Vaccination represents one of the most important, safe, and cost-effective measures for the prevention of communicable diseases. For certain diseases in Slovenia, vaccination is legally mandated. The aim of the master’s thesis was to systematically analyze the development of legislation on mandatory vaccination in the period 1992–2025. A systematic review of laws, secondary legislation, case law, and professional literature was conducted using both general and specialized sources, including the databases COBISS+, PISRS, Uradni list RS, Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje, Univerza v Ljubljani, Univerza v Mariboru, and the government portal GOV.SI. Following multi-stage screening, 47 key documents were included in the detailed analysis.
The central legal foundation is the Communicable Diseases Act of 1995 and its subsequent amendments regulating mandatory vaccination, as well as the 2004 decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, which confirmed the constitutionality of the measure and emphasized its proportionality in protecting public health. The analysis demonstrates continuity in the legal framework even after Slovenia’s accession to the European Union.
Several challenges were identified: historical legal gaps regarding exemptions and compensation schemes, declining public trust and the spread of misinformation, communication and accessibility barriers, regulatory fragmentation, and the need to balance public health protection with individual rights in crisis situations. The thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the legal development of mandatory vaccination.
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