Civil Law Codification in Slovenia

The Civil Code of Slovenia, inspired by – and successor to – the 1811 Austrian ABGB, continues to be the major source of civil law of the country. Slovenia, as a post-Yugoslav state, found itself having to develop and modernise its legal system in the new economic, social, and political context, after achieving independence in 1991. Private (civil) law, for a long time, remained regulated by norms adopted during the time Slovenia was a member of the Yugoslav state. This was particularly true regarding the law of obligations, regulated in a separate act dating from 1978. Property law presented similar difficulties in application and modernisation. The Slovenian state and its legislator decided not to pursue codification, but rather focus on modernisation of the various sources of civil law (the law of obligations, property law, inheritance law, family law) leading to a peculiar and fragmented legal system and a continued possibility of civil law codification.

Keywords: Yugoslavia, Slovenia, civil law codification, law of obligations, property law