The master's thesis discusses the constitutionaliation of the right to drinking water in the Republic of Slovenia, which in concrete terms means that the right to drinking water is protected at the constitutional level in our highest legal act. Due to the exceptional importance of this natural asset for our lives and the general trend of increasing demand for it, it has consequently become a tool for achieving economic interests. In order to prevent the privatization of water resources and to maintain the right of access to clean drinking water in the future, a regulatory framework was required.
In Slovenia we have unequivocally written the right to drinking water in the Constitution in 2016, adding a new article 70.a, which stipulates, among other things, that everyone has the right to drinking water and that water resources are public goods managed by the state. Therefore, privatization is not possible under any circumstances. However, some issues remain open and unresolved. The very record of the right to link the Constitution did not solve all the problems, because due to the abstract nature of the Constitution, the realization of its provisions is necessary with the harmonization of legislation and by-laws. The process of approximation of legislation has not yet been concluded and we are facing a number of problems with how to interpret and implement the constitutional provision in order to prevent discrimination in the supply of water.
In the EU, the right to drinking water at the constitutional level is only made in Slovenia and Slovakia, but this does not mean that other countries do not regulate rights at the legal level or that they do not exist in practice. All individuals have to be aware of how important drinking water is because without the attitude towards water, constitutional care has no effects.
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