Presoja zakonitosti regulatornih odločb na energetskem področju

slovenian

2025

volume 51, issue 8

alternative dispute resolution   chain decisions   chain disputes   direct access to the court   Energy Agency   judicial review   regulatory decisions   restrained judicial review   scope of judicial review

Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

The article examines the specifics of judicial review of individual decisions by the Energy Agency, the national regulator in the energy sector, where complex technical, economic, and legal issues intersect. First, it analyses the effects of the legal exclusion of appeal, which guarantees parties direct access to the court. An essential part of the fact-finding procedure is therefore transferred to the court, which affects its procedural position in terms of a more active role in conducting the administrative dispute. The central part of the article first discusses the concept of restrained judicial review. The author concludes that the Slovenian legal system does not provide for this form of judicial review and that any restriction of judicial review is only permissible based on an explicit constitutional legal basis. The court must therefore assess the correctness of the application of legal rules, even when they are based on professional rules. It may not merely follow the interpretations advocated by the sectoral regulator. The national approach differs from the doctrine of deferred judicial review, which has developed in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and applies to decisions with a high degree of technical and economic complexity. Particular attention is paid to chain decisions that may give rise to chain disputes. A particularly important question in these cases is how to ensure the stability of the energy market when a court annuls a chain decision, while also preventing the identified error from being carried over into future legal relationships. Despite the partial legal regulation of these issues, the court will often have to use the institution of determining the manner of enforcement of its decision in order to establish a lawful situation. The article also discusses the limited possibilities for alternative dispute resolution, which are narrowly restricted due to the principle of legality in energy proceedings, and suggests potential avenues for de lege ferenda development in this area.

12.10.2026