Slovenia Faces Scrutiny Over Law Allowing Seizure of Social Benefits
Ljubljana, Slovenia – Slovenian authorities are facing mounting pressure to amend a controversial security law that critics say disproportionately impacts the Roma community by allowing the seizure of social assistance payments for minor unpaid fines. Amnesty International and a coalition of NGOs have filed an appeal to Slovenia’s Constitutional Court, arguing the law violates fundamental human rights.
The Act on Urgent Measures to Ensure Public Security, swiftly passed in November 2025 following a fatal incident in Novo Mesto involving a Roma individual, grants the Tax Office broad powers to confiscate social assistance from those with at least three outstanding fines for minor offenses accrued over the past two years. According to Amnesty International, over 1,000 individuals and their families had their benefits seized in January alone, pushing many further into poverty and jeopardizing access to basic necessities like food.
“This harmful law is being used to target individuals and communities already facing daily discrimination, exclusion and poverty,” said Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research in Europe. “Access to social assistance should never be weaponized to penalize individuals, families or communities.”
The core of the concern lies in the law’s lack of safeguards. Unlike standard enforcement procedures, it places no limit on the amount of social assistance that can be seized and fails to protect the most vulnerable. Existing regulations typically allow for the recovery of fines through wage garnishment, limiting seizures to two-thirds of an individual’s salary while ensuring they retain at least 76% of the minimum wage. These protections are absent in the new legislation.
The impact has been particularly acute for Roma communities, who already experience systemic discrimination and economic hardship. Reports indicate that individuals often only discovered their benefits had been seized when attempting to access them at the bank. Furthermore, Centers for Social Work, organizations tasked with assisting social security recipients, were reportedly not notified of the seizures, a breach of the law’s own stipulations.
The Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy, a collaboration including Amnesty International Slovenia, prepared and filed the appeal to the Constitutional Court. The organization highlights the law’s infringement on the right to social security, access to legal remedy, and privacy.
Beyond the seizures of social assistance, the law has also expanded police powers. In January, authorities announced the designation of “high-risk security areas” in Ljubljana and Novo Mesto, granting increased surveillance and data collection capabilities. The Supreme Court has also filed a motion with the Constitutional Court challenging the law’s extension of maximum pretrial detention from two to three years.
Slovenia, as a signatory to numerous international and regional human rights treaties, is obligated to guarantee an adequate standard of living and social security without discrimination. The current law, critics argue, directly contravenes these obligations.
Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action call, urging immediate intervention to halt enforcement of the punitive measures, restore seized benefits, and amend the law to align with Slovenia’s human rights commitments.
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Further Reading: Amnesty International Urgent Action: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur68/0702/2026/en/
