On 12 August, Regulation (EU) 2024/2019 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 (the “Regulation”) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, introducing several substantive and/or procedural amendments to Protocol no. 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “Statute” and “Court of Justice”).

Below is a summary of the amendments introduced by the Regulation.

1. Granting of preliminary ruling jurisdiction in specific matters to the General Court

The Regulation introduces Article 50-ter conferring jurisdiction on the General Court of the European Union (the “General Court”) to hear and make references for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 of the TFEU falling within one or more of the following matters:

1. the common system of value added tax;
2. excise duties;
3. the Customs Code;
4. the tariff classification of goods in the Combined Nomenclature;
5. compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding or delay or cancellation of transport services; and
6. the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme.

Regarding points (a) to (d), Recital 9 of the Regulation clarifies that “Those area cover, at the time of the adoption of this Regulation, matters such as the determination of the tax base for the assessment of value added tax or the conditions for exemption from payment of that tax; the interpretation of the general arrangements for excise duty and of the framework relating to duties on alcohol, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, energy products and electricity; the elements on the basis of which import or export duties are applied in the context of trade in goods, such as the Common Customs Tariff, the origin and customs value of goods; import and export procedures, including the incurrence, determination and extinction of a customs debt; specific customs arrangements; the system of relief from customs duties as well as the interpretation of specific tariff headings and the criteria for the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature laid down in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2658/87”.

With reference to point (e), recital 10 of the Regulation clarifies that these matters “cover matters that are at the time of the adoption of this Regulation regulated by Regulations (EC) No. 261/2004 [air transport], (EU) No. 1177/2010 [maritime transport], (EU) No. 181/2011 [bus and coach transport] and (EU) 2021/782 [rail transport] of the European Parliament and of the Council”.

With reference to point (f), recital 10 of the Regulation clarifies that this scheme “at the time of the adoption of this Regulation is regulated by Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and by the acts adopted on the basis of that Directive”.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, pursuant to paragraph 2 of the new Article 50-ter, the Court of Justice will retain jurisdiction to hear and make references for preliminary rulings raising “independent questions concerning the interpretation of primary law, public international law, general principles of law or the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union”.

Furthermore, under paragraph 3 of the new provision, references for preliminary rulings under Article 267 must be made to the Court of Justice. The Court – “as soon as possible” and in accordance with the procedures laid down in its Rules of Procedure – will then determine whether the request falls exclusively within the matters under the General Court’s jurisdiction and, if so, will transfer the case to the General Court.

• Participation in the proceedings by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Central Bank

The Regulation amends Article 23 of the Statute to stipulate that, where a matter is referred for a preliminary ruling, the decision of the national court or tribunal to stay the proceedings must be notified by the Registry of the Court. This notification must be made not only to the parties involved, the Member States, the Commission and the Union institution or body or entity that adopted the act whose validity or interpretation is being challenged, as already provided for in Article 23 – but also to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Central Bank.

Under the newly added paragraph 2, if the European Parliament, the Council and the European Central Bank consider that they have “a particular interest in the questions raised by the reference for a preliminary ruling”, they may submit statements of case or written observations within two months of receiving the notification.

Under the new paragraph 3, pleadings or written observations submitted by an interested party will be published on the website of the Court of Justice “within a reasonable time” after the case is closed, unless that interested party objects to the publication of its pleadings or written observations.

• Election of Advocates General to handle references for preliminary rulings assigned to the General Court

The Regulation introduce Article 49-bis of the Statute, establishing that, in the handling of references for a preliminary ruling, the General Court shall be assisted by one or more Advocates General, elected for a term of 3 years – with the possibility of one renewal - from among the Judges of the General Court.

• Establishment of the Intermediate Chamber of the General Court

The Regulation amends Article 50 of the Statute to introduce, with reference to the composition of the General Court, an intermediate chamber positioned between the chambers composed of five judges and the Grand Chamber.

According to the wording of the new Article 50, the General Court may convene in: (a) chambers of three or five judges; (b) an intermediate chamber; and (c) the grand chamber. In addition, consistent with the existing provisions, the General Court may in some cases make decisions by a single judge.

The new provision provides that, in proceedings relating to a matter referred for a preliminary ruling, the General Court will convene in an intermediate chamber at the request of a Member State or an institution of the Union involved in the case.

• Referral of cases to the Court of Justice or the General Court for preliminary rulings

The Regulation amend Article 50 of the Statute to establish, in line with the provisions regarding the handling of cases:

• if the General Court determines that it lacks jurisdiction to hear a reference for a preliminary ruling, it shall refer the case to the Court of Justice;
• if the Court of Justice finds that it lacks jurisdiction to hear a reference for a preliminary ruling, it must refer the case back to the General Court, which cannot refuse jurisdiction in such instances.

In connection with the above-mentioned referral mechanism, recital 18 of the Rules of Procedure further clarifies that “the General Court may, pursuant to Article 256(3), second subparagraph, TFEU, refer to the Court of Justice a case that falls within its jurisdiction but requires a decision of principle likely to affect the unity or consistency of Union law”.

