The Constitutional Court also received a response to the rejection of the application submitted to the court by Piloti Koper for suspension of the implementation of the regulation on the providing of commercial public maritime cargo services.
What the government says
According to the Government Communication Office, the decree on the form and method of providing a public maritime pilot service provides that the government will conclude a public service contract with a contractor for a maximum of ten years. The decree, which provides for the provision of sea pilots in the form of a joint stock company established by the state and managed by the Slovenian state holding company, was issued by the previous government in mid-February.
Pilotage in the form of a joint stock company
Among other things, the Regulation lays down the conditions for the provision and use of utilities and the way in which the price of the service is determined. According to the decree, the commercial public service of maritime pilotage is provided in the form of a public company whose founder or sole partner is the State and is the sole provider of a commercial public service in the maritime activities of the port of Koper.
SSH also established a Kopp Izobraževanje company to provide the commercial public service of maritime pilots, with which the government has signed a contract.
Piloti Koper has called for an internal revision
At the end of February, Piloti Koper approached the then Prime Minister Marjan Sarac and demanded that an internal revision be carried out and a contract signed for the providing of a public maritime pilot service. They stated that there were no reasons in the public interest to grant a monopoly for the performance of the activities of a joint stock company.
The regulation, which provides for the exercise of maritime pilotage exclusively by a joint stock company, is contrary to the Constitution. "Maritime pilotage is already carried out 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Without interruption, Piloti Koper is constantly engaged in this activity," they emphasised.