On Thursday, 21 November 2013, with 46 votes for and 29 votes against, the Members of the Parliament have adopted The act on restitution of damage for persons who were erased from the Register of Permanent Population (Act on compensation scheme for the erased).
According to this Act not all erased will be eligible for the compensation, but only those with arranged status in Slovenia (permanent residence permit or Slovenian citizenship) and those who applied for the permanent residence permit or Slovenian citizenship before the law aiming at regulating the status of the erased in 2010 (ZUSDDD-B), but have been rejected and have not applied again after the renewed legislation in 2010.
Therefore, under this Act, the erased that have not tried to regulate their status in Slovenia again after the erasure (have not filed any application), and the erased that have been rejected after the last valid legislation from 2010, are not eligible for the compensation. Also, children of the erased parents and relatives of deceased erased are not eligible for the compensation according to this Act.
The Government is of the opinion that the erased have shown interest or wish for further residing in Slovenia only by regulating the status. According to the Ministry of the Interior around 12,000 – of total 25,671 erased will be eligible for the compensation.
The amount of compensation, which will be determined by the administrative unit in administrative proceedings, will be calculated for the period from the erasure to the re-arranged status (permanent residence permit, or the acceptance in Slovenian citizenship) in the amount of 50 EUR for each full month. Individuals may yet decide to seek redress in court proceedings. In the court proceedings the erased will have to prove that they suffered damage due to which they should receive a higher compensation than the one which has been determined in administrative proceedings. Total compensation will amount to no more than three times the amount of compensation set out in the administrative procedure. Here is an example for easier understanding: someone who has been erased for 5 years (that is, after five years this person got permanent residence permit or Slovenian citizenship) would be entitled to a lump sum of 3,000 EUR in administrative proceedings; if this person decides to continue with the judicial proceeding, the amount of the maximum of the total compensation is limited in advance to the amount of 9,000 EUR.
In addition to the financial compensation the Act mentions also other forms of “just satisfaction” for the erased: payment of contributions for compulsory health insurance, inclusion in social protection programs, facilities for exercising the rights of public funds, equal treatment in resolving housing issues, access to state scholarships as well as to the education system.
Act should come into force six months after its publication in the Official Gazette, i.e. somewhere in the month of May 2014. Until then the erased cannot pursue a claim for compensation.