Slovenia's National Assembly rejects Boris Gabrijel Hrovat for Supreme Court

The National Assembly of Slovenia has rejected the appointment of Boris Gabrijel Hrovat as a Supreme Court judge. The decision followed opposition from several political parties, including SDS, NSi, SLS, Fokus, and Demokrati, as well as members of the Resnica group.

Hrovat was proposed for the position by the Judicial Council, which reached a consensus despite his involvement in a controversial 2022 decision. As a member of a senate at the Ljubljana Higher Court, Hrovat had ordered the detention of journalist Bojan Požar. The Supreme Court later overturned that detention order, ruling that Požar’s presence at the hearing was not mandatory and the measure was unnecessary. While Hrovat described the decision as an error during his presentation to the Judicial Council, the council maintained that a single overturned decision should not be the sole criterion for suitability.

While the National Assembly rejected Hrovat, it did approve the appointments of six other judicial candidates, including Mojca Primožič Kužner, Urška Zurovac, and Marko Pohar, despite previous reservations from the Mandate and Electoral Commission.