Consumer-focused litigation, especially relating to Swiss loan credit contracts, has driven significant growth in dispute resolution practices in Slovenia since 2022, according to Ketler & Partners, member of Karanovic Partner Minu Anamaria Gvardjancic. With the courts adopting a very proactive stance and wide interpretation of the impact of EU case law increasingly asserting consumers’ rights, disputes are expected to continue expanding in the coming months.
CEELM: What work has been keeping your Dispute Resolution practice busy over the past year?
Gvardjancic: Swiss loan credit contracts have been a hot issue since 2015 and particularly since 2022, when the Slovenian Supreme Court adopted a significantly different, much broader view of the bank’s duty to inform than before. These disputes have significantly increased, with numerous consumers initiating lawsuits against banks. Additionally, recent practices and rulings from the European Court of Justice have had a substantial impact, keeping our practice especially busy. We’ve also been involved in advising both individual and institutional clients on how to navigate this evolving legal landscape, ensuring that they are well-prepared for the ongoing shifts in judicial interpretation.
CEELM: What has been the primary driver behind these levels of activity?
Gvardjancic: Primarily, it’s due to the shift in court practices toward a more consumer-centric approach. Many consumers are actively filing lawsuits – in fact, hundreds of cases have overwhelmed the courts, consequently increasing workloads for lawyers as well.
One of the key reasons why our dispute resolution practice in Slovenia expanded from three to already nine specialized lawyers is precisely this rise in consumer-related disputes. Similar consumer-driven movements are expected in other sectors, such as insurance, telecommunications, and various technical industries, essentially, wherever consumers as end users are involved. Moreover, increased public awareness around climate issues, sustainability, pollution, and environmental protection suggests that litigation in these areas will grow.
People are increasingly conscious of their rights and less hesitant to challenge institutions and large corporations. The introduction of collective claims in Slovenia may also have contributed significantly to this trend. Such an evolving environment from a legal standpoint is also encouraging more collaborative work between consumer advocacy groups and legal professionals, fostering a more robust culture of rights enforcement in Slovenia on the one hand but also more opportunities for fraudulent litigations on the other.
CEELM: Finally, what do you think the next 12 months will look like?
Gvardjancic: Many legal provisions and civil law standards and institutes are currently being misinterpreted. We expect the Supreme Court of Slovenia to provide clearer guidance on this matter within the next year, hopefully sooner rather than later. Additionally, the current developments in the banking industry will inevitably spill over into other sectors, creating ripple effects that we expect to continue influencing our practice in the coming years.
