Slovenia’s emergency Šutar Law is facing growing calls for reform, a year after the fatal assault of 48-year-old Aleš Šutar in Novo Mesto sparked mass protests and prompted the government to tighten security and social welfare measures. The law, which entered into force on 27 November 2025, expanded police powers, introduced the possibility of seizing welfare benefits to recover unpaid fines and tightened eligibility for certain benefits when parents fail to ensure their children attend school. However, local officials say the initial improvements in security were short-lived, while social services report little progress in Roma children’s school attendance.
Mayors in southeastern Slovenia have called for sustained action, arguing that the impact of the legislation has diminished since the Constitutional Court suspended the provision allowing welfare benefits to be seized in March. Novo Mesto Mayor Gregor Macedoni, along with officials from Krško and Šentjernej, has stressed the need for broader changes to welfare and employment policies.
Meanwhile, the Dolenjska and Bela Krajina social care centre has reported receiving more than 100 notifications from education inspectors concerning parents who failed to send their children to school since the law took effect. Roma representatives, however, say that security and school attendance have improved, while warning that the measures have contributed to increased hostility and discrimination against their community.
The legislation has also changed how police handle certain offences and security risks. By the end of August, police had recorded 1,530 cases of minor bodily injury, up more than a third from 1,118 during the same period a year earlier. Authorities attribute the increase partly to a provision allowing such cases to be prosecuted without requiring victims to initiate proceedings.
The law has also reclassified theft and property damage involving losses of up to €500 as misdemeanours, a change now under review after the Supreme Court asked the Constitutional Court to assess its constitutionality. Police have additionally used new powers to enter homes without a court warrant to seize firearms under specified conditions, doing so on six occasions since the law entered into force.
The Interior Ministry has acknowledged that the legislation has not improved security sufficiently and that amendments are needed. Branko Lobnikar, who heads the expert council evaluating the law, has called for meaningful changes based on experience, while police have emphasised that enforcement alone cannot deliver lasting results.
They have called for preventive measures, closer cooperation between institutions and a sustained police presence. The new government has announced plans to restore theft’s status as a criminal offence, but wider reforms are likely to address the balance between public safety, social policy, legal safeguards and the rights of the Roma community.
