The new proposal of the family law does not regulate same-sex partnerships, and prohibition of corporal punishment of children, which were two of the most disputed chapters of the previous version. It does expand the definition of a family.

The competent minister Anja Kopač Mrak and the Minister of Justice Goran Klemenčič introduced the proposal of the new family law which will be open to public discussion for two months. The new law is quite similar to the one rejected by the voters at the referendum in 2012, with a notable exception – it does not include the equalisation of marriage to same-sex partnership, which those opposed to rights for the same-sex partners found problematic.

The Minister explained that the key novelty the act is introducing is the transfer of competence for decision-making in family affairs from Social Work Centres to courts. Social Work Centres will keep their advisory role.

The presently valid law is 40 years old
The presently valid Marriage and Family Relations Act, adopted in its first version in 2004, was based on the Law on marriage from 1976, thus making a number of definitions and provisions rather out-of-date. In the last years there were several attempts to introduce a new act, but all the attempts failed, mostly due to frictions regarding the definition of a family.