
for Professor Emeritus
Ivan Kristan, PhD, of the University of Ljubljana. His
extensive knowledge and experience nur- tured several generations of Slovenian
lawyers, guiding both their personal and professional growth.
His profound and dedicated professional, scientific, and public activities markedly advanced Slovenian
legal science and society at large.
Amongst his many roles, he served as the Dean of the Faculty of Law in 1981–1985, and the 34th Rector of the Edvard
Kardelj University in Ljubljana
between 1985 and 1987. His distinguished career
led him to the Constitution- al Court of the SFR
Yugoslavia in Belgrade in 1987–1991. In these turbulent years, particularly
1990 and 1991, he opposed some constitutionally contro- versial proposals and decisions in decision-making and with his separate opin- ions. Notably, Professor Kristan
objected to a proposal designed to prevent the adoption of the Slovenian
constitutional amendments, which substanti- ated the elements of Slovenian sovereignty. At that time, the Yugoslav
Consti- tutional Court, with Professor Kristan’s insistence, remained
the sole federal state body that did not condemn these amendments in advance. He demanded
compliance with the regulations stipulating the Constitutional Court’s
lack of competence for preliminary constitutional review. Between 1992 and 1997 he
was also the first president of the State Council of the Republic of Slovenia.
Key
words: Ivan Kristan, in memoriam,
constitutional law, Constitutional Court, Faculty of Law of the University of
Ljubljana, State Council of the Re- public of Slovenia, Yugoslavia.