Accommodaton of constitutional due process rights within the new patients' rights legislation in Slovenia

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia issued several decisions concerning the protection of patients' rights (e.g. decisions on involuntary commitment, on access to health care, on rights related to obligatory and voluntary health insurance). Consequently, the Parliament renewed Health Legislation by the enactment of the Patients' Rights Act (February 2008) and of the Mental Health Act (July 2008). Both bills enshrine a charter of patients' rights that may be considered as concretization of several human rights that are protected by the Constitution. The discussion is focused on the due process rights (e.g. equal protection of rights, right to judicial protection, right to legal remedies, legal guarantees in proceedings related to deprivation of personal liberty) that were in particular addressed by the Court. The results demonstrate that their effective implementation was one of the most important demands that the Legislature had to accommodate when enacting new bills.