Retroactivity of asset seizure struck down
Ljubljana, 17 December - The Constitutional Court has struck down a provision of the 2011 act on the seizure of proceeds of crime that made the legislation retroactive, a landmark decision that dealt a major blow to law enforcement since many of the most prominent cases of white collar crime date to before 2011.
Ljubljana
A major legal victory won by ethnic Slovenians in Italy.
Photo: Tamino Petelinsek/ST
File photo
The decision meant that the Specialized State Prosecution, which deals with the most serious white-collar crime, had to withdraw ten forfeiture cases of the 24 in which it had initiated proceedings, including against former Maribor Mayor Franc Kangler and opposition leader Janez Janša.
The Constitutional Court said that Article 57 of the law, which stipulates that asset forfeiture may be conducted for any criminal cases initiated after 1 January 1990, runs afoul of the Constitution.
The majority on the court held that the law defined a new crime - mismatch between a person's income and assets - that had not existed before, and new consequences for such a crime, which is why retroactive effect is not admissible.