• Expansion of the procedure for the prior admission of appeals

The Regulation revises Article 58a to broaden the scope of the procedure for prior admission of appeals by the Court of Justice. This expansion includes:

• appeals against a decision of the General Court regarding the decision of an independent Board of Appeals of a body or entity of the Union which, as of 1 May 2019, had such a Board of Appeals but was not expressly covered by the previous version of Article 58a.

These Union bodies/entities include: (a) the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators; (b) the Single Resolution Board; (c) the European Banking Authority; (d) the European Securities and Markets Authority; (e) the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority; and (f) the European Union Railway Agency; and

• litigation concerning the enforcement of contracts containing an arbitration clause.

• Introduction of the consultation procedure for applications or proposals to amend the Statutes

The Regulation introduces Article 62-quinquies which mandates that before submitting an application or a proposal to amend the Statute, the Court of Justice or, where appropriate, the Commission must first conduct “extensive consultations”.

*

The Regulation will enter into force on 1 September 2024 and includes a transitional arrangement as follows:

- any references for preliminary rulings pending before the Court of Justice on 1 October 2024 will in any event continue to be handled by the Court of Justice itself;

- appeals concerning:

(i) decisions of the General Court relating to a decision of a Board of Appeals of one of the bodies/entities of the Union listed in points (a) to (e) of paragraph 6 above; and

(ii) decisions concerning the enforcement of a contract containing an arbitration clause

that are before the Court of Justice on 1 September 2024 shall not be subject to the aforementioned procedure of prior admission of appeals.

Slovenia has passed several new acts in recent months, three of which started to apply on January 26, 2023. We've rounded up the key novelties of each act and present them below.

The first act (ZPOmK-2) regulates anti-competitive practices and mergers which have had or may have an effect on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and serious obstacles to effective competition, as well as specific compensation provisions for violations of competition law.

The second act (ZVOP-2) establishes the rights, obligations, legality to protect personal data and the exercise of justification for interference with privacy, dignity, confidentiality of personal data, right to data self-determination or other fundamental rights of individuals when processing personal data.

The last presented act (ZvPot-1) sets out the rights of consumers when companies offer, sell and otherwise market goods, services and digital content and imposes obligations on companies, government authorities and others to ensure these rights.

Read more about it in attached file

LEGAL CHANGES THAT STARTED TO APPLY IN SLOVENIA ON JANUARY 26 2023
Slovenia has passed several new acts in recent months, three of which started to apply on January 26, 2023. We've rounded up the key novelties of each act and present them below. The first act (ZPOmK-2) regulates anti-competitive practices and mergers which have had or may have an effect on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and serious obstacles to effective competition, as well as specific compensation provisions for violations of competition law. The second act (ZVOP-2) establishes the rights, obligations, legality to protect personal data and the exercise of justification for interference with privacy, dignity, confidentiality of personal data, right to data self-determination or other fundamental rights of individuals when processing personal data.
The last presented act (ZvPot-1) sets out the rights of consumers when companies offer, sell and otherwise market goods, services and digital content and imposes obligations on companies, government authorities and others to ensure these rights.

ACT ON THE PREVENTION OF RESTRICTION OF COMPETITION ACT (ZPOMK-2)

On 26 January 2023, the new Act on the Prevention of Restriction of Competition started to apply, after it entered into force in October 2022. It replaced the previous Act ZPOmK-1 from 2008 and brought an upgrade of some provisions to the Slovenian legal system, in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 11 December 2018 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market. Below is a summary of some of the features of the new Act.

1. Uniform administrative procedure for determining violations of the rules of competition law and administrative sanctioning of companies
   Slovenian Competition Protection Agency (hereinafter: the Agency), which is the body responsible for the protection of competition on the Slovenian market, conducted two procedures for this purpose until the implementation of ZPOmK-2, namely the administrative one, in which it established the existence of a violation, and an infringement procedure, in which it imposed a fine. Now the law provides a uniform administrative procedure.
   
2. Administrative sanctioning of companies
   Article 79 of the new Act defines an administrative offense as an act of a company that violates the Act or Article 101 or 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter: TFEU) and is defined by the Act as an administrative offense, and is subject to an administrative sanction, which is imposed in the form of a lump sum or a periodic payment. The maximum permissible sanction for an established violation is an amount equal to 10
   percent of the company's annual turnover in the previous financial year. Article 93 sets out the conditions for a possible dismissal or reduction of an administrative sanction, while Article 95 brings the possibility of a reduction of an administrative sanction (by a maximum of 20 percent) based on an application for settlement. The new Act also introduced new rules in the area of limitation periods, as a five-year limitation period is now set for serious
   competition law infringements and a three-year limitation period for minor infringements.
   
3. Simplified notification of concentration procedure
   In accordance with the principle of economy, the Act contains a new simplified procedure in which the Agency (under the conditions of Article 78) will be able to assess individual concentrations in a simplified procedure, which should eliminate certain administrative and cost burdens.
   
