Procedures involving putting children into foster care or placing them under guardianship will no longer be handled by the social work centres but by courts. There is already a backlog of such cases because of that and due to the lack of experts in that field. Members of the parliamentary committee on justice will hold a meeting to discuss the issue.

In the last few years courts have been warning the Judicial Council of the lack of experts, especially clinical psychologists. The Ljubljana area alone would need at least five.

"Under the new regulation the right to take away custody over a child will be transferred to the courts. That will lead to more court procedures, which will also involve court experts," said Mateja Končina Peternjel, a Supreme Court judge and member of the Judicial Council.
Courts want more experts
For now it's not yet clear how many new cases the courts will have to handle every year. The Ljubljana court expects around 130 more cases per year, which is why Mihaela Mohorič, the deputy head of the Ljubljana court, fears an additional backlog of cases. "I call on all those who have an influence on the process to make sure that there are more court experts which will be able to work on those cases," added Mohorič.
Touching on the new Marriage and Family Relations Act the Chamber of Notaries warns of a lower level of legal protection. In cases of a divorce by mutual consent, the two parties would only need a statement that there is no joint property, while a notarial record would no longer be necessary. The head of the council, Sonja Kralj, warns that debts also fall in the joint property category but are often overlooked: "If the debts are not taken care of, the spouses remain solidarily responsible for their joint debts until their joint property is divided." The Notarial Chamber therefore proposes that the current regulation be upheld.