The President of the Slovenian government, Janez Janša, stated that Slovenia cannot return money to former depositors of Ljubljanska Banka that it did not receive, announcing the possibility of an appeal against the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights regarding Slovenia’s responsibility for the old foreign currency savings of depositors of Ljubljanska Banka outside Slovenia.
– We are studying the ECHR ruling and when we make a legal assessment it will be clear whether Slovenia will file an appeal, and in what manner – said Janša in Maribor during a visit to the flooded areas along the Drava River.
Janša expressed confidence that the ruling, which declared Slovenia responsible for the payment of foreign currency savings to two depositors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, would change in the appeal process, which he believes could set a precedent for other similar cases.
– It is not possible to demand from someone to return something they did not receive – said Janša. The ruling published by the court in Strasbourg on Tuesday will become final if no party appeals it within the next three months. Slovenia’s appeal was announced on Tuesday by Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, who added that this ruling does not pertain to negotiations regarding savings in Ljubljanska Banka Zagreb, which has already been transferred to Croatian public debt, for which compromise proposals are being sought by experts from both countries, Zdravko Rogić and France Arhar.