4. The Agency's investigatory powers
   Pursuant to Article 52(1), the Agency now has the possibility, before issuing a decision to initiate proceedings, to address a request to each company, its shareholders, members of the management or supervisory bodies, persons employed by the undertaking and other persons for the provision of any information which may be relevant for the application of the new Act or of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. The new Act has also harmonized the conditions for issuing an order for the search of premises and documents. It is also possible to search electronic devices. If a judge disagrees with the proposed search by the Agency, the latter has the option of appealing to the District Court in Ljubljana.
   
5. Use of information from the leniency statement
   A leniency statement is an oral or written submission made voluntarily by a company or an authorized person to the authority, in which the company or authorized person provides information about the cartel and describes his or her role in it. The statement must be prepared specifically for the Agency with the purpose of waiving or reducing the monetary sanction within the framework of the leniency program. In Article 43, the new Act now further regulates the restrictions on the use of information from statements and stipulates that only the parties in the proceedings and only for the purpose of exercising their rights of defense may have access to the leniency statement. A party may use information from a leniency statement or a settlement application in proceedings before a court reviewing a decision of the Agency only where this is necessary for the exercise of its rights of defense and only for the purposes of assessing the distribution of the administrative sanction for the payment of
   which the cartel participants are jointly and severally liable, or for the purposes of assessing a decision by which the Agency has found an infringement of this Act or of Article 101 or 102 TFEU.

NEW DATA PROTECTION ACT (ZVOP-2)

On 15 December 2022, the National Assembly adopted the Data Protection Act (ZVOP-2), which transposes the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) into Slovenian law and regulates national specificities in the area of personal data protection. The new law started to apply on 26 January 2023 and replaced the existing Data Protection Act (ZVOP-1) from 2004. In addition to the GDPR, the new Act also regulates additional aspects of personal data
protection, including in the areas of video surveillance, biometrics, processing of personal data for research purposes, authorized persons for the protection of personal data, sets an age limit for children's consent to the use of information society services, and allows for the imposition of fines as provided for in the GDPR.

1. Material defect or non-conformity with the contract
   For sales contracts concluded from 26 January 2023 onwards (i.e. after the Act entered into force), the rule that the consumer may freely choose between the means of enforcing a material defect, i.e. whether to request repair, replacement of the product, a proportionate reduction or a full refund of the purchase price, will no longer apply. Under the new legislation, consumers will be more limited, as they will first be able to request either repair or replacement of the goods with a new and faultless one (the choice will, except in certain cases, be up to the consumer). Only then, if the seller fails to do so, the consumer will be able to claim a proportionate reduction or a full refund of the purchase price (i.e. withdraw from the contract).
   
2. Non-conformity of the goods
   In the event of non-conformity of the goods which becomes apparent less than 30 days after delivery, the consumer has the so-called right to reject. This means that the consumer can withdraw from the contract within this period and claim a refund of the purchase price without first having to request that the goods be repaired or replaced. The period during which the legal presumption that the non-conformity of the goods had already existed at the time of delivery is extended from 6 to 12 months. The burden of proof will be on the seller to prove that the defect complained of did not exist when the goods were delivered.
   
3. Warranty
   With regards to warranties, the Act introduces a key change. For products placed on the market after the Act entered into force (i.e. on the 26 January 2023), consumers will be able to claim a warranty only from the guarantor, i.e. the company providing the warranty or from its authorized repairer. The Act also abolishes the mandatory 1-month warranty for used products and introduces a shorter deadline (30 instead of 45 days) in which the guarantor will have to correct errors. The previous deadline of 45 days will still apply to products that will be placed on the market before the law comes into force. The deadline may be extended by 15 days, and the manufacturer will have to notify the consumer before the deadline expires and state the reasons for the extension of the deadline.
   

We point out that the provisions regarding contracts for the supply of digital content or services will also apply to a contract in which the consumer agrees to provide his/her personal data to the company in lieu of (monetary) payment of the purchase price, and the company would use the data for purposes beyond the mere supply of the digital content or service, which is particularly common on social networks.

6. Online marketplaces
   Online marketplaces (such as Wolt and Mimovrste) will need to provide consumers with information on how offers are ranked, with whom the contract is being concluded in a specific case and whether the price offered is adjusted on the basis of the consumer's profiling. In addition to these new features, the Act also prohibits hidden advertising and the misrepresentation of customer ratings and recommendations.
   
7. Prohibition of dual quality of goods
   The Act considers any marketing of goods in one member state as identical to goods marketed in other member states, provided that these goods have a significantly different composition or characteristics (so-called double quality of goods) as a misleading business practice. The new regulation prohibits such practice as it could mislead consumers into making a purchase that they would not otherwise have made.
   
8. Obligations regarding discounts
   The Act clarifies the obligation of companies to offer discounts. When reducing the price of goods, companies will have to label both the previous price and the reduced price, with the previous price being the lowest price labelled in the last 30 days before the reduction. In cases of gradual and continuous reduction, the previous price will be the price that was the lowest at least 30 days before the first reduction.